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The groundwork for success includes a commitment from the start. The debate over the best governance practices for board succession rages on. It is a routine topic in every single engagement and interview we conduct. The issues of diversity and term limits are especially prominent lately, and the daunting task of building the board of…

It’s important to prioritize and value diversity. It’s Super Bowl Sunday as I write this, and it’s snowing at my home in New Hampshire. My husband has made a big batch of his famous mac and cheese, and we have a fire roaring in our wood stove in the ell. (Unless you’re from New England,…

A strong alignment of the CEO, senior leaders and the board enabled early, effective action. We were talking with one of our clients, F&A Federal Credit Union in Monterrey Park California, the other day and were struck by their early, decisive actions in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. (F&A was chartered in 1936 to…

Key findings include diversity as a priority and a desire to increase focus on strategy. For years, we’ve dreamt of studying the state of credit union governance. We know what you’re thinking: Dream bigger. Some people dream of European vacations. Fast cars. Beach houses. But for governance geeks like us, it’s often all about the…

Key ideas about response oversight and future strategy If you’re like most in this world today, you likely feel like you’ve lived a lifetime in just the last week. I know that we have. As we write to you safely from our home offices, we send well wishes to you and everyone in your circles…

If you’re shifting to an ‘audit’ committee instead, be careful not to sacrifice independent oversight at the altar of efficiency. We’ve seen an important trend relevant to a good number of state credit unions nationwide. It’s one of those quiet trends that we believe could—in the long run—have significant governance consequences, perhaps for the entire…

Consider multiple perspectives and build consensus— not unanimity—to ensure your CU is making good decisions. If you Google “decision-making,” we think you’ll be amazed at what comes up in the search results: “The Top 5 Decision-Making Models You Need to Know,” “Models of Decision-Making: Rational, Administrative and Retrospective Decision-Making Models,” the “Most Popular Decision-Making Models,”…

Your strategic planning process is as important as the plan and should be ongoing. Recently, Henry Meier, SVP/general Counsel at the New York Credit Union Association penned a blog addressing “Why D.C.’s Policy Pronouncements are the Key to Economic Growth.” In it, Meier discusses the shifting sands of today’s political environment, as well as the…