As highly regulated players in a crowded financial services marketplace, credit unions need to double down on building cultures and systems that foster innovation from within while scanning the market for new opportunities. Organizations might be effective at either “exploiting” the systems and processes they are already good at or as “explorers” finding the next big innovation to drive growth. Few excel at both. Organizational ambidexterity can be accomplished with the right mix of structures and policies that facilitate innovation within your credit union and foster continuous improvement.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Structures for Innovation
Find the perfect balance between exploiting your current business while also exploring options for the future through organizational ambidexterity.
Conexus at a Crossroads: Structuring a Credit Union for Innovation
Using the case method technique perfected at Harvard Business School, dive into the minds of Conexus’ leaders and hear the strategic issues they wrestled with when structuring a credit union for innovation.
Meeting the Needs of Independent Workers at Vancity Credit Union
Explore how to best serve niche communities first, by learning about the nature and needs of independent workers, then, by prototyping and piloting small, holistic interventions to identify what works.
ACTIONABLE TOOLS
Conexus Discussion Forum
Watch a series of short videos created from the Conexus at a Crossroads: Structuring a Credit Union for Innovation report to help lead a discussion with your team on the do's and don'ts of innovation.
Financial Needs Checklist
Use this checklist to identify some of the key challenges faced by growing populations in your community and suggestions for meeting their financial needs.
Filene’s Center for Organizational Entrepreneurship was generously sponsored by:
