CEO Update: Rethink Everything

By DCUC Staff — October 16, 2026

How to turn an existential threat into a new beginning PART 1

Over the past three years, DCUC has overcome several challenges and tests to its existence. The experience tested our resilience, forced us to challenge long-held assumptions, and fundamentally redirected our strategic design for the future.

The organization we are today is stronger in terms of our purpose, has a more disciplined approach in execution, and is better positioned to lead through change. Yet, we are not done.Our imperative now is to convert these hard-won gains into durable advantages—in terms of member value, increasing our reach, and expanding our influence throughout the industry and on Capitol Hill.Each of these goals will define the next stage of DCUC’s evolution, expand our organizational capacity, and extend our impact for the benefit of our members and the many communities they serve.So how did we get here and how will we move forward? By rethinking everything!When Incremental Change Is Not EnoughCompanies rarely fail because leaders cannot sense potential trouble ahead. We all can sense when things are getting rough. Loans decrease, margins narrow, and long-time members and their deposits begin to drift away. It is a cycle that must be broken in order to survive.Yet, in most cases, companies fail because their leaders mistake an existential problem for an operational one. Most organizations respond with typical management solutions: another cost-cutting program, a refreshed marketing campaign, and a modest product update. These actions usually buy a little more time.However, in the long run, these actions cannot rescue a company whose underlying assumptions no longer apply to the changing market. Trade associations are no different.Dealing with an existential problem requires leaders to rethink everything and put every major choice back on the table. The company’s identity, customers, products, services, partnerships, and any market expansions or contractions must all become open questions. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers.Here is an important point: Rethinking everything is not an admission of defeat. It is a disciplined refusal to let past success dictate the future.Plus, it will take courage to act, and a foundation built on trust to weather the storm. This is a crucial ingredient most people miss.So, how does an organization go about rethinking everything?Step 1: Challenge the Company’s StoryAn organization’s identity is a combination of its history, culture, public image, and what we tell ourselves, even when things do not seem to be going well.Before choosing a bold move, leaders must identify what has truly changed.Is demand temporarily weak due to economic factors or has customer behavior shifted permanently toward other competitors?Is the company losing because execution is poor or because its value proposition is noAre high costs the central problem or are they symptoms of a model that cannot scale fast enough?Honest diagnosis requires evidence, outside perspectives, and a willingness to question assumptions that have become part of the culture. We still ask ourselves the same questions throughout the year. Challenging our ongoing story is now part of our organizational culture.Don’t get me wrong. A trusted brand, specialized expertise, proprietary technology, member relationships, distribution access, or regulatory knowledge may remain valuable even when the current business is not.The goal is not to preserve every part of the existing enterprise to simply reinforce the company’s current story. Questioning each of these assumptions is what allows an organization to determine which capabilities still create real advantage to alter its trajectory and story arc.Hint: Reinvention works best when it releases those strengths from an outdated structure.Step 2: Change the Business Model, Not Just the OfferingSometimes the product remains useful, but the way the organization creates, delivers, or captures value has become obsolete. This is the crux of rethinking everything. Here is a quick look at how this applies to both credit unions and trade associations:For Credit UnionsAn account opened to obtain an auto loan may need incentives to become the member’s primary deposit account to preserve the institution’s capital/liquidity. (What is keeping you from doing it?)A financial institution’s digital platform may need to connect to a MSR offering tailored services that improve outcomes and deepen customer relationships. (Can you recover critical human capital harvested in a costcutting tactic?)A labor-intensive process may:A. Need AI automation, member self-service, or a better digital channel; orB. Need to cultivate an ecosystem of partners to leverage each step in the member experience. (How invested are you in past decisions?) For Trade Associations Other than annual dues, a push for a deeper commitment is key to preserving and expanding the association’s footprint and revenue streams. (Is your trade association earning your business or simply cashing a check?)A trade association may need to consider outsourcing its educational services to improve outcomes and deepen relationships with our member credit unions. (Is your trade association spending scarce resources competing in a saturated market? Are increased dues required to provide these services?)A trade association can leverage AI and collaborate/partner with other organizations to improve every step in delivering and increasing member value. (Does your trade association have a basic .ai domain? Does your credit union?)Reinvention begins by asking what members are truly willing to pay to fully join your organization, then rebuilding your organization’s economic structure around that outcome.A new model should be tested before it becomes fully employed. It may require the organization to isolate member segments, launch a limited offer, and/or establish explicit measures so leaders can learn and adapt quickly.Focusing on the right metrics is also a big part of learning and adapting. Metrics may include membership conversion rates, retention, ROI on service, revenue generation, and willingness for membership remain loyal.Note: Small experiments reduce uncertainty, but they should not become an excuse for endless hesitation. Once the evidence is strong, resources must move decisively from the declining model to the emerging one.These first two steps are important for getting started along a determined path for building resiliency and ensuring the survival of the organization. I will finish my thoughts on rethinking everything in Part 2 of this series. However, here is a quick look:Step 3: Expand into Markets Where Existing Strengths MatterEntering a new market whether is based on geography, industry, or customer segment can create growth when the core market has matured or contracted. Step 4: Make Reinvention Executable Bold strategy fails when it is treated as an announcement rather than a fully developed operational plan. Additionally, an agenda built on survival needs a small number of explicit alternatives, accountable process owners, milestones and metric tied to objective outcomes, and a regular “battle rhythm” for resolving tradeoffs. Survival Is a Choice Before It Becomes a CrisisRethinking everything does not mean abandoning discipline or chasing every possibility. It means refusing to protect assumptions that the market has already disproved.The Defense Credit Union Council has successfully navigated each of these steps and will continue to rethink everything as we prepare and plan for a bright future.Stay tuned to follow DCUC’s strategy session concluding later this month!

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Originally reported by DCUC.