Turn strategic planning into a daily discipline

President of Rising Above Enterprises, Jeff Rendel argues that compressing strategic planning cycles—from annual off-site meetings to rolling, data-driven check-ins—lets credit unions pivot quickly and prove value amid shifting member expectations. He outlines a three-step cadence, culture-driven execution tactics, and the top trends boards must weave into 90-day objectives. As member expectations morph with every tap of a digital wallet, the strategic horizon for credit unions has compressed from years to months, and sometimes weeks. In this kind of environment, the traditional "once-a-year" planning retreat no longer cuts it.

"Strategic planning has evolved from a once-a-year event into, I'll argue, a daily leadership discipline," said Rendel, a former national bank examiner and Congressional lobbyist who has spent more than two decades coaching credit union boards on governance, strategic planning, and growth.

Rendel contends that treating strategy as a daily practice helps boards and CEOs pivot faster when opportunities or risks surface, keeping member value at the center of every decision.

Why strategy check-ins beat the annual retreat

Rendel sees the biggest payoff in culture: "It gives your team—board, executives, managers—that shared direction," he said, adding that members also gain "a reason to believe in your value because you're changing with your members."

A rhythm of short, recurring strategy check-ins turns lofty goals into everyday habits. Rendel's three-step cadence starts with a deep-dive board survey, moves to management's analysis and recommendations, and returns to the board for a "risk-and-relevance" debate before anything is green-lighted.

The cycle repeats quarterly—or faster if market data demands so the plan flexes with real-time insights instead of last year's assumptions. Rendel will unpack that process in detail when he facilitates Strategic Growth Conference 2025, Aug. 18-20 in Austin, Texas, where sessions will tie trends to practical board—room action steps.

"Think like a startup and serve like a social enterprise"

Strategic plans that deliver durable growth share a common heartbeat. An entrepreneurial mindset guided by a social-impact compass. In practice that means testing new ideas quickly, dropping the ones that stall, and measuring every win by the difference it makes in members' daily lives.

"I think the future for strategic planning … belongs to credit unions that think like a startup and serve like a social enterprise," he said, adding that this approach "still maintains our difference" while pushing leaders to reinvent legacy playbooks.

What does that look like on the ground? Rendel pointed to three imperatives straight from the boardroom: lead with purpose, deliver with performance, and challenge some legacy business models.

Turning those imperatives into action starts with the technologies racing ahead of others. Rendel flags two priority battlegrounds—generative-AI decisioning and the rapidly expanding digital-wallet ecosystem—where boards can test their resolve to lead with purpose, deliver measurable performance, and rethink legacy models.

Trend #1: Generative AI & automated decisions

Rendel notes that AI has moved from buzz to baseline. Automated underwriting and chat intelligence are among the first credit union use cases.

Boards that bake AI into strategy—complete with model-risk controls and bias testing—can speed loan decisions from days to minutes while staying true to supervisory guidance. The payoff isn't just faster approvals; it's relevance. When a rival can render an instant yes or no, members won't wait while their credit union goes back to their annual strategic planning retreat minutes.

Trend #2: Digital wallets, embedded finance, and partnerships

Member appetite for tap-to-pay and one-click fulfillment has pushed digital wallets up every roadmap. PYMNTS Intelligence's May 2025 Credit Union Innovation Readiness Index shows how quickly the field is moving: 57 percent more credit unions over $5 billion added AI-powered chat support in the past year. Eighty-three percent more mid-size credit unions adopted real-time payments.

Partnerships are the shortcut. Whether through open-banking APIs or white-label fintech deals, even the smallest institutions can launch modern wallet features "as long as we're staying focused on bringing results to the members," Rendel said.

Credit union size, in other words, no longer dictates innovation speed; strategic clarity does.

From plan on paper to daily practice

Turning ideas into outcomes requires visible ownership. Rendel recommends 90-day objectives and key results (OKRs), weekly KPI huddles, and a one-page dashboard every director can scan in minutes. "Strategy moves forward a lot more efficiently when everyone knows what their role is—whether it's on a daily, weekly or monthly basis," he said.

The discipline pays dividends: faster pivots when fraud spikes, quicker green-lights on community-impact loans, and staff who see how their tasks feed the bigger mission. For boards and CEOs, the message is simple: the plan isn't a binder full of minutes; it's the way you run the credit union.

Ready to embed that mindset? Register now for the Strategic Growth Conference 2025 to dive deeper into AI, digital-wallet strategy, and culture-driven execution with Rendel and other industry thought leaders. Sign up and bring your questions to Austin.