Using the Blue Light to Get a Green Light
Posted by Matt Davis on January 29th, 2009
If you have ever pitched an idea to credit union (or any other non-government business) executives, you have undoubtedly encountered the question, “how much will this cost?” In a perfect world (at least in the world of you, the fearless marketer) the hard work you put into sales projections, implementation timelines, competitive market analyses, and focus groups more than justify your project’s associated cost. But this isn’t a perfect world. Whether or not your idea has a snowball’s chance in the Sahara Desert of seeing the light of day depends first and foremost, at least in my experience, on how you have prepared for this obligatory question.
Now, I completely understand that each credit union and each decision-maker is different. Their backgrounds, levels of risk tolerance, and motivations vary wildly. I have reason to believe, however, that my approach to pitching an idea will work in most cases with most executives. Why? Because I try to design ideas that minimize or eliminate hard dollar costs associated with any idea that strays from business as usual. In doing so, I minimize the “skin” executives have in the game.
In essence, I go blue light to earn the green light. When developing ‘What are you saving for?’ (WAYSF), I could (some would argue “should”) have outsourced the project to the experts. I knew that would cost a fortune, though. So, instead I called everyone I knew with Wordpress experience and learned all I could about the platform. I called credit union marketers with experience in blogging for guidance on how to launch and maintain an online community. I tried to teach myself Adobe Flash. When it was clear that the software was kicking my tail, I requested that the credit union send me to a one-day Flash course at a local training center. The next day, I built the site’s calculators. A week later, with help from yet another industry contact, I created the WAYSF prize meter.
I worked countless hours on this project. However, I was still mindful that the more on-the-job time I put into this project, the more “skin” our credit union had in the game. I could have been spending my time on other, more proven projects. I offset this opportunity cost by doing an exorbitant amount of work at home, at night, on weekends, in the morning before work. I slaved away at lunch, at Panera Bread, in my car.
There are many factors that played into our executives approving this project. Obviously, the principles of WAYSF fit in beautifully with our credit union’s mission. That helps. Our executives and our Board also trust my judgement thanks to years of tireless work earning that trust. That’s important too. But I contend that this project would have never gotten the green light had I not been able to keep its associated costs as close to zero as possible. You see, we are still in an industry that in large part is reluctant to try something new. Everything has to be proven somewhere else before it gets adopted. This is a shame on one hand because it nearly eliminates any hope for innovation. But I totally understand the motivations. Run correctly, a credit union must be as conservative as possible with members’ assets. Adopting risky projects can seem contrary to our mission. By eliminating/minimizing the hard dollar cost associated with your next innovation, you take that concern out of the equation.
WAYSF’s design is far from world class. I know that, and you know that. The concept, however, is one that I truly believe could really take off throughout the movement. At the end of the day, that will be the most satisfying result from this project. By getting my credit union to green light WAYSF, I have established that all-powerful precedent that other credit unions require before moving forward with a project.
And I think that’s the point of this post. While I hope that your next innovation is perfect right out of the box, chances are it won’t be. Chances are it CAN’T be. Budgets need to be considered. Concessions have to be made. Lessons need to be learned. If you or your credit union are in the perfection business, innovation may not be your cup of tea. Take a chance. Keep costs low. Be passionate about your project and its mission. Expect failures.
And when you get the opportunity to pitch your next big idea, make sure you have at least one blue light special version up your sleeve. It may be all it takes to get your next innovation off the ground.
Matt Davis is the Director of Public Relations at Members Credit Union. A member of the Filene Research Institute’s 30-Under-30 Group and author of ‘The Credit Union Warrior’ blog, Davis has been at the center of credit union innovation since 2004. Pet projects such as What are you saving for? and Football Pick’em have earned Davis international recognition inside and outside the credit union space.
My response on the Innovator’s Dilemma.
@JPilcher just tweeted a link to a nice article about Chris Rock’s Innovation technique, which also reminds me about the NYC Ultralight Startup group which I found out about at last year’s BarCampMoney NYC. One of the examples of Ultralight Startup discussed was Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop. He started this company with $10,000, and it now has two full time employees, and has a large internet presence.
One of Guy’s reasons for doing this startup (aside from making money), was to prove to all the budding entrepreneurs pitching his VC company that great internet startups don’t require huge sums of money to start out. Better to start small, prove the business case, then build from there. Which is what Matt is advocating here. This is also how EverythingCU.com was built and launched. So, nice job with this article Matt!
What Are You Saving For is a great idea. Doing it by yourself on your own time shows your dedication to your idea, your credit union and the movement. As a marketing and communications consultant serving credit unions, health care systems and a variety of other clients, I’m baffled at the fear of differentiation and innovation shown by most credit unions compared to other industries. Especially given the innovation and differentiation that drove the movement during the early days. I applaud you for stepping out, just like I applaud our clients, Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union with its “Intentionally left bank” http://www.7principles.coop/intentionally-left-bank and “7 Principles” http://www.7principles.coop/what-if-event-follow-up campaigns.
Great stuff. One question for you. What do you say to the countless # of execs who are bound to ask: “Who else is doing this?” (w/ the implication that if no one else is doing it, it’s not worth doing)
Great article Matt. You are at the top of a rare breed of extremely passionate and innovative credit union employees. What you are advocating is great, but how many 9 to 5, partially engaged employees do you think would do this?
“I offset this opportunity cost by doing an exorbitant amount of work at home, at night, on weekends, in the morning before work. I slaved away at lunch, at Panera Bread, in my car.”
Members Credit Union is lucky to have you. Hopefully your hard work and vision inspires other credit union leaders to give their young leaders the leeway and resources to make an impact.
@Ron My answer would be: That is simply the wrong question. The right question is “how does this fit our core values and business goals?” “What is the likelihood of success?” “How valuable will this be to our existing customers?”
Because to even deign to answer that question is to always miss innovation. I don’t give a [bleep] about what the competition is or is not doing, I care about how MY customers will receive this and what the benefit is to them.
Wow, where to begin?
@morriss I’ll leave an additional response on your blog, but let me at least address your well-made point about Alltop. One mistake many of us make is asking for the Porsche before we prove the value of the Pinto. In my experience, it’s been much easier (still hard, but easier) to get approval for the Pinto and hope that you can later get funding to improve upon it.
@Ron Those executives are everywhere…and I hope I never work for one. My advice is that you take an idea you’re passionate about and see that it gets done SOMEWHERE. Whether that means you leave a bad employer, make the idea open source, whatever… That’s why I love following you all on Twitter – I feel confident that if there is a good idea, one of us will have the guts to give it a try…even if it’s not at our own employer.
@Tim Thank you for your comment! Your point brings up another topic that is definitely worth discussing. To me, there are three options for credit unions regarding innovation: 1) Do all that you can to attract and retain employees who don’t view their job as a 9-5 type arrangement. Don’t just talk about innovation, expect it, reward it, allot adequate time to brainstorming/experimentation. 2) Develop centralized leadership who are by their very nature open to new, exciting ideas. Have that team come up with the objectives for innovation, and outsource the projects to experts (like your firm, Currency Marketing). Or 3) Forget innovation, it’s not your thing.
What Are You Saving For is a great idea. Doing it by yourself on your own time shows your dedication to your idea, your credit union and the movement. As a marketing and communications consultant serving credit unions, health care systems and a variety of other clients, I’m baffled at the fear of differentiation and innovation shown by most credit unions compared to other industries. Especially given the innovation and differentiation that drove the movement during the early days. I applaud you for stepping out, just like I applaud our clients, Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union with its “Intentionally left bank” and “7 principles”