Business
What do you say when you hear from another credit union interested in talking about a merger?Hopefully, you don’t say “Yeah, we’ll talk so long as our chair and our CEO are the surviving leaders after the merger.”To Deedee Myers, Ph.D., MSC, PCC, the fate of the chair and CEO is the wrong thing to think about first when considering joining up with another credit union.“We shouldn't be talking about who the survivor is, you know, the CEO or the board chair,” says Myers, CEO of CUESolutions provider DDJ Myers, Phoenix. “It should really be about the synergies between the two organizations to unlock parallel value for the membership. It really should be what is the membership going to see in terms of additional value, what's going to go on in the community, not just about the chair and the CEO. It has to be about how we're going to add more value.” Myers and her business partner, Peter Myers, share lots of ideas about mergers in this episode of the CUES Podcast, including:tips for paving the way to a merger conversation what needs to be done after a merger to truly complete the process and enable the emerging new organization to truly take shape andwhat to be cautious about when considering a mergerThe two also discuss how they stay in forward-thinking mode, focused on future possibilities, both within DDJ Myers and with their credit union clients. “Just because we can't touch that future in this moment, because I don't understand it, doesn't mean that we couldn't, we shouldn't simmer in it, and really see what could come out of it,” Peter Myers says in the show.Be sure to tune in!Links for this show:Show transcriptCUESolutions provider DDJ MyersWhitepaper series: Credit Union Leaders Plan Post-Pandemic Merger & Acquisition Strategies CUES content from DDJ Myers:If You’re Ready to Be CEO, It Will Show, Plus A Lot More on CEO Succession for Both Boards and CandidatesThree Execution Elements Your Strategic Planning Likely OverlooksStart Your Board Assessment With a ‘BOP’How to Smash a CEO Interview