A Direct Line Blog

By Donya Parrish, MCU VP Risk Management

Most of the time, I am a pretty tidy person, and at first glance, my house and office look organized. But even with that perception, I have a confession — I keep a junk drawer! It is for things I am not quite sure what to do with in the moment, and once out of sight, they are really out of mind.

Does your credit union have a few “junk drawer” items? Something that might have come up that you were too busy at the time to delve into, or it just wasn’t the right place to deal with it? It can be hard to dig in and accomplish everything piling up in the drawer if your board meetings are always scheduled to end at a certain time or your agenda is so strict that you only discuss the fires that need put out and never get to the strategic items.

There is a theory that board meetings should start with the strategic discussions and only move to the monthly reports when those conversations are exhausted. In reality, it doesn’t sound like it happens much. Our comfort zone is often to start with the routine and only move into strategy if the mood and flow feels right. It is a bit like trying to force creativity when it is not there.

My challenge to you this month is to make a point to peek into your junk drawer and see if there is something you can get on the table for discussion and action. If not, maybe it can just go in the trash. I have a personal goal of finding a filing method for my meeting notes. I’ll keep you posted on my progress if you keep me informed of yours! Good luck. Decluttering is not easy, even if it is hypothetical.