The dinosaurs didn't have the brains or the tools to see itcoming, but credit unions do. Fiserv's Mark Sievewright discussedISIS among other threats to credit unions last week at the New Jersey Credit Union Leagues' Reality Check conference. CUNAMutual's John Lass told attendees, credit unions are under aserious threat as financial delivery services evolve rapidly, andat least in the ISIS case, credit unions aren't even at the table.He did add that CUNA Mutual is working on that.

Several interlocking pieces to this puzzle can help creditunions to get to the point that they're actually invited ratherthan fighting to be an afterthought.

First there's the principle of 'fake it, till you make it.'Convince yourself you're as good as you think you are. Then, ifyou're not there, get there fast. Credit unions have long sufferedfrom self-esteem issues. Many, though not enough, are beginning toemerge from that mindset. Those that are, keep working at it. Therest of you, please speak out. If the industry isn't included atthe table of something that could be as monumental as ISIS,dramatic changes for the community lie ahead and they aren'tpretty.

The United States in general is behind its Asian and Europeancounterparts when it comes to technology such as chip-and-PIN andmobile banking. Consumers in third-world countries use moreadvanced financial services technology than the United States,which continues to sit around and wait for things to happen becausethe average consumer doesn't experience the same urgency here.Credit unions in rural areas of Mexico provide services via afull-service credit union in a backpack. But with technological andgenerational shifts, U.S. consumers will jump on board in a hurryand credit unions can't afford to miss that boat.

According to Sievewright consumers in the next decade willmeasure service quality by how much they can do for themselves. GenXers had mothers who became mothers during the 1960s-70s wave offeminism. More women went to work. We were the original latch-keykids. We're independent. Many of us grew up with computers in ourhomes. And right now we're also rising up the ladder of ourcareers. We need mortgages, car loans and will shortly need studentloans, and we want to be able to do it all online or from our cellphones, which we've had since we were 16, because we work 60-plushours a week. If you've already missed us, not only have you misseda group ripe with income potential for financial services, you'vemissed a fertile training ground in the technology arena.

Gen Y, the Millennials and each younger generation will onlyrequire more and different technology from their financial servicesproviders, whether that's a credit union or eventually VerizonWireless. The window of time to jump in and immerse your creditunion in the evolution of technology or get out is narrowingquickly. Every business from credit unions to newspapers needs toface reality and not cling to what we think they should be. Ofcourse principles like proper underwriting and accuracy,respectively, must be upheld, but we need to figure out how tocontinue adapting to evolving technology and consumer behavior.

Another demographic for credit unions to focuson is women. According tothe blog She-conomy,American women spend about $5 trillion each year, which is morethan half the GDP. Women buy more than half of the new cars,influence up to 80% of all car purchases, 22% shop online atleast once a day (there's that pesky technology again), and 92%pass along information about deals or finds to others. Each ofthese points can translate into lending and membershipopportunities for credit unions.

Leaders of head-hunting firms have indicated that the beginning of thecredit union CEO brain-drain is upon us. Top credit unionexecutives will become younger over the next several years and helpcredit unions to further adapt to the changing financial servicesenvironment.

Credit Union Times isn't standing idly by either. Lastyear, we created the Trailblazers 40 Below program torecognize rising credit union talent and get them recognized bycurrent credit union leaders as they proceed with successionplanning. Building upon that momentum, at CUNA's GovernmentalAffairs Conference later this month, we're hosting our firstNot for CEOs event,March 20. We've invited a variety of credit union leaders to lead adiscussion in career development and leadership for younger creditunion executives. We expect to host a live audience that willpepper the executives with questions as well as live streaming theevent at CUTimes.com/NotforCEOs andtaking questions via the #NotforCEOs hash tag on Twitter. The nextgeneration of credit unions leaders will be nothing like the lastand their primary source of credit union news can't be either.

As Lass said at the NJCUL Reality Check, credit unions are at a strategiccrossroads and need to face facts. They must make the decisions ofwhat they will excel at and what they will “be bad at.” You can'tbe all things to all people. It sounds simple and even a littlecondescending, but the decision really does boil down to justthat.

Finally, one thing no credit union can afford to do poorly ispublic relations, which is–as I started out this column writing–howto get your credit union noticed. Take note of the credit unionsthat regularly appear in Credit Union Times or your localpress outlets. They get mentions because they generally do good PR.Talk with them. Scale up or down proportionate to your resourcesand get rolling.

But do it right. Bank of America is toying with chargingcustomers fees for basic checking unless they meet certain criteria, likebanking online or using multiple services. They're attempting toroll out this fee in a more subtle manner than the debit card feedebacle that sparked Bank Transfer Day. That specific day, Nov. 5, may not haverepresented a sea change, but it definitely raised awareness of theabuses of large banks and credit unions' more consumer-friendlymodel of banking business.