3. Keep up with the latest trends. To be successful in the long run, you have to change with the times. Andy Reid has been coaching in some capacity for the NFL for 31 years. He's successful no matter where he goes, however, because he changes with the times while keeping what's best about his own approach to designing plays. He now lets players have input on developing certain plays, something that no hard-nosed NFL coach would have dreamed of doing 30 years ago. He went up against 41-year-old Nick Sirianni, who calls plays the way some people play poker. He's not afraid of going for it on fourth down in his own territory, an approach that crusty old-timers would have scoffed at not too long ago. There is no industry changing faster than the financial services industry and this pace is only going to increase. Regardless of whether your CEO is in her 60s or 30s, she must recognize trends that are going to reshape how the credit union does business.

4. Diversity matters. This is the first Super Bowl that featured two Black quarterbacks. Think about that. In other words, as a result of changes in society's attitudes, we now have a larger pool of athletes to play one of the most complicated positions in sports. If the NFL can improve the quality of its play by allowing everyone to play any position they're qualified for, then certainly every financial institution can benefit by making sure it is recruiting candidates from as large a pool of qualified individuals as possible.

5. Culture starts at the top. What the Eagles and Chiefs have in common with every other NFL team is that they started this season with the same exact record. Elite teams like the Chiefs and the Eagles only got to the Super Bowl because they were willing to start from scratch and prove again just how good they are. It's an amazing commitment to success, which demonstrates why teams that repeatedly win, such as the Patriots, are so amazing. You don't win based just on talent, but because the organizations foster an environment where everyone is committed to the goal of doing their best toward achieving a common goal. That's a commitment that starts at the top. Similarly, every CEO in every business should ask themselves if their workplaces are someplace that most employees want to do their best work in or if their employees are simply marking time.

6. Money matters. Kansas City starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes has a 10-year, $450 million contract. In contrast, Philadelphia Eagle's starting quarterback Jalen Hurts is struggling along with a mere $6 million-plus over four years. Both teams made shrewd investments by appropriately balancing the cost of a quarterback against the potential benefits he could bring to the entire team. This is exactly what your credit union does when it decides whether it should invest in a new technology or vendor product, or use that money to strengthen other parts of the organization. Some people just make lucky guesses, but the organizations that win consistently, like Kansas City and now the Eagles, are either incredibly lucky or have consistent, high quality due diligence processes in place.

Henry Meier, Esq.

Henry Meier is the former General Counsel of the New York Credit Union Association, where he authored the popular New York State of Mind blog. He now provides legal advice to credit unions on a broad range of legal, regulatory and legislative issues. He can be reached at (518) 223-5126 or via email at [email protected].