Deedee Myers, CEO at DDJ Myers, joined us in the Studio Lounge to for another engaging discussion on the shift in essential executive competencies, emphasizing the growing importance of leadership and decision-making.

Deedee explored the challenge of finding individuals with "grit" and the strategic imperative for organizations to foster futuristic thinking and intentionality in their operations.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch more of our interviews from the 2026 GoWest MAXX Experience on our archive page -- as well as checking out our event sponsors: Acumen Financial Advantage, i2C inc., Cook Solutions Group, Backbone, orsa ventures, and the Despite Impossible podcast.

Crissi Cole, VP of Sales and Growth at Array, former founder of Penny Finance, stopped by the show to discuss why credit unions don’t have a Gen Z problem, they have a primacy opportunity -- and nearly half the next generation is up for grabs.

In particular, Crissi explained that while nearly half of Gen Z and Millennials are open to switching financial institutions, the key challenge is becoming their primary financial institution rather than just winning their first account.

She outlined three critical elements for success: digital ease and personalization, building trust through helpful partnerships, and anticipating customer needs.

Crissi discussed Array's recently launched My Money Plan tool, which provides personalized financial planning that evolves with members' real-time transaction data and uses nudges to keep customers engaged.

Lastly, she emphasized that winning primacy requires consistent, valuable interactions throughout customers' entire financial journey rather than just at the initial point of contact.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode below for all the details.

BankSocial COO Becky Reed has released her latest book (Oct. 5, 2026): "FinCo 2025: The Ownership Revolution," which explores how credit unions can evolve over the next 25 years by embracing technology while maintaining human-centered relationships.

Specifically, Becky explained that rather than automating humans out of financial services, AI should complement human expertise by handling mundane tasks so staff can focus on building deeper member relationships.

She described a vision where branches become community centers or "commons" where people gather for various purposes beyond just financial transactions, with technology working in the background to facilitate connections and coordination.

Becky shared examples from her book, including a story about an entrepreneur named Jasmine who needed to purchase a greenhouse, where the financial cooperative helped connect her with savers, volunteers, and experts in the community. T

"FinCo 2050" aims to inspire a "second founding" of the credit union movement, returning to grassroots cooperative principles while leveraging modern technology.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode below for all the details.

Troy Stang, President/CEO at GoWest Credit Union Association, joined us in the Studio Lounge to share highlights from his opening keynote, highlights from MAXX, the power of credit unions being human centric, and much more.

In particular, Troy talked about the need for credit unions to embrace change without losing sight of who they are -- and what that looks like in practice.

He also discussed whether traditional financial institutions can keep up with the pace of change in financial technology. What he thinks credit unions bring to that conversation that others don’t.

Looking toward the next chapter for GoWest and the movement, Troy shared what he thinks credit unions need to be willing to do differently to build what’s ahead.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch more of our interviews from the 2026 GoWest MAXX Experience on our archive page -- as well as checking out our event sponsors: Acumen Financial Advantage, i2C inc., Cook Solutions Group, Backbone, orsa ventures, and the Despite Impossible podcast.

Miranda V. Flury MBA, ICD.D, CoopDirector.D,President​ at Hawkeye Strategies, stopped by the Studio Lounge to share highlights from her panel session on the mainstage on "Getting Out of the Weeds: How to Ask Powerful Strategic Questions."

Specifically, Miranda talked about how strategic questions act as a catalyst for change and growth, help build bridges to other points of view, and how strategic questions can drive success, continuous improvement, and the discovery of new possibilities for credit unions.

She also discussed enhancing board directors and executives’ ability to ask strategic questions will help the a credit union create and protect value for its members, employees, communities, and the credit union system.

Some of the key takeaways include:

• Learn the importance of strategic questions in decision-making
• Understand the difference between strategic questions versus operational questions
• Explore how to formulate strategic questions

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch more of our interviews from the 2026 GoWest MAXX Experience on our archive page -- as well as checking out our event sponsors: Acumen Financial Advantage, i2C inc., Cook Solutions Group, Backbone, orsa ventures, and the Despite Impossible podcast.