Breaking Digital Gridlock, + Website

CHAPTER 13The Long View

It came from the 4th floor, and it only wanted to help.

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, or the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.

–Charles Darwin

Many organizations find it daunting to keep up with digital changes. This chapter aims to provide some perspective on the incremental changes your organization can make to prepare for threats and take advantage of upcoming trends. Before doing this, it's important to understand the threats and opportunities that exist.

The Problem: Banking and Financial Competitors

For many years, banks and credit unions have considered the behemoth banks to be their biggest competitors. Names like JPMorgan Chase and USAA come to mind right away. Both of those players, JPMorgan Chase in particular, are very large organizations that have a lot of money and resources to invest in digital technology. USAA is well known for delivering all services via technology, and they rank #34 in banks. USAA has 28,000+ employees and JPMorgan Chase 258,965 employees globally at the end of 2012. When people hear those familiar names, they think about their products and, especially, the breadth of services they offer. Most importantly, we think about the amount of resources they have to throw at various projects.

There's no doubt about it; big banks are tough competition, but ...