by OTMS Staff | Apr 8, 2026 | Training
Most credit union employees hate cross-selling. It feels sleazy. Pushy. Like you’re that person at the mall kiosk trying to sell hand lotion to everyone who walks by. So, staff avoid it, members don’t get the products they need and your credit union misses...
by OTMS Staff | Apr 6, 2026 | Branding, Strategy, Training
The writer Ann Handley recently published an article about the virtues of slowing down. That’s right. Not moving faster. Not chasing progress. Slowing down. Considering your decisions because those decisions have a lot of weight (especially if you’re a smaller...
by OTMS Staff | Mar 23, 2026 | Branding, Training
Several years ago, the Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) loyalty and rewards programs merged. The new program was called Marriott Bonvoy. Sound confusing? It certainly was at the time. I’m a loyal Marriott customer and didn’t understand the change or...
by OTMS Staff | Mar 11, 2026 | Leadership, Training
You’ve probably heard about the K-shaped economy. Some sectors soar while others sink, creating a visual split that looks like the letter “K.” The wealthy get wealthier. The struggling fall further behind. The middle disappears. But there’s...
by OTMS Staff | Feb 18, 2026 | Branding, Training
Ask any executive to name their best employee, and you get an answer fast. It’s the loan officer who closes the most deals. The teller with perfect transaction accuracy. The wealth advisor who manages the largest portfolios. A lot of productivity...
by OTMS Staff | Feb 16, 2026 | Training
Cupid is known for setting up relationships. He engineers love with his magic bow and arrows, pairing up two people struggling to make a relationship work. And sometimes, it feels like your credit union member experience standards just aren’t clicking with your...
by OTMS Staff | Jan 20, 2026 | Leadership, Training
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most important figures of the twentieth century, and the impacts of his civil rights work are still felt today. He lived solid leadership principles that attracted masses of people to follow him and fight for his vision. Your...
by OTMS Staff | Jan 7, 2026 | Leadership, Training
Remember the early 2000s? Times Square on New Year’s Eve meant thousands of eyes glued to that glittering ball as it descended. People huddled together, counting down in unison, living fully in the moment. Fast forward to today. The ball still drops, but now the...
by OTMS Staff | Dec 17, 2025 | Case Study, Strategy, Training
“Anyone who’s looking to take their member experience, journey mapping or strategic planning to the next level should go with On The Mark Strategies. We see the results, and we’ve been very pleased.” – Brandon Oliver, VP of Branch Operations, SAFE FCU Many of...
by OTMS Staff | Dec 15, 2025 | Leadership, Training
“Miracle on 34th Street” is a charming holiday movie centered on themes of hope and belief. The movie follows Kris Kringle, who becomes the Santa at a large department store before eventually claiming he’s the real Santa Claus. This assertion leads to questions about...
by OTMS Staff | Nov 19, 2025 | Case Study, Leadership, Training
On The Mark Strategies conducts leadership training for varied organizations on a monthly basis, helping them develop their rising stars and build their bench for an uncertain future. Of course, there are plenty of leadership trainers out there. Here’s what makes us...
by OTMS Staff | Nov 10, 2025 | Leadership, Training
America’s service members are masters of leadership. They’ve led people in the toughest situations imaginable, forging strong ideas about guiding others and executing strategy in the fires of conflict. But these lessons aren’t only relevant on the battlefield. Their...
by OTMS Staff | Nov 3, 2025 | Branding, Training
What makes a house approachable? Potential visitors to your house don’t always want to reach the front door if things look sketchy. They need a sign first. At night, your porchlight is that sign. And your organization must turn on its proverbial porchlight. You...
by OTMS Staff | Oct 29, 2025 | Case Study, Training
“On The Mark Strategies helps us understand there are different ways – better ways – for credit unions our size to manage and direct our attention. They challenge us in a positive self-reflective way.” -Patty Revis, SPHR, Chief Human Resources Officer, Unity One...
by OTMS Staff | Oct 14, 2025 | Leadership, Training
In horror movies, there’s always an oblivious character in danger from the film’s antagonist. The camera creeps ever closer to the character’s back, music building and you internally scream, “Look behind you!” or “Take the exit!” But they never do, do they? No…they...
by OTMS Staff | Oct 8, 2025 | Training
When it comes to credit union or bank sales and service training, teaching isn’t enough. You need to foster ownership. Interact with any organization and you’ll see the difference immediately. Some staff members go through the motions, delivering...
by OTMS Staff | Oct 6, 2025 | Marketing, Strategy, Training
Zombies. Vampires. Ghouls. Budgets. All are terrifying to think about…and budgets might just be the scariest monster of all. When discussing his upcoming budget process, one credit union CEO said he was already resorting to prayer to defeat the beast. Yikes! Luckily,...
by OTMS Staff | Sep 29, 2025 | Branding, Marketing, Strategy, Training
No organization is a one-trick pony. Sure, everyone has their specialties. But the best organizations still do all core functions competently or even exceptionally. What are those core functions? There are four vital disciplines, or Success Markers, you need to create...
by OTMS Staff | Sep 24, 2025 | Leadership, Training
The best small business, bank and credit union leadership training doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of intentional design, strategic thinking and a commitment to excellence that goes beyond checking boxes. Whether you’re leading a...
by OTMS Staff | Sep 22, 2025 | Learning & Development, Training
Inertia. Let’s be honest…that’s what keeps some folks with your organization. It’s easier to stay where they are and do nothing than it is to change everything and move somewhere else. But savvy competitors are threatening to steal away even these complacent...
by OTMS Staff | Sep 10, 2025 | Branding, Training
Most organizations treat branding and service as separate disciplines. Marketing handles the creative elements while operations focuses on consumer experience…but your name and logo aren’t just marketing assets. They’re also service tools that either...
by OTMS Staff | Sep 2, 2025 | Leadership, Training
The labor market is a tumultuous thing, and it’s undergone many ups and downs since the pandemic changed how everyone works. Employers have already seen the Great Resignation, quiet quitting and generational tension as Gen Z matures in the workplace. But where does...
by OTMS Staff | Aug 25, 2025 | Training
What comes to mind when you think of credit union or bank consumer experience training? A smile? Short wait times? People who understand the systems they’re using? Those things are necessary elements of service, it’s true. They are the baseline – the first level of...
by OTMS Staff | Aug 20, 2025 | Branding, Training
As Marcus Lemonis says: “Business is simple. It’s people, process and product. If you get those three things right, you win.” That wisdom from the successful investor and star of “The Fixer” cuts straight to the heart of what makes...
by OTMS Staff | Aug 13, 2025 | Branding, Training
Journey maps aren’t just pretty diagrams (or scrabbled words on a napkin from lunch). They’re strategic tools that define how people experience your organization from first contact to lifelong loyalty. When they’re working correctly, they create...
by OTMS Staff | Aug 12, 2025 | Leadership, Training
Are your leaders really leaders? Sure, leadership involves some technical skills and relevant know-how. But more importantly, it involves people. That’s really the purview of leaders – motivating and mentoring people. In The Mentor Leader, Tony Dungy outlines a...
by OTMS Staff | Jul 30, 2025 | Leadership, Strategy, Training
Winston Churchill once said, “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” That wisdom perfectly captures what separates great bank and credit union leadership from the merely average. Picture...
by OTMS Staff | Jul 28, 2025 | Training
This article isn’t about Star Trek. No, no…this article is about a frontier that many consumers have visited before. Honestly, it’s more a busy New York City intersection than a wild frontier given how common it is. What is it? Bad service. Crummy experiences plague...
by OTMS Staff | Jul 9, 2025 | Training
As Maya Angelou once said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” That philosophy perfectly captures what’s happening with credit union member experience training today. Too many places offer generic,...
by OTMS Staff | Jun 23, 2025 | Training
For those of you who watch cooking shows, you may already know about MasterChef. The show features judges Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Tiffany Derry as they discover America’s greatest amateur cooks. But it’s a bumpy process… In a recent episode, Joe tasted one...
by OTMS Staff | Jun 18, 2025 | Leadership, Training
The team meeting starts…and before the first agenda item is covered, someone rolls their eyes. Another person interrupts with a dismissive comment. The energy shifts, shoulders tense and suddenly everyone’s walking on eggshells. What should have been a...
by OTMS Staff | Jun 6, 2025 | Leadership, Training
Your culture, like your branding, has hard to understand ROI. It’s kind of like trying to assign ROI to your mother. It’s challenging to quantify how important she is, but you know for a fact she is important (and you wouldn’t dare argue otherwise). And your bank or...
by OTMS Staff | May 23, 2025 | Leadership, Training
The future already has a bank and credit union leadership training crisis. According to a report from Robert Walters, 52% of Gen Z doesn’t want middle management roles and 69% of young folks say these roles are too stressful. They prefer an individual path to success...
by OTMS Staff | May 22, 2025 | Training
What’s your credit union member experience differentiator? Many financial organization professionals answer that question with: “Service! People! Community!” And as they talk, a gigantic American flag unfurls behind them and patriotic music fills the air. But in all...
by OTMS Staff | May 5, 2025 | Leadership, Training
Bank or credit union leadership training and the service experience are strongly linked. Your leaders broadcast an organizational reputation and perceived value far beyond the walls of your main office. Don’t believe it? Just look at these data points: 82% of people...
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