CU*Answers welcomed executives from 10 different credit unions recently to kick off the “Building Solutions in a Co-Op Boot Camp,” a year-long collaborative experience between credit unions and the CUSO. Boot camps are intensive interactions between CU*Answers design, development, and technical leaders, covering a subject matter at a deeper level than is typical for most education and focus group sessions. This boot camp is intended to give credit union executives—which include COOs, VPs, Lending and Member Service managers, even a couple of CEOs—some hands-on experience in owning and crafting solutions. Participants will spend time working with CUSO insiders to gain a perspective on how we design and build products and solutions, and the processes that govern our approach.

According to Randy Karnes, CU*Answers CEO, “We don’t just want credit unions to have a voice in what solutions we offer, we want them to be intimately involved in how we design, build, and support them. We want them to act like an owner, to feel like an owner, to help us deliver something they want to consume.”

Participants agree to participate in quarterly 2-day sessions in Grand Rapids throughout 2016, eight full days in all, and complete homework assignments between each in-person event. Along with having all lodging and meals paid for by CU*Answers, any executive that remains in the program through the end will receive a new iPad from the CUSO.

Said Karnes, “The boot camp series is designed to find and foster relationships with CU professionals who are willing to take the time to lead our CUSO as owners, no matter what position they fill at the CU. Ownership is a state of mind.”