“One of my all-time favorite business books is Great by Choice by Jim Collins. It’s the sequel to Good to Great.

“One thing that resonated with me was the analogy in the book that talked about shooting bullets before cannons. Back in the pirate days, if a couple of ships were going to do battle, they would shoot their bullets first to hear the ping on the side of the ship.

“Once they hit their target, then they would shoot the cannon. The theory was that they had more bullets than cannons, and the cannon would take out the enemy.

“The business analogy is that we need to try new things. Instead of investing a ton of money in something, let’s try it first—shoot that bullet. If we miss, we move on and shoot another bullet.

“If it works, go ahead and shoot it like a cannon.”

SHARI WEBER, CFO, Honor Credit Union, Berrien Springs, Mich., and a member of the CUNA Finance Council Executive Committee.