When you start from zero on something, whether it's an exercise regimen or a new career, it's essential to celebrate the small milestones. Measuring yourself against someone who is working toward the same goal but began their journey with a special advantage is pointless and discouraging – yet in our culture of constant comparison, it's difficult not to do (thanks, social media).

The importance of judging the journey of an individual or group against its own progress up until that point – not against the progress of others – is relevant to the credit union industry's business services journey. I had the opportunity to attend CU Business Group's annual conference for the third year in a row this month, and a common theme I heard while interviewing the business services CUSO's executives was that if you were to compare credit unions' involvement in the business services space to that of banks, CUs may appear to be falling behind. But because they joined the game a little later and began playing at a beginner's level, their accomplishments should be viewed as a major success.