I know that you want your company to be the next Apple or Microsoft. So, here’s my suggestion: Stop thinking about it and do it. There are lots of ways that you as a mortgage executive today can blaze a new trail and become a very successful individual.
How do you get there? There are some tried and true strategies. I recently read an article entitled “Keys To Successful People in Life and Business,” in which the author asks: What makes an individual extremely successful?
The journey to personal and professional success starts with vision, passion and embracing change, according to the article. Successful people understand their purpose, demonstrate self awareness and discipline and create positive environments around them.
Being a leader starts with defining success, building a synergistic team, listening, learning and seeing the possible. Trust yourself, take risks, and always remember to take time to do what you love. The attributes below are thoughts on what you need to be successful inspired by the Harvard Business Review and Stephen Covey.
Successful individuals are:
>> Self-disciplined
>> Confident
>> Competitive
>> Empathetic
>> Creative
>> Passionate
>> Good humored
>> Enthusiastic
>> Proactive
>> Risk-taking
>> Persistent
>> Accountable
>> Courageous
>> Responsible
So, you’re thinking right about now that this is all fine and good, but how does it apply to your success, right? Well, in addition to having these attributes, the following are ways you can achieve success.
Be Passionate – Successful people love what they do. More than your skill, more than experience, success comes down to being passionate about what you do and how you do it. Successful people understand their purpose, practice solid values, demonstrate self discipline, and create positive environments around them.
There’s a lot of passion in our space. Look at the Greg Smith’s of the world that took a simple concept like an electronic loan folder, turned it into BlitzDocs and sold that company to Xerox. Or look at Stephen Gott of AppIntelligence Inc. He created a tool to combat mortgage fraud. His tool become so widely used that he was able to sell the company. The new owner re-branded the company, calling it Interthinx. Interthinx is certainly the leader in fraud detection technology today. We need more people like that in our space.
Build a Team – Any successful company/individual is backed by a collaborative, intelligent and driven team. Leaders recognize and reward talent and creativity, build relationships, and empower team members by trusting and letting go. Here are some tips on how to build successful team:
First, as a leader your success is measured by the results you manifest in others. Hire people smarter than you are, and get talented individuals to focus on the mission.
Second, set up performance targets/goals for team members, set up well-defined steps and timelines to achieve set goals, give freedom to be creative, and provide constant mentoring and feedback.
Third, create a positive, winning and motivating environment around you. Have the ability to build relationships. Care about people. Always, maintain a good sense of humor.
Define Success – Success is a journey not an event. It takes absolute commitment, dedication, clarity of mission and goals to be successful. You have to be a “can do” person.
If we go back to my earlier examples of Greg Smith and Jay Meadows, neither made it big overnight. They worked hard for years to build their vision into a product and a marketable company. This is not like hitting the lottery. Success is not instant. Success takes place over a period of time in which you are working really hard nonstop to make it happen.
What else do you need to do in order to be successful? Stay tuned next month, and I’ll share some more tips with you.