The Difference Between Success And Failure

The Difference Between Success And Failure

As we look at recent news and I talk to clients that are doing well while others aren’t, I wonder what’s the secret element needed to succeed. I think you have to foster a competitive environment to deal with market changes in order to succeed. Never has that been more important than in today’s market. Why? You have shifting market demands, market share swings, new regulation, which ushers in a market with a lot of challenges, which is why it’s critical to have an environment that’s always looking for that competitive edge.

So, you may ask yourself, for example, why is one LOS doing better compared to others? You can make the argument that they have better functionality or support, but I think it boils down to the fact that the successful LOS is handling the challenges that they face better as compared to their counterparts. The same can be said on the servicing side with issues around robo signing, for example, it’s the company’s response that will determine if they can grab more market share or it they falter.

Some of the things that impeded companies from dealing with issues are excuses. They say, “It’s a tough market”; “Originations are down”; “Servicers are overworked”. The excuses can go on and on. Those companies that succeed don’t let those excuses provide a crutch that limits them from producing results.

As part of those excuses, those failing companies look for blame and justifications. They’ll say the other company is bigger or maybe the other company had a relationship that they didn’t. Instead of analyzing the situation to get the proper perspective, they just create excuses.

What do companies that thrive do? They have a proper understanding of market conditions. More importantly, they have a process to listen to the client. They also have a plan so that situations are handled better next time if something goes wrong. They’re also proactive. They will map out a go-forward strategy.

When you look at the way different companies respond to a crisis, there’s a lot of major differences in a company’s response. That response separates winners from losers.

For example, a Michigan high school basketball player scored the winning basket and died of a heart attack during the celebration. Why do I bring that up? It’s tragic and unexpected. It’s horrible. Nonetheless, that team had another game and that team had every reason to give up instead of playing that game to the fullest. But in the face of all this adversity, which we can all agree is more important than any new rule coming into the mortgage space, that team went out there and won the game in honor of their fallen friend.

Why did they win? They had a culture that dealt with adversity and they produced results even in the worse situation. If you want to gain a true competitive edge, you need to have that same culture that looks for solutions instead of relying on a culture that looks for excuses.

Michael
mhammond@nexleveladvisors.com