Tag Archive for: advice

Janitor Changes Entire Company; Listening To People In The Trenches

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ARROGANT WASHINGTON MUTUAL EXECUTIVE SHUTS ME DOWN Prior to the 2008 meltdown, I sent more loans to Washington Mutual (WaMu) than any other broker. As a result, I had the “privilege” of meeting one of WaMu’s senior executives. Our brief conversation drifted to the types of loans that WaMu offered, and I mentioned that I […]Read More

Lessons for My 22 Year Old Self

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I have endured some stunningly dull college commencement speeches, most recently at Columbia University for Heejin’s niece. At most of the ceremonies, administrators give the speeches, exhorting the kids to go forth and administrate :). OK – it is not quite that bad, but I often think about what I would say to make the […]Read More

Beware of Coaches… Could They Do It Now?

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Several years ago, Heejin and I were in Las Vegas at a huge mortgage event listening to the usual array of celebrity speakers and industry experts. Several of the most prominent speakers were coaches who were selling their systems or services for large dollar amounts. All of them of course would mention their own track […]Read More

Sh*t Our Consultants and Advisors Say

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As we built JVM’s very unique model, we were advised by a large number of consultants and industry executives. None of them fully understood our model, and their advice (while well-meaning) was often comically counterproductive. This is b/c most were rooted in old ways of doing business and could not shake their pre-conceived notions. Our […]Read More

“If You Ain’t Doing It Now, You Might As Well Never Done It”

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Years ago in a gym, I overheard a bunch of young guys just out of high school brag about how much weight they could lift back in the day. The trainer at the gym was a former NFL player; he grew tired of the braggadocio and demanded that the kids put up the weights now. […]Read More

Coaching, Consulting, Outside Advice: Be Afraid, Very Afraid

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I am repeating some valuable “Comments” that were missed by many b/c they went out during the Dec. holidays. Back in the 1990s my brother’s software company invested millions in “Six Sigma” consulting that did nothing for the company b/c the company’s software sucked. All the employees knew what was wrong, but management refused to […]Read More