Stay Focused

Norcom-2017-ad-HW

Always stay focused on what your goals with a prospective borrower

focused2What’s your focus when you’re on the phone with a prospective borrower? What’s your goal when you meet in the home? How about before & after HECM counseling?.

About John Luddy: John has trained reverse mortgage professionals how to be successful when sitting face-to-face at the kitchen table with prospective HECM borrowers. Norcom is looking for qualified loan officer candidates. To learn more call 1-860-507-2582 or email John Luddy here

Fill out my online form.

Mental Shifts to Get Out of a Rut


Open-Mtg-2018-Find-Place

Practical changes to get out of a rut

Practical tips to mix things up for greater efficiency.

  • Changing call-back times
  • Moving out of under-performing target markets
  • Why you should avoid checking your email first thing in the morning
  • Creative commutes to work and their benefits

Screen Shot 2017-05-18 at 10.04.02 AM

Smart Tips for Workplace Communication


Open-Mtg-2018-Knock

reverse mortgage news7 Tips & Tools to Maximize Effective Workplace Communication

  • Clear email expectations and standards
  • Instant messaging (IM) versus email overload
  • Standing meetings
  • When to make a phone call instead of sending an email
  • Creating a company Wiki
  • Off-site lunch meetings

Find Your Voice & Crush It!


Open-Mtg-2018-Find-Place

reverse mortgage newsThe Authentic You is the Best Person to Succeed

Are you holding back? Living in fear of other’s opinions? To unleash our potential to succeed as reverse mortgage professionals and inviduals we must find our own voice. What is your true authentic ‘best self’? Is your business built around the authentic nature of who your are?

 

The FOMO Trap!


Open-Mtg-2018-Knock

Practical steps to stop FOMO madness

reverse mortgage newsDo you have a case of FOMO? If you’re the parent of a teenager there’s a good chance they have FOMO. The Fear of Missing Out (or FOMO) is rampant in our society. How do we avoid the FOMO trap or help others escape its clutches? Welcome to Friday’s Food for Thought. This episode is brought to you by Open Mortgage, where better is possible. Please click on our sponsors ad below this video.

Fear is a powerful emotion, perhaps the strongest. The fear of missing out can lead to disconnection, poor choices, stress, and even heath problems. FOMO tears us between the extremes of optimism and pessimism leaving us in the purgatory of stress.

Is FOMO influencing your decisions when to buy or sell a stock? How about the habitual need to check your Facebook notifications? Did they like my post? Who replied to my comment? Have I received an email in the last five minutes? Oh my gosh! I had better check.  If you’ve sat in a restaurant and seen a table of teenagers all on their phones, then you’ve seen FOMO.  How can you gain back some control and not be controlled by FOMO? Here are some thoughts to consider.

1. Take back control. If your phone is beginning to feel like a shock collar its time to take action. Silence…

Download the video transcript here.

When Teamwork Doesn’t Work


Open-Mtg-2018-Join-Us

Who’s on 1st? Avoiding email confusion when assigning tasks

reverse mortgage newsWho’s on first? That was the famous punchline of the comedy duo Abbot & Costello which played on the frustrations and confusion of vague communication. When it comes to teamwork we can often find ourselves confused as to ‘who’s on first’.

You’ve all received this in your inbox, an email which ‘cc’s‘ several people in your organization asking for a particular task to be completed. It could be from a customer, your boss or a coworker. It probably reads something like this…‘hey, I need this done by Friday. Let me know when it’s done. Thanks, everyone’. Everyone? Who is everyone, and who will be ultimately responsible for making sure this assignment is completed?

The temptation in group communication is to absolve yourself of responsibility being convinced that someone else will do it…but will they? Much like a fly ball landing between the center and left field, shared responsibility can lead to shared failure. How can you avoid such confusion in the workplace?

1. Set a new standard. Reach an agreement that any email requesting that a task is completed include (1) a description of the job, (2) the specific person responsible for completing the task, and (3) a clear…

Download the video transcript here.

Pulling Weeds


Open-Mtg-2018-Find-Place

Problem solving is like pulling weeds

pulling-weedsHey! We’ve all have something in common…problems. It should come as no surprise yet what some struggle with is the ability to face our problems leaving them unsolved.

Last weekend as I was pulling weeds out of the rock bed in our front yard a thought hit me. Could this have been prevented? Absolutely it could have been. While I actually enjoy the occasional 6-hour workout doing yard work, I didn’t enjoy pulling out my weeds, my problems. I could have prevented this back-breaking task by simply applying a weed repellent every three months; something I had failed to put on my calendar.

Unresolved problems are more than a distraction, they can negatively impact our health, mental focus, and personal relationships. So here are a few things to keep in mind as we face our own flavor of problems.

1. Be brave. Being honest with yourself requires courage. Have the courage to ask, ‘could this have been avoided in the first place’?

Download the video transcript here.

A Four Day Work Week?


Open-Mtg-2018-Knock

Steps for a 4-Day Work Week or 1 Day of Sanity!

reverse mortgage newsWould you like a four day workweek? While this may not be possible for many wouldn’t it be nice to have Friday’s as your day to catch up, strategize, and plan for the following week?

Planning has its benefits, yet the demands of our daily work life often usurp our best laid plans. Perhaps if we better structure not the work that we do, but how we do it we could free up one day in the interest of our continued sanity and productivity.

1. Start with the important stuff…first!

Begin your workday with the most important tasks. Truth be told we are creatures that run on cycles of energy and focus, what some refer to as ultradian rhythms. These are the 90-120 minutes brain cycles when our minds are most energized and efficient. If you’re ‘not in the mood’, it may be because you’re out of rhythm.

2. Break it up…into pieces

Do you have a big gnarly project or task? Reduce the fear factor by breaking it into pieces. You can assign these smaller tasks as time blocks to your calendar naming each event for…

Download the video transcript here.