I read a new book

Over the weekend I finished reading yet another book.  The “Slight Edge” by Jeff Olson. This book intrigued me. 

Jeff indicated that only 5% of people actually implement change in their lives and walk the high road of success - that road less traveled.  Best of all, it’s not a major change we must implement it’s minor.

As I have often been told “minor changes have major impact” over a life time. That’s not new, however the stories he tells to reinforce the idea are incredible.

He used space flight, driving a car, a frog who survived in a bucket of cream and a son who started with a penny to express the impact of small change.  Small change over a long period of time changes a life.

When I finished the book I was drawn to think about the staff at Stapley Center at Great American Title.  We are not the same team we were in 2007, in fact, we change and grow every day.  I am really proud of this group.

We are stronger, have greater speed, accomplish higher goals, and help more people than we did six and a half years ago. And we continue to plan for change. Then as we change, we change our plan. We know we will die without change.

Humor me just a minute with a little history.  The Stapley office was born August of 2007.  When I walked into the office there was only an idea---“use things, love people!”.  That was it, one pen, one note pad, a computer, great administrative support and a single thought. 

Today our office has evolved to 7 escrow officers, three technical support personal, and two great marketing/strategic planning individuals. Our current vision: “Continually Build on Excellence”. 

We have likened ourselves to a basketball team.

Yes, there are a limited number of players on a basketball team and every player is critical to the team success.  The guards (our Marketing/Strategic Planning Team), the forwards (the Technical Support Members), our Center (that special EO) and the coach (our administration) banded together is what leads to our success:  We play by the same “Rules of the Game”.  Those are legal, moral, ethical, not life threatening.  Without the full drive and skill of each person we are in trouble.

We have learned to measure our success in a playbook, with our systemic methods of meeting timelines and the expectation levels of all the parties in each and every escrow/sale  transaction or marketing need.  We keep score, we want to know if we need to make a change, we are open to new ideas to deal with our evolving market.  We also hold one another accountable. We play “Zone” Ball.  This is a vital part of our office DNA.  Clarity is not realized without consistency.  We believe “Team Players” will exceed expectations by being responsible and accountable to the “Team” for success when given freedom to “Win”. “Team Players” talk to the “Coach” before taking actions that might draw a “Penalty” and cause serious setbacks to the team.

Our team loves the game.  We discuss it daily, share it together, and live the process personally.

I’ll tell you, if you have not developed a plan for yourself, read the book, “The Slight Edge”.  My biggest take away is change, but make a small change for a major impact.

Here’s the website:  http://slightedge.org