FINISHERS

Over the years I have been asked, “Carolyn, what do you look for in someone to add to your team?

Opening, processing and closing escrow files is simply a task.  Tasks can and should be taught.  Tasks are not the central mission of our team. We look for the desire to serve others and finish the job - these are our critical aspects.

There are lots of new ideas and concepts.  Idea people are easy to find; however, what ultimately matters is can it go from concept to completion.   

Reality in the escrow industry “Nobody gets paid until the file is funded and recorded.”  Finishers are who I look for.

Years ago I added one, an anchor, to the Stapley Center Organization.  Her name - Jane Campbell.  

Jane started as a contract employee (low pay, no benefits) in May 2004, the Friday before Memorial Day.  I simply told her,  “Answer the phones and DO NOT disturb me.”  (I have grown softer in my old age).

Any questions about funding went to the closer and for all calls she was simply to take messages! NO EXCEPTIONS.

At the end of the day I asked Jane, “So do you want to come back?”  She said yes, and needless to say she’s been with me ever since.

Jane explains:

“One of my fondest memories of escrow is when Carolyn finally “talked” me into taking signings for buyers and sellers. For the longest time she couldn’t get me to take a signing, I managed to come up with one reason or another.  Finally she asked her husband, Ken how to get me to take a signing. Ken told her she had to tell me to “jump in the pool”.  Having been in the Navy, Ken knew that in order to graduate boot camp you had to pass a swim test that had several requirements. When Carolyn came into work and told me to ‘jump in the pool” I knew that I had to take signings. I had the knowledge just not the confidence. Needless to say, I have jumped in the pool more times than I like to think about but learning new things is always good.  Every day I learn something new.

All of my previous jobs I dealt with customer service in some form or another, even working in the weather office when I was in the Navy.  Escrow is not any different. Customers are customers wherever you go.  How you choose to deal with them is what makes you who you are.”

Jane is one of those folks who is intrinsically wired to make things happen and bulldog their way to the finish line. She finds joy in checking things off the list.

I would encourage you to take a moment and think about your team.  Do you have a Jane? We all need a person with her giftedness. If you do not have one, go find one.

PATTERNS

Have you ever given any thought to a  pattern?  

With good a pattern homes are built, lives constructed, industries established, countries formed, cars run and software programs are successful.

Good patterns work. On the other hand, an incomplete pattern may mean a dress may not come together, cakes tend to fall, and pool pumps simply don't work.

We live with patterns although they are often referred to as “my routine”.  

There is the morning routine. Wake up, brush teeth, get dressed, and go to work. There is the lunch routine. Stop by the nearest fast food joint, grab lunch and off again. And there is the night routine. Get home, turn on the television to catch the latest terrorists attack, dig into the refrigerator to see what leftovers there are, check Facebook and fall into bed.

Probably not the advantageous pattern to live by, however for many it is simply a mode of life..

I am not the very best in the world, however several years ago I realized that life is what I make of it, so I set out to reshape my patterns.

Mornings are my private time. I intentionally exercise and meditate. Lunches are a more healthy time; most days I pack my lunch from home. And evenings are family time: Ken and I unpack our day and many evenings sit on the patio, no TV.

The book “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek (TedTalk here) helped me to put into perspective my why, my how and finally my what. The book is rich in content and is a very good reminder if we do not purposefully work on our why, our what and the how get in the way.

So why start with why?

For me the answer was not difficult. I love helping people.

I enjoy seeing and being with people when they reach life goals. I love assisting a family in the purchase of their new home; a contractor in a remodel; a business owner in securing an SBA loan. I also love to see children graduate from school after overcoming odds, or babies who are taking a first step or learning to swim in my backyard pool. It jazzes me to see someone be able to solve an escrow problem after we have learned the process together.

What I do does not matter. I simply love helping people and that is my why.

So I would encourage you to look at the patterns you are currently using - are you happy with them? Are you fulfilling your ultimate why in life?  If not change them, figure it out, you can do it. Always start with your why and then work on your what, and your how, not the other way around.