I just had a discussion with my step-father and about the finanical crisis, the election and where the hell is all of this money going from the bail-out. Why are we here...I think in part because America has lost her sense of identity. Let's look at the 3 main types of Governement practiced in the world.
1. Capitalisim
2. Socialism
3. Communisim
Which category do we fall into?
Well, as long as YouTube is alive and well we are definitely not practicing Communism.
Socialism, that's tougher to answer because we have aspects of our governement that are "Soicalized". Here's a short list
US Postal Service
Police and Fire services
Social Security
Education
Veteran Administration
And now, Corporations are becoming Socialized because, if you are recieving tax dollars, you are now reliant on the Government.
I am happy that Barack Obama won the presidency however, I strongly disagree with any politican that voted for the bailout of the banking industry. Including him. Capitialism isn't Capitialism anymore, if you get money to stay in business from the tax payers and not your profits. If America is moving towards becoming a socialized country, then why are only SOME getting the benefits and not other? The banks are getting bailed out but, the people who used to work at those companies AREN'T!
I feel in away this violates our own constitution. Remember from High School; "Taxation without Representation".
I never saw that topic on the ballot at the election...Did YOU!I got to vote for the Clean Air and Water Act of Minnesota but, I didn't get a vote on the most expensive decision ever made.
Either everyone gets it or no one should...this isn't a popularity contest..this contest is called "Survivor"!
Tiffany Norton
P.S. Looking forward to your comments positive and negative...
This is an email response to a friend of mine who forwarded a power point presentation that was done to explain the current economic crisis. The basis of the presentation was that most of our troubles started with Bill Clinton in 1998 and because Barack Obama was a recepient of money from Fannie Mae and Acorn that this is why we are in an mortgage crisis. Thought you would like to see my response...I am sure a few wont either.
"Since I was knee deep in this bulls%*t for the last 10 years (1998 just like the power point said) I thought I would fill you into some of the events that happened before 1998 that lead up to this crap.There is a piece that the power point left out...it was a bi-partisan vote for all of the decisions that I am about to discuss.
1. The reason that Fannie Mae started getting more aggressive was because of a loop-hole in the compliance standards of mortgage brokers. Since mortgage brokers do not service the loans that they write, they are only forced to take a loan back if it fails to preform within the first 12 months the loan is originated. Many of the questionable loans that I am aware of, involved a mortgage broker would make sure the customer had 12 months reserves and set the loan on automatic withdrawl...the first 12 months would always make it on time. The loan is a ticking time bomb, waiting to go off in 13 months or so. If a brokers loans would preform, he would get more business. Not to mention all of the false documentation (pretty easy to make fake tax returns on your laptop these days), fake business cards, fake phone numbers and verification. Unrealistic appraisal values, fradulent title work and closings...there was more than Obama invloved with this.
Now, how could this happen? I mean these people are trained in right? They have ethics classes and continuing education requirements right??? Wrong... MN in response to all of the foreclosures in the past year required all mortgage brokers in the State of MN to take 15 hours of education, so they could continue doing business in our state. Did you notice I said education and not Continuing Education or Required Education? That is because last year, 2007, was the 1st time in our state's history we required these f&*kers to go to training. I have held my Notary License, Life, Accededent and Health Insurance License, Property Casualty Insurance Licsense and my Real Estate Lisence in the State of MN. All together that took me over 300 hours, not to mention the yearly requirements to retain the license. (Hell, my babysitter has to do more required education than these guys...)
Mortgage brokers, on the other hand, 0 untill last year and now the State of MN is not requiring continuing ed for mortgage brokers in MN...too big of a hassle I guess to educate people that can ruin lives.
If you don't believe me here is a quote from the WFW 2006-11 Regulation of Brokers PDF..."An increasing number ofstates are requiring these originators to pass tests in order to become licensed." Not even 1/2 of our states require this yet. And let's not forget who is also a culprit in this crisis? The LAST Savings and Loan crisis...Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were founded during the last S&L situation in the 1970's. That is why we even have these organizations to begin with...
In 1971, Freddie Mac offered its first conventional mortgage security, the Mortgage Participation Certificate (PC). Freddie Mac bought mortgages from lenders, primarily savings and loan associations (S&Ls), and then bundled them together in the form of mortgage-backed securities that were sold to investors. The holders of the PCs--most often institutional investors--received monthly principal and interest payments based on the underlying mortgages. Now almost every American is investing their retirement in whether or not their neighbor is going to pay on time...if those loans go bad they are worth 0.
In the 1960s, the United States violated a rule of economics. In Economics 101 classes, students learn about the guns or butter economy. Basically, if a nation is fighting a war, it has to divert resources that are normally used for domestic consumption into feeding the war machine. A nation cannot practically do both, even the world’s richest...this also needs to enter into the conversation about the economy.
If you ask little old me...I think there is plenty of blame to go around. This seems less like a partisan issue and more like a Male Issue to me...
P.S. Even though McCain was cleared of all the charges in the last S&L crisis (The Keating 5), he was still good enough friends with them that they had his phone number...interesting.
Feel free to pass this email out to anyone you feel like...including the professor that wrote the power point!!!"
I am in the plannng stages of a new business and I had a thought about staffing and payroll. What if everyone that worked there were all paid the same salary, including myself as the leader. The sum $20 per hour came to mind plus bonus. But, I mean everyone...receptionist, janitor, ect. The principle being, that if all people are created equal, then all jobs are created equally, too. You cannot run a business successfully by underpaying the people who are at the front lines. It doesn't matter how nice your lobby is if it smells like something died in it.
Corporate Leaders are like politicians, they are seldom close to the details and rarley see the front lines. I worked for a bank for 8 years, won 3 president's club trips and never met the president...once. Apparentley he does not attend his own trips or parties for that matter.
I bet most corp exec's don't know the first name of the person who runs their reception area. The first person people are going to meet. Their "director of first impressions". You never have to remind a self-employed employed person of the importance of a GREAT 1st Impression! When you are self employed you are often the front line, the back line and occassionally we get to grace the sidelines. When the s*@t hits the fan...there is no one to hide behind.
Not in Coporate America, the farther away from danger you are...the more you make. People know that if they have a problem with their new camera, and they politiely called the president of the company to set an appointment to discuss his products shortcomings and your value as a customer, you would shortly hear a dial tone.
I think it's interesting, that our own military recognizes that the people closest to the front lines should be paid more than the person 10 miles back and out of harms way. Makes sense to me! Next time you are going to spend thousands remodeling the lobby, stop and think.
1. Think of what you would pay to avoid an unpleasant exchange between your receptionist and your best client?
2. Think of what you would pay to not have the janitor quit on the day the toliets in the executive men's room overflow?
3. Then think how much your companies' reputation would benefit from a highly talented, customer service person, who is rediculusly over paid. And in case you didn't know...your receptionist talks to everyone, including your wife.
Remember the "word of mouth ad budget" is as cheap as marketing gets! More importantly, it's marketing that people believe.
Why is there so much pressure to have the perfect thing to say in life? Why do we always think of the appropriate response in the CAR? I don't really have a lot to say at this moment other than.....SAY IT...STOP DELIBERATING...GET IT OFF YOUR CHEST. "let the cards fall where they may" isn't that what we have heard...live it. To quote Don Miguel Ruiz "If someone turns their back on you it's a blessing". How true
I was just reading a post about the real estate agent that was killed in Canada a few days ago while on duty. I have my Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement so, this is an area of extreme interest to me. There is a book that was written about 10 years ago by a man named Gavin DeBecker called "The Gift of Fear". This is an excellent book for women and how we as a society condition women to not listen to their intuition about dangerous situations. The plain truth is that sometimes being nice can get you killed. I am not speaking of course, to the tragic story at the beginning of this post as I do not know all of the circumstances. I know from personal experience.
I was walking on University Ave. in St. Paul one evening a few years ago. I had just parked my car and I was meeting my husband and daughter at a local place called Porky's for hamburgers. There was a big car show that day and parking was hard to find so, I found a spot a few blocks away. The sun had just set and I noticed that many of the street lights were out where I had parked and there were a bunch of people just hanging out in front of the building.As I began walking to my destination, I heard someone a few blocks behind me making a weird noise. I stopped and noticed that there was a man behind me that wasn't there a second ago. When I turned he looked down and away (like he didn't noticed me). Red flag #1
My internal alarm for trouble went up. I picked up the pace and walked faster when I heard the sound of heaving breathing coming up from behind me. Red Flag #2. I panicked...should I stop and turn around or keep heading forward? I challenged my fear stopped and looked at him and realized that he was sprinting up on me and was covering the distance between us quickly (he showed no sign of slowing down).Before I knew what I was doing I remembered "The Gift of Fear", I shouted "What the hell do you think your doing?". He stopped for a minute, stunned. Then I took off running down the street towards the resteraunt like I was back on the track team in High School.
I ran as fast as I could until I got near the crowd. I stopped and looked back at him one last time. He was bent over, winded (and more than a little suprised at how it turned out). I found my husband who was standing there the whole time with my daughter. He could see this man running up the street after a woman but, until I got across the street into the light, he had no idea that it was me being chased.
Bottom line, if someone is freaking you out the worst thing you can do is be polite and assume that your probably "overreacting". If you feel that your life is in danger, please overreact. You can always applogize latter if you feel like it.
My first manager in mortgages told me the Cockroach story as an example of a great sales moment. I think it s more than just a good story, you be the judge.
My manager is taking an application from a married couple. The loan officer is wearing a suit and tie and the client is blue-collar and in his work uniform. The application was not going well. The client didn't like this young kid in a suit making (in his mind) the decision to lend him money. The loan officer tried everything to bond with this guy but, for 45 minutes he just kept his arms folded and stared at my friend.
All the sudden the LO feels something on his neck. He reaches around to the back of his neck and grabs it. When he opens his hand he realizes it's a cockroach. My friend is from MN and not used to the size of the cockroaches in the south. Before he can think about it he jumps up, throws the cockroach across the room hitting the wall, while at the same time shouting the "F" word.
My buddy thought he had totally lost the deal but, a funny thing happened. The customer actually smiled for the first time. After the "cockroach" moment the application went smoothly. The customer told him that he would have done the same thing if there had been a cockroach on him. Everyone relaxed and loosened up after that.
Although you want to maintain professionalism and I am not advocating swearing for people that are not comfortable with it. However, sometimes being too professional is a turn off. I am married to a union mechanic who wears a blue uniform everyday and I know that he would rather have a loan officer that relates to him, than one who appears to be judging him. The bottom line is...if you are real with your clients they will appreciate it more than fancy talk and a nice office.
Smile training is my term for meetings where real issues are not discussed. Sales people and staff are told to "just smile" without soliciting input from the group. In a group dynamic, there is pressure to conform with the group. Conformity is the obstacle of Creativity. To build a world class sales force, you need to listen to them.
Meetings are the MOST important line of communication that your have with your sales and operations staff. Too often, managers are not trained on how to deliver quality meetings that improve the culture in the organization and get things done. Ask yourself these questions...
Are you a sales manager who dreads planning the next sales meeting?
Are you a sales manager who likes planning meetings but, no one attends?
Are your meetings as productive as they could be?
Do you have trouble when members of the group question decisions or ask for explanation?
How do you get your sales people to the next office meeting?
Step 1. Ask them to come. I would photocopy the agenda after each team meeting and write a note to each person who missed the meeting asking them to come to the next one. It may take 8 times but, eventually they will come around or at least call you and tell you why they didn't make it.
Step 2: Let them talk. Even Johnny Carson knew to keep the monologue to less than 5 minutes. Open with an over view of the meeting and what needs to be accomplished. Propose a clear question to the group and let them discuss solutions.
Step 3: Have an agenda and stick to it! A good meeting can take a bad turn, if you have someone in the group that loves to bring up items not on the agenda. The easiest thing to do is have a secretary for the meeting that takes down discussion points for the next meeting. Remind the group of the time constraints and if they have an issue they can request it be added to the agenda of the next meeting. Bring a timer or assign a time keeper.
Step 4: Play a game. I like to start my meetings with an ice-breaker to get everyone comfortable. There is a great book called "Quick team-building activities for busy managers" by Brian Cole Miller. It has 50 exercises that take 15 minutes or less to do. I would always give out the same prize, they are hand-clappers. They are noise makers in the shape of two hands and they are really fun. After a meeting, I would always hear someone in the hall giving them self a round of applause.
Step 5: Make sure every one is respected. The group is looking to you to protect the integrity. The fastest way to lose a group is to "wield the sword" on someone. You are the one in control and you must stay that way, even in the line of fire. You must still show respect to the person who is questioning your decision making ability, as you would want respect in that same situation. It's better to hear it from your people than from your boss.
Brief discussion on options for people that are looking to buy their first homes. Topics include resources, credit and budgeting. There is a tremendous need right now to think long term about sustainable, affordable homeownership. Once people have had a foreclosure, most people never go back to homeownership again. Please excuse the fact that I am slouching...that looks terrible.
If you are a real estate professional and would like to learn more about affordable housing resources in MN come to my class. See previous blog post for times and dates
How would you handle it if you had a direct order from your manager or broker, to do something that you thought was dumb. What do you say? Do you really speak your mind or do you agree and try to get away from them as fast as possible? Since we have the instinct of self preservation you might be tempted to say something like "oh...that is interesting" or something generic like that. Not really agreeing but, not sharing with them why it won't work. Why, we don't want to lose our jobs.
Here are a few of my favorite stupid questions that I have been asked by supervisors in my business career.
1. "Why can't you just have group closings, where you get 10 couples in a room and hop around closing them all at the same time?"
2. "What if we only focused on recruiting new agents...they are the fastest to train?"
3. "You mean we have to send out those disclosures every time we deny someone for a loan?"
4. "What does RESPA have to do with me taking my clients to the football game?"
and my personal favorite....
5. "Why should managers get paid less, just because they do less?"
The point of this blog is, what makes a question stupid is not the question itself. Determining whether or not a question is stupid depends on whether or not the person asking the question, is in a position that they should already know the answer.
My grandfather told me many times as a child," Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut and have people THINK that you are stupid, than to open your mouth and prove them RIGHT." These are 5 prime examples where Grandpa's advice would have come in handy.
People do judge your ability to manage based on the questions that you ask and how you answer them. It is a barometer of your intelligence. So, if you have the next great idea and want to get feedback on it, do a little independent study before you start asking silly questions. Get feedback from the people that will have to live day to day with your decision.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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