Growth from Setback

I developed a slogan several years ago for our mortgage company, and it goes like this; Closing Loans?On?Time, Under Budget, with No Surprises. I like it so much because that's precisely what a client who works with us should be able to expect. If not, then why would they choose us??

We recently had a challenging loan situation here at Zenith Home Loans, and the result was a delayed closing on a purchase transaction. As President of Zenith, it's difficult to write those words because of our pride in never closing late.?But,?unfortunately, we fell short this time, and ultimately the responsibility for that lies with me.?Let me say that again. The responsibility for?this outcome is mine, and mine alone.?I need to get better.?

Back in 2006, we developed several performance guarantees around the transactions that we provide our clients with greater confidence when choosing to work with us. Those guarantees include that we will meet?all of?the contract deadlines, that the closing costs won't be any higher than our quote at the time of the lock, and that the loan will close on time. If we cannot deliver on those promises, there are financial penalties that we will pay to our client and, in the case of the closing date, to the seller.?

The transaction I mentioned has resulted in us having to write checks. And while I'm not happy I'm writing the checks, I realize that if we never have to pay out on a guarantee, perhaps those guarantees are bogus. In other words, we've rigged the system so that we never have to pay. And at some point, clients would see through that, and so would our staff.?

I'm sharing this story because I want to share what I've learned over the years the few times we have had to write a check. Suppose you are willing to penalize yourself for not delivering on the promises that you made to your clients. In that case, you get serious quickly on discovering where the breakdowns occurred and how to prevent them from happening in the future. And that is what has happened in this situation as well.?

By financially penalizing ourselves, we are forced to examine our processes, our systems, our training, and our response to challenges that can arise in closing a loan. And we get better.?

Our?"core"?core value here at Zenith is called Performing with Excellence. Here is what it says in our core value book about when a mistake is made.?

"It's important to acknowledge the difference between excellence and perfection. Perfection is impossible in any business. Excellence means that even if we fall short, we never make excuses, we own the outcome, and we get right to work building a better system of execution to ensure we don't fall short again. For the families we serve, we must always write the last chapter and the client's experience with our company. It's our reputation in the marketplace that will always set us apart."?

My first few years in this business at the other companies I worked at closing late wasn't that big of a deal. Even today, it can be?pretty common. But it's not common here at all. It's been several years since the last late closing that we had. And by taking the approach that we do, we'll continue to get better, that I can promise you.?

Quote of the week:?

“The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.”?

John C.?Maxwell?

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