My Insights from #NEXTSummer19

I don’t typically travel for work and my schedule has been pretty standard for the past two decades so when I was packing for the NEXT Summer 2019 Conference, I got a lot of mom guilt from the kids and more so, I felt a lot of self-imposed guilt.

We were still in back-to-school mode, my husband was traveling as well, I had tons of open-end projects at work, and just about a gazillion other reasons not to go.

It forced me to take a minute, pause, and reassess my goals and overall purpose.

Why AM I going? 

Is it really a GOOD time to go?

So MANY what if’s and excuses to just pass this opportunity and wait for the next one, right?

After some thought, my assessment of my goals and overall purpose led me to reconnect with my love for learning.

While we may excel in our own space, there’s ALWAYS room for growth. My journey and constant pursuit of knowledge is something that really drives me and, if my life as a mom first is anything normal, it’ll never feel like the right time, will it?

I have to make NOW the right time!

I feel we need to invest in ourselves, get out of our comfort zone, and be in the company of those who excel in our respected fields and/or interests to grow, learn, and further develop our skill set. Our development benefits not only ourselves but transcends into our space, industry, and communities. This is how society can benefit and learn from us by example.

This was the conversation in my head-space.

I was so happy to connect with industry friends on the first night and see our amazing hosts and NEXT founders Jeri Yoshida and Molly Dowdy. We walked into a welcoming ambiance and immediately got settled.

Faith Schwartz, an industry icon, kick started our conference, sharing many insights and upcoming change in our space with the 2020 elections. It was a lot of heavy information and honestly, had me refocusing my need to further educate myself on how impactful this will be for my company, my industry, and myself.

Moving on, we always hear the term ROI (return on investment) in the industry but what about our own ROI?

How do we measure and gauge our own ROI?

How does company culture impact and promote this?

When listening to the next panel, it was like Barbara Yolles, Laura Brandao, Kelly Ann Doherty, and Lizzie Garner were in my brain, addressing questions, and speaking directly to me.

I called them my ‘soul sisters’ because after years in the professional space, each of these accomplished leaders shared challenges many of us have faced and provided solutions that I identified with. They spoke on the importance of our core values and how that translates to our goal, our purpose, our mission, and message.

I’m a huge proponent of the ‘share the love’ and ‘lift each other up.’ A couple of take-away messages to highlight were showcase one another, build company culture, be generous in communication, and consider incentives to promote these.

We had the opportunity to dive into the personal and professional journey with Linglong He as our HousingWire pal Sarah Wheeler moderated the session. Linglong shared how she developed her space and brought much value to her company and the industry. She reminded us to each 'carry our own sunshine' which kept me smiling the rest of the day!

We each own our story and have the ability to build on the narrative at any point. This really inspired me and reminded me of how much we have to be grateful for in regards to opportunities, networks, and growth.

Finally, this was a language I identified with and felt a deep connection with so much of the content.

Cerita Battles, Barbara Yolles, Julie Lane, and Terri Merlino - Talk about a powerhouse of insight!

These leaders immediately peeled off the layers and got very raw very fast with some hard truths, situations, and change that emphasized the importance of:

•  Recognizing self-worth and finding purpose in what we do
• Challenge the status quo and own your work
• Know your ‘techie stuff’ and provide metrics for evaluation
• Growth isn’t always upwards and can be lateral- EMBRACE IT
• Listen MORE and be a life-long learner

This really spoke to me and I found myself re-calibrating multiple times as each presentation resonated with me and my own journey to be the very best version of myself. The wealth of knowledge and experience of each person in the room; audience and speakers alike, was a testament to the amazing things happening in and out of our industry!

As the above content spoke to my emotional intelligence, intellect, and development, the next sessions really got me out of my comfort zone and provided a sneak peek of what's ahead in terms of technology, data, privacy, and so much more.

Courtenay Dunn and Nicole Booth opened Day 2 with data breach, data security, and had me asking what measures are our vendors and companies taking to ensure a safe and protected transaction. They also addressed the overall importance and seriousness of this aspect of our industry and I recorded the entire session to share with our team. It was very eye-opening to say the least.

Kim Hoffman, Jennifer Folk, Lisa Schreiber, and Kristin Miller shared their insights, experiences, and adaptation process and challenges with technology. They talked about bots and vendors automating the heavy lifting of the overall process without losing the human factor. It was a great reminder that if we don’t keep up and begin the implementation process, even with baby steps, we will get left behind.

Consumers are also comparing their mortgage experiences and services to the likes of their Google and Amazon experiences. We all KNOW this but the question is WHAT are we doing to align our efforts for a better process?

I also recorded this session to share with my team back home.

As I mentioned earlier on, I made a connection with so many amazing women at this conference. Even now, after a couple of days I can confidently say that attending the NEXT Summer 2019 Conference was an investment in myself, my company, and my space.

There is an appreciation and awareness knowing that we are not alone in our journey ahead. I believe we each have something special to contribute and this gathering of the minds provided me the opportunity to connect, engage, and embrace the future head on with industry friends. There are so many takeaways and actionable items I walked away with from this conference and I shared just a handful above. I’m fully inspired by what I’ve learned and more so, incredibly grateful for the wonderful relationships I’ve made.

I'm already looking forward to the NEXT gathering!