Monday, September 12, 2011

Passion Party #394 - Problems Vs. Opportunities

For about three years I worked as a manager in the mortgage business, first as the manager of retail mortgages for Fleet Bank, and then as a manager of a boutique mortgage broker in Santa Monica, CA.

Near the end of the three years I found that my job was similar to herding cats.
Managing loan officers was a challenge;
if things went well it was because of "the market"
and if things went poorly it was "my fault".

I realized that I was spending most of my time
managing other people's problems.

After a discussion with the owner of the brokerage firm, we came to the conclusion
that I was missing a huge opportunity.
I would be happier (and wealthier) if I spent my time building my own book of business from my 10 years in mortgages, rather than spend my time motivating people that did not want to be managed.

Managing problems may have made me a good manager.
Building on my opportunities has given me a great life.

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