Best laid plans of mice and men.....

Saturday morning.

"Best laid plans of mice and men sometimes go arwy." Believe me when I say "it was one for the record books." I sit here and reflect back over the past few days and think about how the week started and what I was focused on....and whew.

I found Wednesday morning with a lot on my mind. I had been up for a bit and had decided to interrupt my regular routine by going to the office earlier than normal.

Having struggled with a lot of interrupting thoughts, I needed to stop listening to myself and let someone else drown out what was going on in my head. So, I hit number 6 on my truck's CD player and here comes John Maxwell's booming voice with "LEADERSHIP LESSON #8 - A LEADER'S FIRST RESPONSIBILITY IS TO DEFINE REALITY."

To say I was astonished is an understatement and I'm not sure how many times I replayed those opening words....."a leader's first responsibility is to define reality." God gave me the perfect message and I paid attention.

Dr. Maxwell went on to talk about some rules for successful leadership from Jack Welch's book Jack: Straight From the Gut. My notes (I stopped in Starbuck's parking lot to take them) include the following:

• Control your destiny, or someone else will
• Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it were
• Be candid with everyone
• Don't manage, lead.
• Change before you have to

Whether it's Maxwell, or Welch, or Covey, or Carnegie, or Collins, or Drucker, or Lencioni, or Piper, or Morris, or Moore, or the Apostle Paul.....it's not entirely all the same, but similiar lessons over and over and over again. I look at these 5 points and what all these leaders have to say about what they've seen work best and I realize again how true, how basic, and how much I have to learn.

Talk straight; confront the brutal facts; you're always leading because you're always influencing; leave the right impression; tell the truth - don't lie about even the smallest things; say you're sorry, and mean it; ask questions; listen first; have a plan and at least try to work it; pay attention; ask where your own blind spots are; look past yourself; learn - get better; extend smart trust; trust but verify; be "on purpose;" don't just let life push you around - be purposeful; create transparency; you'll be the same 5 years from today as you are today except for.......; tell your wife and kids you love them everytime you leave the house - every time; guys - remember that whatever points you've earned today, your wife considers them expired at midnight each night; it's not about you or me - it's about the values.

And it's not about the coffee, nor the money.

I look back at the stress I experienced in people's lives this week (I repeat....I look back at the stress "I" experienced in people's lives this week) and it was about someone concerned about their money. Now, I don't doubt that I have blind spots to other things right now, but as I run a quick inventory of the week. As I reflect on the stress, the conflicts, the turmoil, the not so nice phone calls, the emails, the upset people, I notice they were all about the money and pride and bad behavior. Not about values, but about people wanting something to do with their individual money and/or pride and behaving badly in the process of pushing for it.

But it is not about the money, and I'm repeating myself quite a bit this morning; It - is - NOT - about - the - money - IT IS ABOUT THE VALUES. And values are led forth with good behavior.

Take that inventory and work through each minute detail and event. Map it back to the beginning. Be blunt with yourself. Better yet, find someone that will Straight Talk to you.

Starbucks' Behar was telling us, in essence, that being about the coffee is about the money, but being about the service is about the values and behaving well.

Back to Lesson #8, what comes to mind when you reflect on the past few days? Are you a leader that defines reality?

Are you a leader that confronts the brutal facts, chases the values, and believes you will survive?

Godspeed,

Danny

..circling back - for something to help with your focus and reflection:

http://www.leadershipchallenge.com/WileyCDA/LCTitle/productCd-0787984914.html

...

"It's Not About the Coffee"

Former Starbucks president Howard Behar says "Starbucks is not in the coffee business serving people. We are in the people business serving coffee."

Within 3 pages of beginning It's Not About the Coffee I found myself looking for a pen. Finding real deals is great and that's what I'm uncovering here. The author, Howard Behar has been in the trenches. Most company presidents spend their time in meetings, meetings, meetings...I know, I am one.

Mr. Behar though, tried to visit as many stores (10 or more) each week as he could. This is where he learned the most about his business. This is where he was able to set and let his entrepenual thoughts run wild and take hold. I had always assumed the President of Starbucks was one of the original owners, but not so. Mr. Behar was 44 years old and had 20 years in the retail furniture business when he came to Starbucks in 1989.

This is a great read and is puncuated with a bit of Mr. Behar's personal history as he shares the ten Leadership Principles he used through the years.

Here are some insights into his principles (just insigts, not the principles...you'll need to read the book to get those);

• Know who you are
• Know why you're here
• Develop trust in yourself
• Build trust
• Listen for the truth
• Own It
• Think like a person of action and act like a person of thought
• Trust = Truth = Accountability
• It's not rocket science, it's a lot harder
• Getting past the no book

Maybe, maybe, the most best quote in the book (I'm rereading it, again) is on page 100 and Mr. Behar is talking about truth and accountability. He quotes Harold Geneen, CEO of ITT:

"I believe it is an immutable law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises - but only performance is reality. Performance alone is the best measure of your confidence, competence, and courage. Only performance will give you the freedom to grow yourself."

Good reading,

Danny

Alethes' Continued Response to Market Conditions (Business Not-So-Usual)

At a recent round-table discussion, I was asked “where do YOU see the business headed and how do YOU feel about Alethes' role?”

The short answer was ”I am healthily optimistic about where the mortgage business is headed and Alethes’ position in the end result.” I went on to talk about such items as history, industry changes still to come, the media, change and trust; we have to recognize where we've been, but not just from an observation point-of-view. We have to be willing to change and we have to trust ourselves. Our change must be responsive and proactive, not reactive. I’ll resist the opportunity to talk about trust at-this-time, but I know that I have to trust myself and I have to trust those who are originating, processing, underwriting and closing loans for Alethes.
I’m sure you’ve read the various articles published recently, that while loan originations have decreased, loan fraud has increased; and the top indicator is misrepresentation on the loan application.

These reports, coupled with live compliance problems in every lender’s back office has caused lenders/investors to mandate new restrictions, representations and warrants on their brokers.

One of the challenges we're facing is the changes that our lenders are imposing industry-wide through new wholesale agreements. Many of these new agreements do not include provisions for the lenders/investors due diligence; instead, the responsibility is put back on the broker (Alethes) to repurchase the loan even if they, the lender, do not do perform sound underwriting and closing.

At this point, I’d like to re-state Alethes’ three long-term goals:

• To be the premier lender in the markets we serve,
  
• To have the right to go public if we so desire and
  
• To be a Top 10 place to work
  

As part of our desire to achieve the results of the three goals Alethes, LLC, its executive team and myself are committed to the origination and delivery of quality loans, whether banked or brokered.

Over the next few weeks, Alethes will begin instituting various measures to insure our viability in this changing market. Some of these measures will involve new agreements with our investors, new file retention policies and changes to whom and how we broker-out loans.

While there will be changes in many areas, please be assured we are thoroughly reviewing our options and our competition’s handling of the same events. Still, there will undoubtedly be some areas in which each and every one of you will have an issue.

I promise to keep you as readily informed as I possibly can.

Sincerely,

Danny L. SmithPresident & CEOAlethes, LLC