Episode 17: Mark Kerzner: Relationships, Outputs and Getting it Done
This week I have the pleasure of having a conversation with Mark Kerzner, the President and COO of TMG The Mortgage Group. This was a really great interview for me as I have just recently gotten to know Mark a lot better working side by side on the CAAMP board of directors. My respect for […]
Episode 16: Brendan Calder; Mentor, Leader, Manager extraordinaire
Brendan Calder is a man who many cite as a mentor. He has probably helped produce more leaders in the mortgage industry then anyone. It is my pleasure to spend an hour talking leadership and management with Brendan. I certainly took some things away from this one that change the way I look at how […]
Episode 15: Conversation with Andy Charles, CEO Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance
Andy is the President and CEO of Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance. He has a vast array of experience in the mortgage business. He helped introduce the concept of variable compensation mortgage origination to the big bank. We talk about the lessons he has learned over the years in a variety of executive roles with major […]
Episode 14: Conversation with Yousry Bissada: 25 Years of Leadership
Yousry is currently the President and CEO of Kanetix, the leading provider of online insurance marketplace. He has served on numerous boards and been Chairman of several. After holding senior executive roles with two of Canada’s Yousry decided to step up his game becoming President and CEO of Filogix, a technology provider to the Canadian […]
Open for Learning
If you are not where you want to be in life, professionally, then you may have to accept the fact that we still have some things to learn. Many of us would agree with this statement and generally speaking when you are starting out it is a concept that is easy to embrace. “I know […]
The pro’s do it, why don’t you?
One of the things that we often forget is the fact that in business we still need to train. Stephen Covey called it “Sharpening the Saw”, Zig Ziglar was attributed the quote “If you want to earn more, learn more”. Let’s have a look at a group of individuals that earn hundreds or even thousands […]
ISTAR: Changing lives through communication
Last Friday I had the privilege of being invited to a luncheon for one of the charities that our company supports through our affiliation with REALTORS® Community Foundation. I have to admit I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but had been encouraged to attend. I was honestly expecting a fancy luncheon where they sold donors […]
Emotion: The key to inspiring action
If you want to inspire action, you’ve got to evoke emotion. This is an important thing to consider when we look to inspire others to action. Whether it be our children, our spouse or our consumers. If you think about anything in your life that has compelled you to act there is usually a strong […]
The Power of The Follow UP Call
A couple of weeks ago my car broke down and was going to be out of commission for at least a week (don’t ask. That’s another blog post). I found myself in a position where I needed to rent a vehicle for at least a week. Since I broke down in Red Deer and needed […]
Brain Food: What do you eat?
2013 was a year in which I really focused on my physical fitness and it certainly paid dividends. I am in better physical shape then I have ever been in my life. As I sit and reflect and look forward to my 2014 goals I feel compelled to put the emphasis on intellectual development. We […]
Thank You: Amy Holden
Recently I came across a blog titled 365 days of “Thank You”. The author has made a point of writing a blog post daily of thanking someone in his life that has made an impact on him. As I read some of the posts I was struck by what a brilliant, simple idea that was. […]
Reflection: What do you see in the mirror?
This week at our Toastmasters club our theme was “Being Reflective”. As the Toastmaster for the meeting I had the privilege of leading the meeting and keeping it on track with the theme. In my preamble I talked about what “Being Reflective” meant to me. I talked about the fact that I felt being reflective meant taking […]
It’s the little things…
How often do we hear the line “It’s the little things that make a big difference”? I tend to use that line alot and truly believe that is the case. It is often not the massive large scale gestures of others that make a significant impact in our lives but usually the very small ones. The small […]
For the love of reading; Passion is contagious!
Have you ever wondered why some people burn an indelible impression in your mind and others you forget the minute they walk out the door? Have you ever wondered why some conversations leave a lasting mark and make an impact on your life and others are gone with the wind? Why is it that our […]
Words to live by
For our conference in Las Vegas this month I prepared a workshop on effective communication. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we ended up with far too much content for our 48 hours together and ended up scrapping that session. Putting this workshop together was a real eye-opener and thought I would take a minute to share with […]