The Thanksgiving meal hasn’t been fully digested, when I decided to do a really dumb thing – I surfed the net to see what was happening in the world. In less than five minutes of reading I had a decision to make, curl up in the fetal position paralyzed with fear or stop reading? I went with door number two.

Dire predictions from the IMF about the global economy, specifically the slowdown in Asia, the debt situation in the U.S. and the European crisis, can wait. As can all the pundits in Canada who are suggesting that we’re on the precipitous of a housing crisis.
All this information can wait until Thanksgiving Day is clearly in the review mirror. Thanksgiving is a time to reflect and remind ourselves how fortunate we are. I’m so thankful for the loving family I have, the great industry I work in, and the job that I do every day. And I’m also really thankful that I live in a country where I have the right to say to all those who are predicting global, and specifically Canadian economic doom, SHUT THE HELL UP.  At the very least give us Thanksgiving Day. No, give us the day after as well. Ah, but I don’t trust you so I’m going to put you on ignore until Wednesday. At that point I will invite back into my life so that I am apprised of what’s going on, and that will also force me to take the time to decipher fact from fiction.  I, along with everyone in our industry is used to doing that.  But understand this, you will never beat me (or our industry) into submission and force us to say uncle. The mortgage industry and people who contribute to it are part of any solution, our value and contribution to the Canadian economy is well established.

A personal belated Happy Thanksgiving to all those who take the time to read my blog, for that I am truly humbled and thankful.

Until next time,

Cheers.

“Knowledge is critical but its value is limited unless you’re prepared and committed to execution”

Irrespective of what you do professionally, being self-aware and enhancing your personal development is critical to growth and success. The day you put your personal development on hold is the day you decide to the let the competition pass you by. And it’s that fear of lagging behind the competition which motivates me to seek out knowledge and explore new possibilities… every once in a while some morsel of information actually sticks.

Attending the World Business Forum is almost an overload of information. And as someone who has listened to many speakers I have to say this event brings together some of the best thinkers and accomplished speakers to one program.

People like:

• Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and a host of other books. His work is based on empirical data so there’s steak to go along with the sizzle.
• Marcus Buckingham, who specializes in identifying employee’s strength and ways to harness that strength to maximize performance
• Don Tapscott, author of Wikinomics; his specialty is identifying how technology affects marketing and innovation
• Robert Gates, former Secretary of Defense. During his illustrious career he’s served at the pleasure of eight Presidents. He knows a thing or two about leadership and courage. He gave us some insight into the planning of the Bin Laden mission in Pakistan, and the courage it took for President Obama to give the go order.
• Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN’s foreign affairs and guest writer for the Washington Post and Time magazine. Zakaria spoke to the global power shift and the geopolitical challenges we all we face.
• Jack Welch, Richard Branson and a host of others. As I said, it was almost information overload but not in any negative way.

Many things to ponder about what I just learned over the last two days but I’ve been able to confirm two things. Firstly, being inspired is an important component of personal development. Secondly, knowledge is critical but its value is limited unless you’re prepared and committed to execution. How many times have you heard someone say about some service or product, “I thought of that a while ago”. Frankly, the honest response to that statement should be, “shame you did nothing about it”.

Until next time

Cheers

I have the distinct pleasure to be in New York City over the next couple of days to attend the World Business Forum.  For those of you who have been you know all about the cities vibrancy, pace, attitude and frenetic energy.  Walking the streets you can just feel it. You either keep up or you better step aside. There’s no middle ground when it comes to New York, people love it or hate it.  Put me down in the infatuation column.

New York always finds a way to make the headlines.  Most recently is was the squatters who protested on Wall Street.  Remember them?  They ended up being just another footnote in New York’s long history.  Ah, but today there’s even juicer headlines in the Big Apple.   New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against J.P. Morgan Chase & Co on Monday for fraud over faulty mortgage-backed securities packaged and sold by the former Bear Stearns.  That’s right; they’re being sued for something allegedly done by Bear Stearns before J.P. Morgan Chase & Co was forced to buy them by the U.S. Government back in 2008.   It was the critical first days of the sub-prime mortgage meltdown and the heads of the major banks were summoned to Washington, and they were told in no uncertain terms by then Secretary of the Treasury,   Henry Paulson, that before anyone goes home deals would have to be cut to ensure banking stability.  That’s the Readers Digest version of how J.P. Morgan Chase & Co ended up buying Bear Stearns for $2 USD a share.  It appears now that they ended up buying a whole lot of headaches.  I’m sure the timing of this lawsuit is all coincidental and it has nothing to do with the upcoming U.S. Presidential election.  Sure, the sub-prime mortgage meltdown first came to light in 2008, and the first lawsuit just happened to be filed just prior to the election; a mere coincidence.  It took the Obama administration close to 4 years to create the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group to investigate the selling and pooling of risky mortgages.  Better late than never, I guess.  Does someone deserve to pay dearly and possibly go to jail for nearly bringing down the global economy? Damn right, and long overdue; but to do it now reeks of politics and not justice; coincidence? As a New Yorker all I want to say is, “coincidence this!”

Until next time,

Cheers.