Keynote Speech for United Community Bank Mortgage Services
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Are You A Linchpin? Al Meyers November 9, 2011
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How do you change your mindset to become indispensable to your organization?
Transcript of Keynote Speech for United Community Bank Mortgage Services
Are You A Linchpin?
Al MeyersNovember 9, 2011
Remember This?
We All Experienced It
What Do You Do? Look For Inspiration……
“These are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed. The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties”. - Abigail Adams, January 12, 1780
Do You Recall This Very Successful “Plan B”?
What is a Linchpin?
• Management• Labor• Linchpin – someone who:
• Invents• Connects others• Makes things happen• Creates order out of chaos
In other words……linchpins are INDISPENSABLE
Average Is Over
Source: “Lynchpin,” by Seth Godin
• Do you want to be just a cog in a giant machine that is easily replaced?
• Leaders don’t get a map or set of rules
• This requires a different attitude
Where Are You On This Hierarchy?
Source: “Lynchpin,” by Seth Godin
Have the Courage to Create
“If you have a great idea, do it; if you don’t do it, it doesn’t exist”
- Anonymous
The Paradox of the Safety Zone
• The more you hide, the riskier it is• The less commotion you cause, the more likely
you are to fail, be ignored, expose yourself to failure
• Your leaders want to hear your creative ideas for continuing to improve the performance of the mortgage services division!
Source: “Lynchpin,” by Seth Godin
A Few Signs Your “Lizard Brain” is at Work
• Rushing your work, sending out defective ideas/products, hoping they will be rejected
• Suffer anxiety about what to wear to an event
• Do excessive networking with the goal of having everyone like you and support you
• Demonstrate a lack of desire to obtain new skills
• Excessively criticize the work of your peers, thus unrealistically raising the bar for your work.
Source: “Lynchpin,” by Seth Godin
If Only…….
Complete this sentence:I could be more creative if only______________
What is the single most important thing you need to achieve excellence at UCBI Mortgage Services?
Source: “Lynchpin,” by Seth Godin
“If you don’t want to do something, one excuse is as good as another.”
- Yiddish Proverb
Ishita Gupta’s Meditation
Founder & Publisher of Fear.Less MagazineChoose to change your perspective.Choose to flip the switch in your mind. Turn on the light and stop fretting about with insecurity and doubt.Choose to do your work and be free of distraction.Choose to see the best in someone, or choose to bring out the worst in them.Choose to be a laser beam, with focused attention, or a scattered ray of light that doesn’t do any good.
Source: “Lynchpin,” by Seth Godin
Teamwork is EVERYTHING
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. WORKING TOGETHER is SUCCESS.”
- Henry Ford
A Video Interlude on Success
“Success is a Continuous Journey”
Remember the “Boundary-less” Organization?
• Transcend artificial boundaries of bureaucracy• Continue to use “virtual methods” of
communication and empower employees• Work as a team – and self-directed – towards a
common goal!
How to Create? Diversity Drives Innovation
Source: “The Medici Effect, Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts & Cultures,” by Frans Johansson
Consider Forming a “Dense Network”
• Coined by University of Virginia Professor James Davison Hunter in a book published Fall 2010: To Change the World
• Dense Networks drive change and include certain key elements:• Passionate Focus• Inspirational Leader• Use of Symbols• Link to an Institution
• What would a Dense Network look like within UCBI Mortgage Services?
The Seven Abilities of the Linchpin• Providing a unique interface
between members of the organization
• Delivering unique creativity• Managing a situation or
organization of great complexity
• Leading customers• Inspiring staff• Providing deep domain
knowledge• Possessing a unique talent
Source: “Lynchpin,” by Seth Godin
The Law of Linchpin Leverage• The more value you create in your job, the fewer
clock minutes of labor you actually spend creating that value
Source: “Lynchpin,” by Seth Godin
What is the Ultimate Goal?
