Welcome to Freestyle Friday
I recorded this week’s Freestyle Friday early Thursday morning at 7:40 a.m., coffee in hand and a lot on my mind. These episodes are raw, unedited, unscripted, and honest. Sometimes I share lessons from the week. Sometimes I address challenges I see across the industry. And sometimes it becomes a full-on rant.
Today is a blend of all three.
If you are leading a company, building a team, or running a sales organization, what I am about to share may sting a little. But the goal is growth, not comfort.
So let us get into it.
The Recruiting Obsession Is Hurting Your Organization
Across the last six to eight months, I have seen leaders in every industry get consumed by recruiting. It is the word everyone keeps repeating:
Recruit. Recruit. Recruit.
There is nothing wrong with recruiting. You need new blood, fresh energy, and the right people to move your organization forward. But here is where most leaders miss the mark:
You are spending 100% of your energy recruiting, and 0% retaining.
I recommend a 50/50 split:
50% recruiting the right people
50% retaining the right people
Because here is what is happening in real time:
Companies are focusing so heavily on attracting new talent that the loyal, committed, high-performing people already inside the organization feel overlooked—and they leave.
Leadership is offering bonuses, perks, promises, and personal attention to new recruits. Meanwhile, the people who have been there, producing and staying loyal, feel ignored.
If you were in their shoes, how would you react?
Retention Requires Leadership, Not Incentives
The best organizations in the world grow because they keep their best people—and develop them.
If you want retention, start here:
Sit down with your key people. Ask them what they need. Ask how you can serve them better. Ask what is missing.
Not once a year.
Not when they are unhappy.
Consistently.
Most leaders pour everything into attracting someone new instead of deepening the commitment with the people already contributing to the mission.
If you cannot retain big producers, you will never attract big producers.
Plain and simple.
High performers want to join environments where high performers are thriving—not running for the exits.
The Hard Truth About Why You Are Not Winning
Now let us shift to every sales professional who is struggling and blaming it on the market, interest rates, the industry, or external forces.
I want to make something very clear:
**If you are not winning right now, it is not the market.
It is you.**
If that hurts your feelings, good. Growth rarely feels good.
The difference between the loan officers, originators, and salespeople who are winning versus the ones who are not comes down to a few core fundamentals:
1. How they show up daily
2. Their willingness to pivot
3. Their refusal to wait for opportunity
4. Their commitment to bigger relationships and bigger clients
If I hear one more person say,
“We are ready for when the refi boom hits,”
I might lose it.
You are not ready.
And what if it never comes?
The top performers in the country are not sitting around waiting for market conditions to save them. They are building new relationships, testing new strategies, and taking new territory.
Stop Fixing Weaknesses. Maximize Strengths.
I spend countless hours in coaching calls listening to people obsess over the skills they are not good at.
Why?
Energy should be spent expanding strengths, not fixing weaknesses.
Outsource your weaknesses.
Delegate them.
Hire someone better at them.
Your strengths are where your production, income, and growth multiply.
Leaders, This Part Is For You
A lot of leaders right now are struggling. Companies are flat. Teams are stalled. Revenue is inconsistent.
And yet, many of those same leaders are still running the same playbook they used years ago.
They blame the economy.
They blame interest rates.
They blame the industry.
Here is the truth:
**It is not the economy. It is not the rates.
It is you.**
Adapt your model.
Evolve your approach.
Become accountable to yourself.
Change the way you lead.
And if your leadership team is not being coached, run. Go somewhere where leadership takes growth seriously.
I personally invest more in coaching and personal development than anything else on my P&L outside of personnel. Why? Because it delivers a massive return—every single time.
Everyone needs a coach, including the leaders who believe they have outgrown the need for one.
The Real Wake-Up Call
My one-on-one VIP coaching clients are up 60% year-over-year, in a market where the average originator is down dramatically.
What is the difference?
They stay accountable
They do hard things every day
They attack their ceilings instead of accepting them
They know there is no limit to what they can accomplish
The only person standing between where you are and where you want to go is you.
No easy button.
No shortcut.
No magic script.
No tactic that saves the day.
Just daily discipline.
Intentional action.
And a decision to stop waiting for external conditions to improve before you do.
Your Future Starts With Your Next Decision
If today’s Freestyle Friday pushed you a little, that is good.
It is meant to.
Look in the mirror and get honest.
You are the solution.
You are the obstacle.
You are the variable.
If you want support, accountability, or guidance, send me a message. I am happy to jump on a call and help you map out your next step.
But remember this:
The only person who can change your life is you.
Make the decision.
Take the action.
And make it a great day.
