The Insight Interviews - Powered by Rewire

Vikas is a Fortune 100 Executive turned Executive Coach and Leadership Development consultant. He is a unique combination of pragmatism and vision given his extensive frontline experience in the corporate world and being a philosopher / systems thinker at heart. He is passionately committed to a transformation in the way of being and doing of leaders, managers and teams, all for the sake of a world that works better for all, starting with oneself. Vikas invites his clients to go deep to the root causes of problems and has the skill to escort them back to the place from which they can take effective action for sustainable change. By working with Vikas, leaders and teams in Fortune 100 companies, mid-sized firms and start-ups alike have transformed themselves and their environments.  

In this episode Steve, Jason, and Vikas discuss:

• The difficult journey of being ok with whatever happens in your life.
• The feeling of work as the source of our identity.
• The experiences of seeking community, being coached, and coaching.
• The responsibility of a company in supporting the deep yearning of employees by building a sense of belonging. 

Key Takeaways: 

• Fear and anxiety are hard-wired into us. Everything is perceived as a danger, our psychology hasn’t caught up to our anthropology.
• “When the work that you do in the world is different than the gift that you are, then that’s a recipe for pain and suffering.” 
• Recognizing the yearning and understanding the purpose of the why.

Connect with Vikas Bhatia:

Website: medium.com/@vbhatia

   ThePranaPartnership

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Kristen Braun

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

After captaining a Washington D.C. Top 15 Mortgage Lending Company, Michael Parsons joined Apex Home Loans where he has served as Chairman since 2010. Michael formerly served on the Board of Governors for the Maryland Mortgage Bankers Association and currently serves on the Board of Governors for the Mortgage Bankers Association of Metropolitan Washington. Michael continuously applies his 20+ years of experience in mortgage banking and real estate to elevate the company’s productivity and profile to new heights.

In this episode Jason and Michael discuss:

• Going through a mortgage process shouldn’t be hard; it should be exciting. 
• The more information you share, the more you become the resource that people will search out.
• Coach by example: build a relationship with your coach and those you coach. 
• Use the NPS (Net Promoter Score) for evaluating experience and satisfaction to those you serve. 

Key Takeaways: 

• Make an effort to understand everyone’s why so you can treat your employees better. Employees who are happy at work and happy at home are also happy to help customers.
• Work from a place of abundance and share ideas. No scarcity mindsets!
• Own a problem or mistake and express remorse; determine the source of the problem, and resolve it so that it doesn’t happen to anyone else.

Connect with Michael Parsons:

Twitter: @mortgageitnow

LinkedIn: Michael Parsons

Facebook: Michael Parsons Apex Home Loans, Inc.

Website: ApexHomeLoans.com

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 301-440-3864

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Kristen Braun

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Glenn Astolfi is CEO/President of Atmospheric Plasma Solutions. In addition to strategy and fundraising, Glenn’s responsibilities at APS are Sales and Finance. Prior to joining APS, Glenn was CEO at Gateway Bank Mortgage. Glen was also a founding team member and Senior Executive of Barnes and Noble and founder and COO of TravelFest Superstores. Glenn received a B.S. magna cum laude in Finance from Florida State University 

In this episode Steve and Glenn discuss:

• Lifelong learning through adaptation, change and moving forward.
• Do people have an aversion to learning, or is that just our perception?
• Breaking old habits and patterns to help us grow.
• The now, next, never approach and having the discipline to know what each is.

Key Takeaways: 

• Keep going - you’re going to learn what you love to do. 
• Have a people-first attitude even though the business is easy and people are harder.
• Hold weekly meetings to bring people together to share success as well as admit and acknowledge mistakes. 
• Make a point in your weekly meetings to connect the meeting points to the bigger picture, to energize and motivate your team for the greater good of the company. 

Connect with Glenn Astolfi:

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Kristen Braun

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Chad Gerlt is the Owner-Operator of a Chick-fil-A franchise in Yukon, Oklahoma - one of the top Chick-fil-A’s in the country. He opened his restaurant in 2009 after moving his family from Arlington, Texas. His desire is to make people feel welcome and cared for, and believes many restaurants miss the mark in that aspect. He and his wife, Erin, have 6 children. And because I’ve known Chad for a few years now I can tell you unequivocally that he is one of the best bosses this country has seen.

In this episode Steve, Jason, and Chad discuss:

• Putting dignity at the center of everything we do, from our culture to our customers. 
• Providing dignity, honor, and genuineness in your guest experience.
• People can’t fake values, finding employees with your core views and values.
• Ghost kitchens: the future of food delivery.

Key Takeaways: 

• You can’t fake caring, customers can feel when you are being genuine, and when you aren’t.  
• Putting people first not only is better customer service it will inevitably bring about more income. 
• Make sure you are caring for your team because they care for the customers.
• Difficult customers have other things going on in their life, you can be a bright spot when you treat them with dignity.

Book Mentioned: The Truth About Employee Engagement by Patrick Lencioni

Connect with Chad:

Chick-fil-A Garth Brooks Boulevard Yukon, OK

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Kristen Braun

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Brian Bomar is a regional President at Cornerstone Home Lending and the Co-Founder & CEO @ Whiteboard Technology. Some people are simply born to do what they do, and Brian is one of those people. He is passionate about building and growing elite sales teams, innovating efficiencies and attracting highly satisfied clients. Brian also works with innovators and entrepreneurs who enjoy bringing new ideas to life with everything they have, serving as a co-founder, chairman of the board and/or majority shareholder of emerging start-ups that are already taking their respective industries by storm. For Brian, it’s all about bringing out the very best in others so they can rise to new challenges and succeed in both their professional and personal lives.

In this episode Steve and Brian discuss:

• Being aware of waste and using your unique gifts
• Examining your perception of your talents, beliefs, and what you can accomplish
• Looking at the possible outcomes, even the scary ones
• Fear 

Key Takeaways: 

• Helping people to see and believe in their higher potential by changing their beliefs through observation of the possibilities.
• Going after something good is going to be hard. Focus on the belief of what is possible. 
• Be present and content with what is in front of you instead of worrying about the bad that can happen.
• Being offended is not a position of strength - it’s a position of weakness. 

Connect with Brian Bomar:

Website: HouseLoan.com

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Kristen Braun

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions.  You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Barry Habib is an American Entrepreneur and frequent Media resource for his mortgage and housing expertise. He appears regularly on television outlets such as CNBC and Fox. Barry is the founder and CEO of MBS Highway – the real estate industry’s most highly regarded and recognized tool for transforming salespeople into advisors.

Barry has won awards such as:

• Two-time Crystal Ball Award given by Zillow and Pulsenomics for the most accurate Real Estate forecasts out of 150 of the top economists in the US. 

• 2019 Mortgage Professional of the Year by National Mortgage Professional Magazine 

• 2019 Finalist for the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Barry is active in many successful businesses across different verticals including, and get this, being the Lead Producer and Managing Partner for “Rock of Ages” which is the 27th longest-running show in Broadway history. 

During his mortgage career, Barry personally originated over $2 Billion dollars.

Barry's new book entitled Money in the Streets is due out October 2020.

In this episode Jason and Barry discuss:

• Being goal-oriented and how achievement of goals gives a sense of fulfillment.
• Building trust and goodwill in your clients and employees.
• Surrounding yourself with good teammates so that you can do your job well.
• Which social media platforms to use for marketing and how to gear them to your audience.

Key Takeaways: 

• Start your morning routine the night before. Having a proactive game plan and the days’ objectives planned so that you can be on offense instead of defense. 
• Embrace the uncertainty and the unknown and try to reduce it by creating a plan to get through it. Be resourceful and resilient in your solution.
• Build trust with knowledge by giving people all the information, both good and bad. 
• You have control over your own destiny, you just have to decide how bad you want it. 

Movie Mentioned: Barry Munday

Book Mentioned: Money in the Streets

Broadway Show Mentioned: Rock of Ages

Connect with Barry Habib:

Twitter: @BarryHabib

Facebook: Barry Habib

Website: MBSHighway.com

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Kristen Braun

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Rose Marie is one of the premier thought leaders in mortgage banking - an industry she has served for over 30 years. Along the way she has not only owned and operated her own mortgage brokerage, she has been responsible for growing residential mortgage banking franchises and overseeing mortgage production, operations, and servicing for national mortgage banks. Her success has come from earning and maintaining a strong relationship with her team and the community, and always putting the customer first. Rose Marie is someone who has experienced both the great and not-so-great in this business and believes in responding to each with grace.

In this episode Steve and Rose Marie discuss:

• Building teams that make a difference in the community.
• Being true to yourself, your team, and honoring the people you serve.
• Developing a level of deep skill though hard work .
• Recognizing what value you bring to your company, and what work is an inspiring fit for you.

Key Takeaways: 

Mentioned:

Books: Teach Your Mind to Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley

  Altered Traits by Daniel Goldman

Richard Rohr: The Center for Action and Contemplation

Connect with Rose Marie David:

Website: HomeBridge

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Kristen Braun 

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Kait LeDonne is the Founder and CEO of LeDonne Branding and Marketing. Kait works with B2B businesses and consultants to clarify their message, refine their image, and attract the right kind of customers using social media strategies that hyper-accelerate brand awareness and amplify credibility. Kait hosts a weekly marketing and branding show and has authored the ebook The Attraction Magnet, which helps businesses implement key branding methodology to expand their reach and presence. She works with both small businesses and international firms, and everything in between, and has been a contributor on television and in national news publications such as Forbes, BuzzFeed, Fox Business, and The Washington Post.

In this episode Jason and Kait discuss:

• Putting the personal brand of the owner at the forefront. 
• Knowing what clients are a good fit for your company.
• Good marketing and branding starts with understanding the psychological aspect of the customer while they are going through the narrative of their purchase. 
• Using Linkedin to connect with large names and businesses to gain third party credibility. 

Key Takeaways: 

• Corporate brand equity is tied to the founder’s brand equity by bringing a humanistic and relatable aspect to a quality product.
• Mutual respect and value sharing builds success.  
• Branding is simple, but not easy.

Connect with Kait LeDonne:

Website: LeDonneBrands.com

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Kait LeDonne

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Kristen Braun

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Scott has a purpose in life and that’s to change life for a better future. He’s a thoughtful person with an incredible background who also happens to be a Realtor. 

In this episode Steve and Scott discuss:

• Changing the lives of others and yourself for a better future.
• Starting your day off in a gratitude mindset.
• Closing the important gaps in your life to go from where you are to where you want to be. 
• Acknowledge when you need to make a change and do something different.

Key Takeaways: 

Connect with Scott Morris:

Website: SRMRealEstateGroup.com

Email: [email protected]

Foundation Mentioned: JDRF

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Kristen Braun

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

In this episode Steve and Jason discuss:

• Staying mentally and emotionally strong through growing your business. 
• The waves of emotions: Freak outs to denial, with adaptation being the sweet spot in the middle.
• Agility is adaptation to allow emotions to happen while not becoming unaware.
• The market is seeking out people who are adapting well.

Key Takeaways: 

• Cortisol, the stress hormone is suppressed through denial allowed through freaking out. Cortisol over a short period of time is good, but over a long period of time is bad.
• By holding on to stress too long it’s inhibiting our ability to adapt. 
• Things we can do: single task vs. multi task, get  back to basics, get on a routine, and exercise.

Book Mentioned: Emotional Agility by Susan David

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Kristen Braun

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.