A good night was had by all on Wednesday at the Mortgage Strategy Awards and another gong for Cobalt in the form of Best Broker for Technology. Highly deserved I say and well done to our General Manager and Techno Geek Matthew Lowndes for his sterling work.
Not just on our website, but our incredible data management system and all the other things that have made us embrace the technological age so well. Forcing me to embrace my blog, twitter etc has really made a difference.
Whilst Matt was receiving the award, I spent the first half of the evening “bricking myself” and unable to talk as I had foolishly agreed to compete in the “M Factor” and was first up singing solo in front of 650 of the industries finest.
I must say once I got over the initial nerves I thoroughly enjoyed bounding round the stage like I was headlining Glastonbury and singing “In The Midnight Hour” as best I could. Thank you to all those who voted for me, but alas, somehow I was beaten by a very good rendition of “Always On My Mind”.
It was good to see that amount of people in these dark days determined to have a good time and try to put aside the worries of business and job security for a few hours. Unfortunately it looks like some may not be around in the same guise for next year’s event.
Although it can be looked at another way. With every cloud comes opportunity, and there are no doubt going to be some exciting times ahead for those who go into this period with a renewed determination to make things work, with people around them that they respect and trust.
The refreshing thing was that whilst most of the attendees were no doubt worried about their immediate futures, many were looking at this time as a new beginning. A time to do things that perhaps they had always wanted to, to work closer with people they have always wanted to, to rally round and support those that were in similar positions.
I have faith in the people of this industry to work together to see it through. We shall see a lot more heartache, but many more bouncing back fitter and stronger.
New alliances will be formed with those who have not burnt their bridges. The cowboys and those who have been arrogant, bullied, cheated and who have ridiculed will be found out in the new landscape. The public are more aware, and employees are too battle-hardened to put up with it. If you cannot look into the eyes of your colleagues and bosses and see a mutual respect and trust, find someone you are willing to take into the trenches with you.
For those who did not fix the roof whilst the sun was shining, building a new house on stronger foundations will be the norm.
This will be better for us, though we may not see it yet, better for lenders, better for our industry, and most importantly better for the general public.
Embrace change, grab it with all your might and savour it, for it is the lifeblood of the world. Without change there is no progress, no excitement, and actually, no bloody fun!
Thank-you to all of you who have continually supported me, and to those who haven’t, well, I have more important things to continue doing, so I forgive you.