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MIRROR WHAT THEY DO

“Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal or any goal.”

—VINCE LOMBARDI

In 2008, the United States faced one of the biggest financial crises it had ever seen. A 40 percent decline and the collapse of mortgage-backed securities left the economy in a tailspin. Families were in financial hell as homes were being foreclosed at a breakneck speed. President Barack Obama called a state of national emergency as multiple banks and businesses across all industries faced ruin.

A then 32-year-old former professional football player named Casey Crawford saw a major opportunity in the housing industry despite this chaos. He looked on as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) closed over 400 failed banks. Crawford guessed that in spite of this, the vast majority of Americans still were going to buy homes over the next 10 years because the inventory of houses wasn’t going away. He believed home buyers would demand a different kind of mortgage company, one that would provide confidence and values much different than the companies associated with the collapse. Day in and day out Crawford would pack up his computer and head to the local Starbucks to work on fleshing out his vision and thoughts for a company. On one day in particular, he was explaining the idea to his mentor, Toby Harris. At the end of their discussion, the two men came to a conclusion. Together they would start a company that would help rebuild a decaying industry. These men would build a new kind of mortgage company: one that had the mission of serving customers with a much shorter loan process and would always do what was in the borrower’s best interest.

Friends thought he was crazy. Industry experts did not give him the time of day. Even his family was skeptical. Surrounded by doubt and naysayers, Crawford was not deterred from going after his dream. Morning after morning, meeting after meeting, Crawford persevered. His perseverance eventually paid off when a few investors and five mortgage brokers who believed in his vision decided to join him. The New American Mortgage Company was born.

Ten years later, New American Mortgage now goes by the name Movement Mortgage. With over 4,000 employees, the company maintains a simple mission statement: “We exist to love and value people by creating a movement of change in our industry, corporate cultures, and our communities.” The company has done an exceptional job of holding true to this promise as positive results flowed through its doors. It became a top 10 loan originator in the United States by 2016 with revenues of $610 million. In addition to its financial success and growth, Movement Mortgage has created industry-changing employee support programs and funded a charter school through its foundation for low-income children in Charlotte, North Carolina. All speak to the accomplishments that go well beyond money and demonstrate the commitment Crawford has to his company’s mission statement.

Even When Times Aren’t Good

There are many different reasons companies grow and scale. What is special about Movement Mortgage is its dedication to growing a business that does things the right way: by loving and serving people in an industry that commonly did the opposite for its customers. This doesn’t happen without a leader like Crawford. His deep and intense focus on building the best and elevating others isn’t like the empty words some CEOs tend to use. It is at the core of how he leads, both in times of prosperity and in hardship.

When the marketplace began to put constraints on the mortgage industry with higher mortgage rates and oversaturation of available houses in late 2018, it forced Movement Mortgage to lay off 200 employees. Instead of acting like this was just part of his job and hiding in his office, Crawford showed the remaining employees and those he had to let go what it really meant to elevate others. He called an all hands on meeting and standing in front of the entire company, he called on each and every person to reach out to those who had lost their jobs and let them know they were cared for, thought about, and appreciated for all they had done while at the company. It seemed simple, but to Crawford, it was the only thing to do. He knew that for the company to effectively live out its mission statement of loving and valuing people, it meant not only celebrating the high points in the business but also doing the right things during the low points. He could have left the team on a somber note, but instead, he made sure to let everyone know the future was bright and this was a company that had its brightest days ahead. “This is a company that is going places; one that is playing offense and not defense,” said Crawford.

Crawford isn’t perfect; no leader is. But he is on a mission to love and value people and build the best through his actions every day, regardless of the circumstances.

• • •

It turns out, Crawford isn’t alone in leading this way and achieving great results. In 2003, after over a decade of hard work, Jason Lippert had finally earned his big chance. The opportunity to run Lippert Components (LCI) had finally arrived. Founded by his grandfather, Larry, in 1956, LCI had been under the direction of his father, Doug, since 1977. The company was built on the humble idea of manufacturing the best mobile home roofs on the market. By the early 2000s, the business had maneuvered its way through a fair amount of expansion, financial struggles, joint ventures, asset divisions, industry slumps, acquisitions, and a public offering.

LCI was seemingly at its peak when Jason Lippert assumed the role of CEO, hovering around $100 million in sales, since the manufacturing market in America was not exactly seen as the place to be, as many companies outsourced their plants overseas. This was a nondeterrent for Lippert, as he envisioned a new LCI that blew past previous margins and exploded in revenue growth year after year.

From day one in his new role, Jason poured his blood, sweat, and tears into growing the business. He tirelessly proved to not only himself but to the board of directors that putting him at the helm was the right decision. Over the next 10 years, Lippert and his team’s relentless efforts paid off in a massive way. The business grew 20 percent each year and amassed revenue of $800 million by 2013. This was the American Dream exemplified. In spite of all of this, however, something did not feel right to Lippert. He would go home each night with a nagging sense that LCI could do more than just turn a profit.

Show Up, Shut Up, Put Up, and Get Out

There was an unspoken code of behavior in the manufacturing industry that had been passed on from decade to decade. Simply put, “you show up, shut up, put up, and get out.” Lippert first experienced this mentality when he started at Lippert Components in 1994, fresh out of college. It was commonplace for bosses on the manufacturing line to yell and scream at employees.

Twenty years later, this behavior was still rampant in the business. Even as CEO, Lippert had not made a committed effort to improve it. The revenue and profits were strong, and LCI was growing faster than anyone could imagine. The board was happy, so why rock the boat?

One fateful day, Lippert received an e-mail with a link to a TEDx Talk titled “Truly Human Leadership” by Bob Chapman. Without much thought, he began to watch and quickly became engrossed in the 20-minute video. As he did so, the fog lifted. By the time he had finished watching, it became abundantly clear what was missing in his company. He and his leaders had lost sight of elevating human beings. A shift had to be made to focus on positively impacting the lives of their team members. The present toxic, unspoken code of behavior had to change, and it was going to start right then, with him.

Focus on Others

Despite the growth of the organization, there was a 115 percent turnover rate that was driving inconsistency in the LCI Manufacturing plants. Chapman’s talk drew the realization that the high turnover rate could only be blamed on the way LCI leaders treated their team members. Lippert decided he was running the business backward, regardless of what the yearly financial statement said. Employees had to be put first to rebuild things from the inside out.

Chapman had anchored his leadership approach to core values and living them out, so Lippert decided to do the same. His team defined the five core values they would wrap their culture around. These values would drive their attitudes, behaviors, and actions every day, at every facility:

   Passionate About Winning

   Team Play with Trust

   Honesty–Integrity–Candor

   Caring About People

   Positive Attitude

Lippert knew that just announcing the core values or putting them on a wall was not going to instill the change his company needed. He made the choice to visit each LCI facility with one goal in mind: to listen and share. It took no time at all to realize these core values were not present in the LCI workplace at the time. Lippert took action in a big way to show just how serious he was about building the best and elevating others for his 9,000-plus team members.

The company spent millions of dollars upgrading its facilities, providing employees with a clean, safe, and better place to come to work. He formed a Leadership Development department and hired several leadership coaches to serve as trainers, coaches, and trusted advisors that lived, breathed, and worked alongside of leaders at every layer of the organization. It was an approach that did not rely on Lippert’s words, but his actions. He did not stop there. Each and every day he took notes as he listened to employees, then turned those notes into actionable items. He implemented employees’ ideas throughout the company, complementing them with ones from his executive team. His people did not need to wonder if they mattered; he showed them they did.

It All Starts with a Model

By the middle of 2018, LCI’s core values and the Leadership Development department were well entrenched and the business had soared to new heights beyond what Larry, Doug, or even Jason Lippert could have imagined. The results were astounding: annual revenue hit $2.5 billion, employee engagement was at an all-time high, voluntary turnover was at a record low, and they were positively touching the lives of 11,000 employees and their families. It would be convenient to say this was achieved by chance or because LCI is in a great market, but that would not be the truth. The success of LCI began with a leader named Jason Lippert, who wanted more out of his career and life than making parts, generating revenue, and growing for the sake of growing.

Jason Lippert and Casey Crawford are in different industries and lead different businesses, but both exemplify the idea that building the best and elevating others is not only the right thing to do, but it’s a key to successful performance. Which begs the question: Can leadership be this simple?

There are some 30,000 different definitions of leadership. Arguably the most popular today comes from John Maxwell: “Leadership is influence.” While Maxwell is right that influence is a contributing factor to leadership, it isn’t quite that simple. Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” This doesn’t quite hit the nail on the head either. A personal favorite of mine, Peter Browning, former CEO of National Gypsum, stated, “Leadership is influencing people towards a worthwhile goal over an extended period of time.” Another fantastic interpretation, although it may be difficult for a new leader to identify with. John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, has been linked to this quote, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, become more, learn more, and do more, you are a leader.” Those words were backed up in the modern day by Microsoft founder Bill Gates who said, “As we look into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”

It is easy to see why there are many ways to define leadership. So many tremendous leaders have left us with their input. The definition I use and teach in our Building the Best workshops is the definition I want you to commit to memory:

Leadership is inspiring, empowering, and serving in order to elevate others over an extended period of time.

These words are chosen carefully and for great reason. The word inspire has its origin from Latin, and it means “to breathe life into.” Empower means “to give control over another’s life and the authority to do something.” “Serve” comes from the Latin word servant, in modern context it means “to devote (part of) one’s life or efforts to others.” All three are paramount to building the best and elevating others. If what you are doing to proactively elevate others results in them being more inspired, empowers them to make decisions, and serves their heart, then you are on your way to true leadership. In addition, you must help others move into a more permanent state of improvement.

Crawford and Lippert are people who truly embody this definition of leadership. They have continued to inspire, empower, and serve in order to elevate others, regardless of the situation.

While having an incredible leader at the helm is critical, in order to grow and evolve as a business or team, you must have an army of leaders behind you that also build the best and elevate others. What they need is a simple idea or way to think about how to do it. This is exactly what the rest of this book is all about.