Since the end of May 2008, Mark Dangelo has been gracing this website with his insight and candor. It’s been a treat for me personally to read his blog each week and post it for all our readers to enjoy. However, you know what they say about all good things. Yes, Mr. Dangelo is leaving us, but this blog won’t go away, it’ll just be carried on by a new voice.
In looking back at Mr. Dangelo’s work over the past few months, I’m most fond of the article he wrote called, “Organization — Innovate Thyself.” In that article he asked the industry if it had lost commonsense. He went further to ask some pointed questions that would hopefully prompt the reader to think differently about the mortgage business. And readers did respond.
“I especially like your quote; cost cutting is not innovation, and neither is outsourcing.’ What was Einstein's definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. We never seem to learn any history lessons in this business. I wonder if the Dinosaurs knew it was getting colder before the Ice Age hit them ... don't know if we're any different,” responded Tim Anderson, president of SigniaDocs to the blog in question.
Innovation means different things to different people, but the one thing everyone knows in the mortgage industry is it’s time to innovate or die. So, even though Mr. Dangelo won’t be sharing his perspective on tech innovation, we at Mortgage Technology magazine still feel there’s a need for someone to express their ideas on the topic. Of course, I will continue to write my Tech Niches blog weekly, but there’s nothing like hearing something from your peers to get you inspired to do better.
So, we bid farewell to Mark Dangelo, but we say hello to Michael Hammond. Mr. Hammond will not take up the ideas or voice of Mark Dangelo. He’s not a substitute, he has his own voice and take on innovation. Mr. Hammond was chosen to share his ideas because he has a lot of real experience in the mortgage technology business.
Michael Hammond has close to two decades of experience in financial services and has earned the Certified Mortgage Technologist (CMT) designation from the MBA. His expertise spans start-ups to multi-billion dollar corporations, running businesses, business units, marketing, sales, strategy and product and services organizations. In his latest role, he acts as founder and president of his own organization dubbed NexLevel Advisors. The company is a business advisory firm that assists companies in growing their businesses more quickly and strategically.
Mr. Hammond also dedicates his time freely, serving on Mortgage Technology magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board. I can tell you, he never has a shortage of ideas and he’s not afraid to express his opinion, which is why I know he’ll do a great job blogging here starting next week. He’ll bring more practical talk rooted in his experiences working in the mortgage business in a variety of capacities over the past two decades. I can’t wait to read his first blog, which will be posted here on Tuesday, Dec. 16 for all of you to check out.
Let me know what you think of the change. For me, I’m both excited and grateful that Mr. Hammond has opted to share his voice on this website. And I thank Mr. Dangelo for the time he spent here, too.
