S2 E7 - Knocked Down Twice, Got Up Thrice

The Whole Enchilada Podcast

Mitch welcomes Chris Lamm, a mortgage advisor from the Redding, CA area. Chris’ successes include $1 billion in funded loans, more than 600 five-star testimonials and 5,500 successful closings. He and Mitch talk about employees, mentors, health, control, and, of course, really good Mexican food.

Mitch begins by introducing Chris and The Whole Enchilada spirit that drove him to become a loan officer and branch manager. Chris talks about how he started out solo and had to make a decision to grow his business or move on. Mitch asks what caused him to decide to grow.

Chris cites a lot of resistance to growth, but began to see the advantages of it, including (and perhaps most importantly) the ability to help more people.

Mitch brings up possibly the scariest part of scaling up a business: the more people you invite, the more people can ruin your good name. Chris talks about the importance of being careful of who you invite into your house and always being in touch with all departments of your business. He quotes the book Raving Fans and its principles of customer service.

Mitch turns the conversation toward intrepreneurialism – a concept brought up by Elizabeth Dixon in Season 2, Episode 1 – and Chris responds with his dreams and goals and a surprising statistic about business owners who fail.

The discussion moves on to mentors and Chris names a local investor as the guy who taught him to dream. He goes on to talk about the 2008-2009 housing crisis and subsequent recession and what he learned from it.

Chris and Mitch get personal when Mitch asks Chris about the initial path that he was on. Celebrating 18 years of sobriety, Chris lends his own thoughts on how to overcome and survive and the two talk about the illusion of control and finding peace of mind.

Mitch ends with the all-important question, “Where are we having Mexican food?”

Chris immediately suggests Cabo san Lucas. He says it’s no particular restaurant. It’s more of the idea of eating where the locals eat…in a restaurant down an alley that has a sheet for a door. Those places always have the best carne asada, cooked right there in front of you. He wants a portion of lingua (the meat that tastes you back) and fresh tortillas. He wants his carne asada taco-style with lots of cilantro. When Mitch asks him how many, Chris says four or five and Mitch laughs, saying he’d like to have 10 or 12.

Table Talk:

Mitch opens Table Talk by revisiting Chris’ little-by-little approach to success, remarking that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. He even likens it to building a house: will it be your forever home or is this something you’ll pass onto someone else?

He quotes Richard Rohr about how familiarity and habits are falsely reassuring and that we should resist getting too comfortable. We should never stop going after the new.

Gil talks about the first part of his career, when he worked in businesses with religious backgrounds, thinking it was the only real work. Years later, though, through a painful transition, he learned there is no first- or second-class work.

Isaac says that his favorite part of the interview was Chris’ insights about mentors. He quotes Season 2, Episode 4 guest, Rita Kirk, who said, “You’re only as good as the best you’ve ever seen,” and cites a long list of people who have mentored him in a variety of ways.

Erin rounds out Table Talk sharing the story of her 80-year-old whose all-American, button-up, corporate persona took a totally different path after his wife (Erin’s mom) passed away. His journey from three-piece suit guy to spiritual guru reminded her of how Chris’ path started one direction but took another.

Links:

Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service by Ken Blanchard & Sheldon Bowles

https://www.amazon.com/Raving-Fans-Revolutionary-Approach-Customer/dp/0006530699/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=raving+fans&qid=1621867224&sr=8-1

Selling the Invisible by Harry Beckwith

https://www.amazon.com/Selling-Invisible-Field-Modern-Marketing/dp/0446672319/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=selling+the+invisible&qid=1621867252&sr=8-1

Elizabeth Dixon, The Whole Enchilada Podcast, Season 2, Episode 1

https://www.thewholeenchiladapodcast.com/podcast/episode/3ddfdf46/s2-e1-risk-potential-and-a-classic-chicken-sandwich

Richard Rohr

https://cac.org/

Rita Kirk, The Whole Enchilada Podcast, Season 2, Episode 4

https://www.thewholeenchiladapodcast.com/podcast/episode/287932a8/s2-e4-seeing-well-and-leading-well

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