Southeast Blog

Since graduating from GA TECH, I always wanted to work with teams. My fondest and best memories were created from being with my football teammates thus I knew the same connections had to be the same in work. Call it my surrogate to Football and team sports that were no longer my focus.

I knew working out early in my teens and speed training prepared me for sports and opened the door to attend Citadel and GA Tech. At Ga Tech, I realized preparing for my future was not going to be weight and speed training but knowledge of finance, organizational management, how the world works, and abstract thinking.

My banking career and Southeast Mortgage helped me better understand how we are all connected and helping others develop their knowledge base and skill set increases opportunity for everyone. During this time, there were always the super stars that only did what was in their best interest and more times than not used sketchy tactics to raise themselves up at the expense of others.

These experiences crafted what I believe to be a common truth in life and to be successful in work and with your family.

My job and responsibility to my TEAM and Shareholders is to ensure Southeast Mortgage is on the right and best sustainable path. The strategy has to be innovative and ahead of the curve, provide my TEAM with a safe and fair workplace, and prudently grow shareholder value through monetization of opportunity that ultimately creates opportunity for the whole TEAM (Village-I wrote this in 2006 Click to Read). For most of my career, competitors never understood what my TEAM understood working close to me. I have a compass that is governed by some general rules that I will not compromise. I want to pay it forward by sharing this brief narrative of what I have learned so far in my career and the personal rules that govern my life.

My personal rules that “I Believe” create a successful future in life and work.

1. Always tell the truth (The truth may be embarrassing but you will sleep better)
2. Do what you say you will do (Be reliable)
3. Be kind to all living things (I save turtles, help hurt animals etc. Good Karma)
4. Take care of your team and they take care of others and the whole team rises
5. Pay it forward (Teach someone something you were taught that helped you)
6. Always do the right thing (Even if its not a policy do what is right for those who have your back)
7. Never worry what others think or say, be yourself (Be you its more interesting)
8. Take Care of Yourself (Eat Well, Have a great bed to get great sleep, exercise)
9. Be bold (Speak up against unjust attacks, bullying, lies)
10. Hug your family every day and tell them you LOVE THEM

Cal