As we’re barreling through Quarter 4, reevaluating and reflecting on our goals, checking in with staff and decision-makers, striving to end the year strong, and making plans for where we’re going in Q1 next year, it’s also important to look back at how far we’ve come, and the growth experienced. If you’re not growing, you’re dying. It’s important to make sure we are evolving well.
What Does it Mean to Evolve Well?
Evolving well is about keeping our eye on the ball by living our mission and vision. It means struggling well. It’s not shying away from a challenge but taking accountability for where we’ve been and where we are going. For EPM, it will always be about empowering people more. That always harkens back to my father’s words on his deathbed, reminding me that what truly matters is leaving the world a better place.
When I say it’s important that we look back, I don’t mean we live in the past. We find patterns in the strategies, actions, and behaviors that brought us here and take stock of the lessons learned. This way, we don’t repeat mistakes. Over time, we look at the shifts in perspective and reflect on and share how the struggles have opened us up to better things. Together we build a strategy to stay on that trajectory.
Building Empowerment into the Business Model
Empowering our communities is the basis of our mission here at EPM. Our priorities are reflected in the way we operate every day. We support three charitable foundations by presenting them with a percentage of every loan we close. It’s built into the way we do business, so it happens automatically.
With EPM+, we’ve built an internal digital interface where our employees can engage directly with the culture of EPM and access growth and personal development tools. The idea is to bring us together and give people access to what they need to be successful. If we are going to empower people more, it has to start within.
We have other initiatives that we continue to work on internally and within the homeowner community. We make sure we are living the spirit of service that benefits others and continue to grow as we do. We prioritize expanding and evolving those initiatives as we grow.
Reflecting on 2021 Growth and Recognizing Opportunity in 2022
In the coming weeks, we will start to take time to recognize what brings us gratitude. It’s a great tool for recognizing the opportunities that lay in wait around the corner and for recognizing the efforts that helped the organization grow and succeed to this point.
I talk about appreciating the team members who are batting 350. Perfection is a ridiculous and damaging expectation in baseball and business. Learning from those missed hits and implementing changes from what we’ve learned informs evolution and success.
The leadership learns just as much as the rookie when we act as a true team. The things that will bring us success and opportunity as we prepare for the next year are mutually recognizing the value that everybody brings to the table. It’s in recognizing our blind spots and not running away from conflict and disagreement, but embracing conflict. To ensure that the whole team is empowered and provided the tools they need to do the same for our communities.