Tuesdays with Mary

Tuesday, June 11, 2024 I’ve been thinking about honor. I hope you were able to watch and enjoy some of the celebrations and commemorations of the 80th anniversary of D-Day last week. I’ll admit to feeling an extra tug this year, as we look back at what was, what it meant, what was sacrificed and what we could soon face again.  I’ve watched the planes carrying those D-Day veterans load up at major U.S. airports, and the incredible welcome those old guys and their families received upon reaching Europe.  I wondered what making this journey now means to them. I’ve [...]

Tuesday, June 4, 2024 I’ve been thinking about meeting your heroes. No doubt you’re familiar with the adage, never meet your heroes, you’ll only be disappointed. I suppose it might apply to situations when a hero is a celebrity, or perhaps a politician. I’ve never held anyone in one of those jobs out as a hero (at least none that are living) so I can’t be sure. I have, however, had plenty of opportunities to meet many of my heroes; more than a few of them work in this business. This morning, I was listening to an interview with presidential [...]

Tuesday, May 28, 2024 I’ve been thinking about new recruits and maximizing opportunities to attract young workers to our industry. Let me introduce you to a couple of terrific young people who are potentially interested in working in your business. Their recent experiences might cause you to rethink where you find new talent and how you engage with them. For today, we’ll call them Sophia and Carl. Sophia and Carl are each high school seniors, bright and advanced kids, enrolled in college courses for credit. Sophia is a creative type with an interest in marketing; she has a real talent [...]

Tuesday, May 21, 2024 I’ve been thinking about what matters most.  This time of year, we get to see some good, some bad and some just plain awkward advice given during commencement addresses.  Given some of the strife on our college campuses lately, many of these events have taken on increased scrutiny. This week, while we are at NS3 learning so many new things, I wanted to leave this video here for you.  You might have heard some of the circumstances surrounding this commencement, but did you hear the actual speech itself? Until Next Time, Mary Schuster Chief Knowledge Officer [...]

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 I’ve been thinking about consumer engagement.  More specifically, about how difficult it can be for a title and settlement company to build lasting bonds with future homebuyers and sellers.  It’s something I’ve been wrestling with on and off for nearly 30 years, and over that time I’m not proud to admit that I’ve been on every side of the argument.  How do you get a buyer or seller to ask for your company by name? There’s no single magic recipe, that’s for sure.  But I’ve always believed in education as a vital ingredient of any successful [...]

Tuesday, May 7, 2024 I’ve been thinking about your DNA, and mine too.  Something might have missed last October is the direct-to-consumer genomic testing company 23andMe fell victim to a cyber-attack.  It’s also true that the company once valued at $6 billion is now valued at roughly $0.  Those things are both related and unrelated, but it’s an interesting story. In case you aren’t entirely familiar, 23andMe set out to solve a problem.  The problem, as they saw it, was that genetic testing is not yet routinely used to understand potential health futures for most Americans.  They believed our health [...]

Tuesday, April 30, 2024 I’ve been thinking about commitment. More specifically, about what it means to make a commitment. About how we select the things we commit to. How we choose to keep our commitments, despite inconvenience or discomfort. One of the things I love the most about the people in our business is how seriously we take our commitments. In my view, it’s the single common thread that binds together each of us who work in this business. We make, keep and fulfill our commitments. Commitment as a concept presented itself early in my life. Long before it occurred [...]

Tuesday, April 23, 2024 I’ve been thinking about storytelling. During an episode of one of my favorite podcast shows earlier this week, the host was asked by the guest, “If you could go back earlier in life and give yourself a piece of advice, what would it be?” The host replied he would tell himself the biggest secret of success he has learned thus far: “become a better storyteller.”  That advice seems especially on point, just now. This week I enjoyed catching up with two long-respected colleagues, sharing our views on the current state of our industry. One of these [...]

Tuesday, April 9, 2024 I’ve been thinking about the fact that things have been a little intense lately. We don’t mind working hard, and we aren’t entirely allergic to change. Yet lots of buzzing about and things to keep up with can wear a brain out. When that happens, I check in with the fine folks over at Mental Floss for a mental reset. Here are a few random remarkable facts that helped my brain adjust, and I hope they will help yours, too. Enjoy! When Disneyland first opened in 1955, Tomorrowland was designed to look like a year in [...]

Tuesday, April 2, 2024 I’ve been thinking about habituation. A long-time friend and colleague of mine is known for her fondness of the phrase It Is What It Is. It’s both an enigmatic and a rather matter of fact phrase, and I think it means different things to different people. Recently I was thinking about it with respect to the title industry. As human beings, we can habituate to both positive and negative things. It’s part of how our brains work, and we can habituate at surprisingly rapid speed. It can be a steadying force, as author Cass Sunstein describes [...]