Uncategorized

Tuesday, November 11, 2025  Happy Veterans Day.  If you or someone you love served...Thank You. Some of us were front-row try-hard kids; leaning in a little too eagerly, hands always in the air, asking too many questions, secretly proud when we got the answers right. Others were back-row thinkers; literally zoomed out taking things in broadly, observing the whole classroom, and often connecting the dots between the answers, the questions, and the patterns that weren’t immediately obvious to everyone. Both approaches shaped how we learned — and they still matter in the workplace today. When interviewing job candidates, I often [...]

Tuesday, Sept 16, 2025 I’ve been thinking a lot about how we interact these days, how quickly conversations (online or in person) can turn sharp, judgmental, fractious, even hostile. We’re quick to spot flaws in others while missing the ones in ourselves. It’s like living in a neighborhood where every fence is taller than the houses, and we only peek over now and again to criticize. We all know what happens when rocks start flying. Suddenly, the neighborhood stops feeling like a community. We fiercely protect our own yards, we retreat, we lose connection. We become convinced our neighbors get [...]

Tuesday, July 22, 2025 There’s a kind of disorientation that happens when you return to a place you once knew by heart — and realize your internal map doesn’t work anymore. I’m in my mother’s hometown this week. It’s the county seat where my maternal grandparents lived; my grandpa was the fire chief.  It’s where my siblings and cousins once spent Thanksgivings and summer stretches, where large family reunions were held at the fairgrounds, and where many of my core childhood memories seem to reside. It’s a place I still love, both for its own charm and for the people [...]

Tuesday, February 11, 2025 This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was effectively shuttered, and I find myself sitting with mixed emotions. It’s not a rare moment, given my chosen profession, to pause and reflect on the role of effective regulation, the impact of enforcement, and the tension between those who call for reform and those who fear its absence. It’s complicated, and like many things in our industry, it doesn’t lend itself to simple, all-or-nothing solutions. Regulation, like a river, is necessary. It provides structure, flow, and life to the financial ecosystem. But when a river floods its [...]

Tuesday, January 28, 2025 Today, I’m sharing with you the words of others rather than my own.  Recently I’ve taken part in more than a few discussions about the American Dream.  Is it alive, is it well, is it out of reach?  The following question and answer, as shared recently on the Advisory Opinions podcast*, I think sums it up as well as it can be summed.  Enjoy. Question from Listener: “I'm writing to you because I need some guidance to help a student with her end-of-year baccalaureate project.  She has chosen to look at how and if the Supreme [...]

Tuesday, January 2, 2024 I’ve been thinking about 2024. Happy New Year. Did 2023 feel like a whirlwind to you? A review of our publications’ top stories for last year (see links to some of the stories below) revealed it was a difficult year in which to find footing. Not to mention how difficult it was to find revenue. But collectively, we’re still here. It feels like our sector of the market has become an even greater target for thieves. Together we feel deeply unsettled around that fact, and there is a tightness in our chest about who and [...]

August 14, 2023, Cleveland, Ohio October Research announces that 25-year title and settlement services industry veteran Mary Schuster has joined the company as Chief Knowledge Officer. In her new role, Schuster will help drive content across multiple channels, support the editorial boards and develop new educational tools for keeping the industry educated and informed throughout the year. “We are thrilled to have someone of Mary’s caliber and stature within the settlement service industry join the team,” CEO and Publisher Erica Meyer said. “She has hit the ground running, and we are grateful and excited that she chose October Research for [...]

Dear Readers, This month marks the tenth anniversary for the Dodd-Frank Update. While researching the Dodd-Frank Act for this month’s cover story, my mind was boggled by the breadth of the legislation, and all of the changes that have happened since it was enacted. It’s definitely been a game changer. As we have reported in recent months, more change is coming to the industry as the new Biden administration gains steam, and many predict a return to the perspective and goals that were held during the Obama administration for consumer protection and financial reform. “First and foremost, the message coming [...]

Dear Readers, It would be hard to imagine a more anticipated New Year’s Eve than the one that just took place several days ago. With the loss of life, jobs, and income, and just the overall devastation at the hands of the COVID-19 coronavirus felt by so many over the past 12 months, the sights and sounds of welcoming 2021 seemingly couldn’t have come soon enough. Personally, and professionally, we are still a long way from returning to “normal.” It is understood that when Jan. 1 arrived on the calendar, it did not magically erase all the sadness and damage [...]