Written By: Tom Ward

"Tom Ward is President of Majestic Consulting & Marketing, which is a sister company to Majestic Mortgage in Illinois. As a management guru and business coach, Tom teaches mortgage companies how to increase their profits on each and every loan. Contact Tom at tward@majestic-mortgage.com or the website of www.MajesticConsulting.com. Sign up for his Management Session at www.TurnOnYourMillionDollarBrain.com.

Carol Kleiman, the Chicago Tribune's workplace columnist, called me recently and asked whether I would consent to an interview: "My biggest mistake."

I didn't hesitate because my biggest mistake led me to re-evaluate the very basic way I went about managing my business successfully. Majestic Mortgage Corporation may never have established a profitable business in and out of refinance booms, without confronting "my biggest mistake."

My biggest mistake was this: I entrusted my accounting and financial management completely and almost blindly to an accountant. But, a single misbooking of a $138,000 loan almost led my mortgage company to bankruptcy. The lesson was a hard one financially, but in the end rewarding and not just at a financial level, but in the quality of my life and the lives of the people who work at Majestic Mortgage.

What I learned was much more than a remarkably simple financial management reporting system I call "One Transaction Thinking." What I really learned over time was how to develop a culture at Majestic Mortgage that generates profits beyond my commissions and my salary and regardless of market conditions; in and out of refinance booms.

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