|
 |
|
|||
|
|
||
|
|||
June 2005 • Volume 2, Issue 6 This issue home | Action home | Chamber home Countrywide CEO Inspires Nearly 400 Annual Banquet Attendees Horatio Alger Winner Tells Audience To Never Give Up On Their Dreams
From growing up in a poor New York neighborhood to co-founding the nation's No. 1 mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial's chairman and CEO Angelo R. Mozilo is the epitome of a successful entrepreneur. The Horatio Alger award winner shared some of the wisdom he's gained over his more than 50-year career in mortgage banking at the Richardson Chamber of Commerce's 48th Annual Banquet. Nearly 400 attended the “Celebrating Entrepreneurship”-themed banquet which was held April 29 at the Renaissance Richardson Hotel. “Any company, in order to be successful, has to have a purpose,” Mozilo said. “It has to have a soul. If its purpose is to make money, it cannot survive.” From its inception, Countrywide's purpose was to make a difference in people's lives by lowering the barriers of entry and helping people realize the dream of home ownership. Mozilo said the company maintains this same soul today. But it wasn't always easy. When Mozilo and partner David Loeb joined forces in 1969 with a dream to have a national mortgage company, it was a tumultuous time in America – from Vietnam to Watergate to a postal strike. Mozilo said there were times it seemed like one crisis after another. From this Mozilo learned something every entrepreneur must remember. “Don't ever give up,” he said. “Because you never know what that next day is going to bring. Whatever it is, if it's important to you, don't ever give up.” From a leadership perspective, Mozilo has learned that “it's a team effort. “You have to have people who believe in you … who believe in your purpose,” he said. Second, Mozilo leads by example. “I'm respected at Countrywide because I did everything [other employees] do. … I can't expect them to do things I'm not willing to do.” Third, he says, do not under any circumstances tolerate mediocrity. “It's a cancer.” Fourth, Mozilo stressed the importance of integrity, conviction and never compromising one's values. “You can lose a lot of things in life, but there are two things you can never recover – your children and your integrity.” With regard to customer service and working with others, Mozilo raises the bar on the Golden Rule. Instead, he and other Countrywide employees follow the “Platinum Rule,” which is “Do unto others as they want to be done unto.” Today, Countrywide has 45,000 employees in 750 offices on three continents and a 15 percent market share. On Dec.14, 2004, Mozilo, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Richardson Mayor Gary Slagel announced that, supported by $20 million from the State of Texas Enterprise Fund, Countrywide will bring 7,500 new jobs to the State of Texas, with 5,000 of them targeted for Richardson. The project is believed to be the largest single job-creation announcement in the U.S. in the past four years. However, Mozilo pledges that Countrywide is “far from finished.” The company has a goal of 100,000 employees and a 30 percent market share by 2010. “Hopefully we'll do a lot of that right here in Texas, right here in Richardson. ”We have big dreams. We have big hopes. But we have the greatest country in the world … and we have people like yourselves who will help us do that.” |
|
Top Stories
More Top Stories
In Every Issue
|
| Action News is a monthly publication of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce Communications Department. Contact the editor. To unsubscribe, e-mail administrator@telecomcorridor.com. Please provide your name, company, phone number and e-mail address. |
