Expert Guidance Aboard Apollo 13

While I realize that the memory chamber of my alien cranium is becoming too full to hold much more data as my lifespan progresses, I do distinctly remember back in the warmer months of the lunar cycle that the meteorology community was saying this would be a mild winter. There was even mention of a reference piece called the Farmers’ Almanac which also called for above normal temperatures and precipitation in the form of rain.

For those of you who are experiencing the exact OPPOSITE of all this in January, feel free to vocalize your displeasure with these predictions in private. I’ll refrain from doing the same here, as this is a PG-13 blog, after all.

Speaking of PG-13 and movie ratings, during this cold and snowy weather, I wisely opted to stay in my spaceship as much as possible to preserve the integrity of my Amicitian skin. In doing so, I utilized my full gamut of streaming resources. The film Apollo 13 caught my eyestalks for a couple of reasons. First, it’s about space exploration which is one of my favorite pastimes (after mortgages, of course). Second, a couple of our myCUmortgage experts used the movie as an example of our Expert Guidance brand pillar during a previous Town Hall meeting, and ever since, I’ve wanted to hear more about the story of this heroic moment in American history.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story, this Hollywood drama is based on the events of the Apollo 13 lunar mission. As the mission got underway, astronauts Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) find everything going according to plan after leaving Earth’s orbit. However, when an oxygen tank explodes, the scheduled moon landing is called off and is followed by numerous technical problems that threaten both the astronauts’ survival and their safe return to Earth.

You may recognize the infamous quote uttered by mission commander Lovell: “Ah, Houston, we’ve had a problem.” Tense, I know…

A lot of things had to happen if these astronauts were to come home safely. They needed guidance, literally and figuratively. Their mechanical guidance controls were virtually useless, and as the carbon dioxide levels continued to increase in the damaged ship, they needed clear and rational thinking to guide them out of this mess. They needed the Expert Guidance that only Mission Control could provide.

What is expert guidance? It’s showing confidence when working with others. It’s communicating the “why” and taking ownership of the situation. Most importantly, it’s all about working as a team.

At myCUmortgage, we see ourselves as Mission Control and our partner credit unions are the astronauts in the vast credit union mortgage universe. Equally so, our partner credit unions are often at the controls when they’re helping their own astronauts – members and borrowers – find a home. Whichever role we all play, it comes back to our shared goal of helping more members with homeownership.

From the myCUmortgage Mission Control Center, we have a great example of Expert Guidance provided by our own Sara and Ali. Some time back, a loan officer from one of our partner credit unions reached out to Sara and Ali to provide some most deserved kudos for the expert guidance they provided. Here’s what the LO had to say:

“I was nervous about joining my credit union as a loan officer last October, as my previous 23 years of experience, I had just originated loans and not run Desktop Underwriter® or processed loans. I figured it was going to be pretty brutal. Fortunately, I was lined up with Sara and Ali for onboarding/training and they have been extremely experienced, knowledgeable, intelligent, selfless, passionate, focused, relentless, aggressive, patient and available, spending hundreds of hours with me on the phone showing me the in-depth awesomeness/effectiveness of the software, processes and system of the credit union and myCUmortgage.

“Having a process for navigating through almost countless laws and regulations as well as software and systems is incredible to set up, but training the details is also extremely difficult. I am fortunate to be working with myCUmortgage and am very appreciative of your team members, Sara and Ali. If it weren’t for them, instead of closing 24 loans since October, it would probably be 3 (although I might be giving myself too much credit)!”

First, congratulations and GREAT JOB, Sara and Ali, for helping our partner credit unions help 24 members with homeownership—keep up the great work! Second, what are some of YOUR stories from Mission Control? As a credit union, I know you’ve worked with members who sometimes feel like they’re about to drift away in the mortgage stratosphere. Please share these stories and let’s celebrate the success together!

Spoiler alert: The Apollo 13 astronauts made it home safely, thanks to the leadership of Mission Control and the teamwork they exhibited within the space capsule. And just like a home loan that appears hopeless at times, the crew of Apollo 13 and Mission Control turned what could have been one of the worst disasters in U.S. space history into one of its greatest triumphs.

“This is Apollo 13, signing off.”

 

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