June 2026

In business, executives often spend months modeling synergies, forecasting EBITDA improvements, and calculating cost savings. Yet the factor most likely to determine whether a merger, acquisition, or integration succeeds rarely appears in a spreadsheet: culture. The homebuilding industry offers a useful example. A structured, process-driven builder such as Beazer Homes and a more entrepreneurial organization […]

Christina Harmes has the reverse mortgage bug in her blood. She previously worked with her father, Scott, at C2 Financial Corp., one of the nation’s largest mortgage brokerages, and has been originating loans since 2011. Harmes, who’s based in Southern California, has since moved on to Barrett Financial Group, where she works as a reverse

Few phrases surface more often in mortgage boardrooms than “loan officer productivity.” Leaders understandably want more loans per originator, more dollar volume per head and greater efficiency across the sales force. The metric feels clean and controllable, offering a simple way to measure performance and signal accountability. Gradually, that focus can harden into the assumption