How aligned are you with your core purpose?
Start with the problem, not the solution.
A Chief Appraiser’s Problem
Bill, a Chief Appraiser at a $25B bank, struggles to run his appraisal department the way features-it’s provider slow to provide custom configurations.
Never Got Around to It
A commercial fee appraiser from Austin, Derek, is frustrated that he’s still copying/pasting his reports- working without a decent comp database and report writing software.
The C-Suite’s Blind Spot
Taren, a COO in Chicago, has been trying for years to move the digital transformation needle for her bank- especially connecting legacy platforms with integrations.
These aren’t just inconveniences; they’re the why behind the need for change. If you start with a deep understanding of the problem, the solution becomes clear and meaningful.
We all often get caught up in the allure of new technologies, but the real power comes from understanding why you’re using them in the first place.
Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution, Uri Levine provides a blueprint that resonates deeply with the philosophy of starting with why.
4 Ways to Fall in Love
Empathy for Your Customers: Bill realized his RMs and C-Suite are his most important stakeholders, his customers. Understanding their needs, their frustrations and their day-to-day challenges is Job No. 1.
YouConnect isn’t a static appraisal management platform, it’s designed to be maximally configurable.
Now Bill can run his appraisal department the way he wants to- not having to wait years for new reports, field changes and requested features.
Learn from Failure: There’s a profound lesson in embracing failure.
When something doesn’t go as planned—when the first iteration of a new process doesn’t integrate as smoothly as expected—ask why. Why didn’t it work? What can we learn?
Taren struggled with her bank’s digital transformation, often missing the ground-level challenges that make these initiatives succeed or fail.
Glances, a patented integration software, allowed Taren’s lending and consumer departments to see across multiple platforms without them having to leave their primary system.
Taren realized the huge time savings through the elimination of double entry, reduction of mistakes and not having to switch apps all day long.
Iterate with Purpose: Continuous improvement is essential.
When you iterate on YouConnect, it’s not just about adding features-it’s about making sure the platform serves its fundamental purpose: solving the (specific) problems that Bill’s teams face.
This purposeful iteration ensures that every change brings Bill closer to fulfilling his mission.
Focus on the Long-Term Impact: The true value of platforms like YouConnect and Glances isn’t in the immediate efficiencies they create-it’s in how they support Bill and Taren’s long-term goals of improving compliance, enhancing data accuracy and driving digital transformation.
Derek realized he was wasting time…every day with manual processes. He has three appraisers, multiplying his inefficiencies.
He wanted a simple, yet productive, comp database and report writing like DataComp with maximum control of the end product-that the reports look the way he wants.
The Takeaway
In the end, it’s not about falling in love with tools or the tech; it’s about falling in love with the problems these roles face daily.
YouConnect, Glances and DataComp aren’t just products-they’re a mindset.
They’re about deeply understanding the challenges and crafting solutions that don’t just fit, but truly solve. That’s where the real value lies.
This is how you create a bank and appraisal firm that doesn’t just operate-it leads.
Fall in love.
