Reflection   -   Mind   Mapping 

 Challenge 

 It   was   the   aftermath   of   the   housing   bubble   in   2008   when   many   homeowners   owed   more   on   their 

 mortgages   than   their   home ’s   market   value ,   mortgage   defaults   were   rampant ,   and   Realtors   were   starved 

 for   work   as   traditional   real   estate   transactions   dried   up .   My   challenge   as   an   entrepreneur   was   to   create   a 

 viable   business   that   is   beneficial   to   the   homeowners ,   mortgage   lenders ,   and   Realtors   in   distress . 

 Selection 

 At   the   time ,   I   was   not   aware   of   the   design   thinking   approach .   My   engineering   background   led   me   to 

 choose   mind   mapping   to   help   me   visually   think   through   the   problem ,   make   connections ,   and   create   ideas . 

 Application 

 After   speaking   to   various   stakeholders ,   I   mind   mapped   the   then   current   reality : 

 1 )   Homeowners   ca n’t   afford   their   mortgage   payments   and   ca n’t   sell   their   home   because   selling 

 their   home   ca n’t   cover   the   mortgage   their   owed .   They   wanted   a   feasible   way   out   to   avoid 

 foreclosure . 

 2 )   Mortgage   lenders   were   understaffed   in   their   loss   mitigation   departments   and   did   not   have   the 

 processes   and   systems   in   place   to   handle   the   surging   volume   of   short   sale   requests .   They 

 wanted   to   process   as   many   short   sales   as   possible   to   avoid   the   costs   associated   with   foreclosing . 

 3 )   Realtors   did   not   possess   the   skill   set   to   negotiate   short   sales ,   so   the   bulk   of   their   clients   ended 

 up   in   foreclosure   despite   tons   of   extra   work .   They   wanted   to   close   short   sales   so   they   can 

 continue   to   make   a   living   from   commissions . 

 4 )   Homebuyers   losing   out   on   the   home   they   wanted   after   months   of   waiting   to   foreclosure .   They 

 wanted   to   settle   the   transaction   quickly   and   move   into   their   new   home . 

 Insight : 

 The   insights   gained   from   mind   mapping   was   that :   1 )   Homeowners   were   not   aware   that   short   sale   is   a 

 viable   option   to   avoid   foreclosure ,   2 )   Mortgage   lenders   were   not   educating   Realtors   on   how   to 

 pre - qualified   short   sales   and   only   send   in   complete   and   viable   files ,   3 )   Realtors   assumed   that   they 

 needed   to   negotiate   short   sales   themselves   because   distressed   homeowners   ca n’t   afford   to   pay   out   of 

 pocket ,   and   4 )   Home   buyers   were   not   equipped   to   decipher   the   odds   of   success   of   a   particular   short   sale . 

 When   I   challenged   the   assumption   that   distressed   homeowners   need   a   good ,   fast ,   and   cheap   solution   --   I 

 realized   that   good   and   fast   are   absolute   musts   to   avoid   foreclosure ,   whereas   cheap   is   only   a   relative   term 

 to   the   consequences   of   foreclosure .   I.e.   cheap   did   NOT   mean   $ 0   out   of   pocket   as   assumed .   In   fact ,   the 

 $ 0   assumed   constraint   is   costing   all   stakeholders   dearly   --   homeowners   got   foreclosed ,   lenders   incurred 

 costs   to   foreclose ,   Realtors   made   no   commission   when   their   listing   is   foreclosed ,   and   homebuyers 

 wasted   months   waiting   to   buy   a   home   that   ended   up   in   foreclosure . 

 Based   on   the   insights ,   we   created   a   loss   mitigation   company   that   focused   on :   1 )   educating   homeowners 

 about   the   short   sale   option ,   2 )   accepted   only   pre - screened   short   sale   listings   that   were   straight   forward 

 enough   to   obtain   mortgage   lender   approval   fast ,   and   3 )   took   over   short   sale   negotiation   work   from 

 Realtors   and   charged   homeowners   and   homebuyers   a   fee   for   loss   mitigation   work   that   is   due   only   when 

 the   deal   closes . 

 Our   premium   pricing   strategy   was   designed   as   a   win - win - win - win   solution   for   all   stakeholders ,   despite 

 appearing   counter - intuitive   in   a   distressed   market .   We   were   able   to   deliver   a   90 - day   cycle   time   with   an 

 80 %   success   rate ,   trouncing   peer   group   average   of   365 - day   and   20 % .   We   received   raving   testimonials 

 from   homeowners ,   home   buyers ,   and   Realtors ,   enjoyed   dramatic   revenue   growth   and   profitability ,   and   led 

 the   local   market   in   the   first   one   year   of   operations . 

 Approach 

 The   next   time ,   I   would   go   several   steps   deeper   with   a   service   blueprint   to   gain   additional   insights   along 

 the   journey   for   all   key   stakeholders .   I   think   doing   so   will   help   refine   the   service   process   and   deliver   an 

 even   better   experience   for   all   involved . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Reflection   -   Mind   Mapping 

 Challenge 

 It   was   the   aftermath   of   the   housing   bubble   in   2008   when   many   homeowners   owed   more   on   their 

 mortgages   than   their   home ’s   market   value ,   mortgage   defaults   were   rampant ,   and   Realtors   were   starved 

 for   work   as   traditional   real   estate   transactions   dried   up .   My   challenge   as   an   entrepreneur   was   to   create   a 

 viable   business   that   is   beneficial   to   the   homeowners ,   mortgage   lenders ,   and   Realtors   in   distress . 

 Selection 

 At   the   time ,   I   was   not   aware   of   the   design   thinking   approach .   My   engineering   background   led   me   to 

 choose   mind   mapping   to   help   me   visually   think   through   the   problem ,   make   connections ,   and   create   ideas . 

 Application 

 After   speaking   to   various   stakeholders ,   I   mind   mapped   the   then   current   reality : 

 1 )   Homeowners   ca n’t   afford   their   mortgage   payments   and   ca n’t   sell   their   home   because   selling 

 their   home   ca n’t   cover   the   mortgage   their   owed .   They   wanted   a   feasible   way   out   to   avoid 

 foreclosure . 

 2 )   Mortgage   lenders   were   understaffed   in   their   loss   mitigation   departments   and   did   not   have   the 

 processes   and   systems   in   place   to   handle   the   surging   volume   of   short   sale   requests .   They 

 wanted   to   process   as   many   short   sales   as   possible   to   avoid   the   costs   associated   with   foreclosing . 

 3 )   Realtors   did   not   possess   the   skill   set   to   negotiate   short   sales ,   so   the   bulk   of   their   clients   ended 

 up   in   foreclosure   despite   tons   of   extra   work .   They   wanted   to   close   short   sales   so   they   can 

 continue   to   make   a   living   from   commissions . 

 4 )   Homebuyers   losing   out   on   the   home   they   wanted   after   months   of   waiting   to   foreclosure .   They 

 wanted   to   settle   the   transaction   quickly   and   move   into   their   new   home . 

 Insight : 

 The   insights   gained   from   mind   mapping   was   that :   1 )   Homeowners   were   not   aware   that   short   sale   is   a 

 viable   option   to   avoid   foreclosure ,   2 )   Mortgage   lenders   were   not   educating   Realtors   on   how   to 

 pre - qualified   short   sales   and   only   send   in   complete   and   viable   files ,   3 )   Realtors   assumed   that   they 

 needed   to   negotiate   short   sales   themselves   because   distressed   homeowners   ca n’t   afford   to   pay   out   of 

 pocket ,   and   4 )   Home   buyers   were   not   equipped   to   decipher   the   odds   of   success   of   a   particular   short   sale . 

 When   I   challenged   the   assumption   that   distressed   homeowners   need   a   good ,   fast ,   and   cheap   solution   --   I 

 realized   that   good   and   fast   are   absolute   musts   to   avoid   foreclosure ,   whereas   cheap   is   only   a   relative   term 

 to   the   consequences   of   foreclosure .   I.e.   cheap   did   NOT   mean   $ 0   out   of   pocket   as   assumed .   In   fact ,   the 

 $ 0   assumed   constraint   is   costing   all   stakeholders   dearly   --   homeowners   got   foreclosed ,   lenders   incurred 

 costs   to   foreclose ,   Realtors   made   no   commission   when   their   listing   is   foreclosed ,   and   homebuyers 

 wasted   months   waiting   to   buy   a   home   that   ended   up   in   foreclosure . 

 Based   on   the   insights ,   we   created   a   loss   mitigation   company   that   focused   on :   1 )   educating   homeowners 

 about   the   short   sale   option ,   2 )   accepted   only   pre - screened   short   sale   listings   that   were   straight   forward 

 enough   to   obtain   mortgage   lender   approval   fast ,   and   3 )   took   over   short   sale   negotiation   work   from 

 Realtors   and   charged   homeowners   and   homebuyers   a   fee   for   loss   mitigation   work   that   is   due   only   when 

 the   deal   closes . 

 Our   premium   pricing   strategy   was   designed   as   a   win - win - win - win   solution   for   all   stakeholders ,   despite 

 appearing   counter - intuitive   in   a   distressed   market .   We   were   able   to   deliver   a   90 - day   cycle   time   with   an 

 80 %   success   rate ,   trouncing   peer   group   average   of   365 - day   and   20 % .   We   received   raving   testimonials 

 from   homeowners ,   home   buyers ,   and   Realtors ,   enjoyed   dramatic   revenue   growth   and   profitability ,   and   led 

 the   local   market   in   the   first   one   year   of   operations . 

 Approach 

 The   next   time ,   I   would   go   several   steps   deeper   with   a   service   blueprint   to   gain   additional   insights   along 

 the   journey   for   all   key   stakeholders .   I   think   doing   so   will   help   refine   the   service   process   and   deliver   an 

 even   better   experience   for   all   involved .
### Output: 