What's The Diff?

The things Quicken Loans team members care about and want to share with the world

Have You Ever Experienced a Flight Detour?

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

By Cora Bledsoe

Last week, a few teammates and I took a trip to sunny Arizona to visit our new Phoenix office. The weather, scenery and people were wonderful and the trip was almost a complete success. We flew a major airline carrier and the flight back to Detroit, Michigan threatened to ruin my memories of the otherwise good trip.

To begin with, our flight was delayed one hour. No big deal, I thought, flights are delayed all the time, although I immediately began thinking of the extra hour of sleep I could have gotten. I got over the one hour delay and when the time came to board, I was ready to go, with a smile on my face.

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The Future of Learning

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

I think it was only a matter of time until devices such as iPods became a learning tool. Forward-thinking universities such as Duke and Stanford encourage their students to download audio content to their iPods to listen to lectures, school information, and even use them as tools to help students collaborate on projects. Check out the story here.

To me, this is the future of learning. When I was in college, students were really just discovering e-mail and the Internet. Even just having a computer (instead of some bulky, two-ton typewriter) to help you write papers was a great advantage. This goes WAY beyond audio books and Cliff’s notes.

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Do You Really Understand? Really?

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

By Christy Brewer

Okay, so we all took a newly developed training course. Some of us grumbled. Even if the recent communication training seemed like it was filled with stuff we should already know, the class did what it set out to do – it got me looking out for good stuff. At first blush, it seemed like this communication class was a course on “please and thank you.” [Cue my six-year-old singing the song he learned in preschool.] However, it is becoming clearer some people just don’t understand the difference between pretending you care and really caring about the service you provide.

The difference becomes apparent as we studied a formula for regaining control of an emotional conversation.

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Doctor DIFF and His Amazing Gore®-Lined Cast!

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Kathy-Broken-Leg

By Kathy Fawcett

Clayton, I truly am sorry you broke your leg! Would it help if I told you a story? No? But I promised I would…so sit back, Clayton…no, sit back, don’t try to get up while I tell you about Doctor DIFF and his amazing Gore®-lined cast.

I was camping in the Adirondacks  (That’s in upper New York State, Clayton) and I slipped on a mossy rock, breaking my leg. It hurt, Clayton, as you can well imagine. I was postponing the morphine shot until the hospital shift change, because the nurse was scary looking. (She started to look nicer as the pain grew.)

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When We Go Home, Are We Silos? Or Team Players?

Thursday, February 22, 2007

By Kathy Fawcett

Someone once said that good fences make for good neighbors, but I say that fences can make us silos in our own communities.

Chuck is a neighbor of mine that doesn’t let fences stop him.

The other night he brought our mail over – 4 Netflix that mistakenly landed in his mailbox. A person of lesser ethics could have kept them, and we’d be none the wiser. Of course, this single dad would have been sorely disappointed in the actual selections. About twice a year Steve lets me look over his shoulder at the Netflix queue. My husband, who considers anyone watching an episode of "24" on DVD without him as a betrayal, said: "Upstairs, Downstairs should be coming in tomorrow. Go ahead and watch them while I’m in Cleveland."

But that’s not the point.

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A Broken Foot Won’t Stop Us

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

foot_cast

By Brian Doelle

Hopefully you haven’t noticed, but the DIFF team’s step has lost a little of its spring today. Clayton, also known as The DIFF M.C./creator and driving force behind this blog, has had a minor accident and will be out of commission for a few weeks. But readers, don’t panic! You can rest assured he’ll soon be returning good-as-new. A special team of doctors has been working on him and have confirmed his sense of humor was not damaged in the incident.

If you’re not familiar with Clay’s writing, take a look at some of our favorite posts:

We’re sure Clay’s reading this, so the entire team would like to say, “Get well soon, buddy! It’s not the same ‘round here without you!”

Please feel free to leave a message or comment below for Clayton. I know he’ll appreciate them.

NOTE: It takes more than a little setback to keep the DIFF team down. Today is “Grilled Cheese Wednesday.” Lea’s grillin’ will have the spring back in our step in no time!

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Admitting When You’re Wrong

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

who-hit-my-car

By Christy Brewer

I saw this sign at the entrance of a subdivision on my way to work this morning. Everyone makes mistakes. It takes courage to own up to those mistakes. Some people are so afraid to go back and admit it. I know, I know…you have an ego to protect. It’s not too late to make it right. It never is. Being “the DIFF” means admitting you made a mistake, even if there were two mistakes in a row – hitting the car, then choosing to hide from it.

For everyone who has ever made a mistake, it’s our own choice to make it right that makes this world a better place. The sooner we realize that we all have choices, the sooner we begin living the difference every day. And that’s when we realize it’s not always about “me” and my embarrassment over having made a mistake.

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DSW Shoes – No Questions Asked!

Monday, February 19, 2007

By Carissa Shulman

I went to DSW to buy a pair of boots recently. I found what I was looking for quickly and was excited to see that there weren’t any lines at the front of the store. As I approached the cashier, a gentleman sitting at the doors walked up and asked for a pair of scissors to cut a string on one of his new shoes. It appeared that he had just purchased a pair and wanted to wear them out of the store. The cashier took the shoe from him and walked to the office at the end of the cash wrap.

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Deee-troit Baaaasket-ball!!

Friday, February 16, 2007

As the DIFF team continues to celebrate February as Black History Month, I thought it would be appropriate to highlight Neal Rubin’s Detroit News story about John Mason, who I think is a great example of the DIFF. He’s a Detroit, Michigan radio host and he also happens to be the public address announcer at all the Detroit Pistons home games. He has a very distinctive style of announcing which has really set the standard in his field. If you don’t know who he is, he’s the one who shouts out “Deeeeee-troit Baaaaaaasket-baaaaall!” for every turnover in the Pistons’ favor.

Many have tried to imitate him since he became well-known, but none seem able to match his high level of talent. So today, we salute John Mason for bringing his wonderfully unique style and, as Mason puts it, “flava” to the basketball arena.

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For Ben Carson, Life Began in 5th Grade

Friday, February 16, 2007

Ben Carson

By Kathy Fawcett

When he was in the fifth grade, Ben Carson’s mom turned off the TV. This not only changed the course of Ben’s life, but it changed the lives of thousands of people around the world.

At the time, his mom was really worried sick, and knew that Ben’s future was looking bleak. He had a red-hot temper, coupled with terrible performance at school.

Ben himself said:  “I really felt I was the stupidest kid in the fifth grade.”

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Thursday, May 17, 2012