Chaos is not a strategy: Larry Bailey on workflow governance
About this episode
Larry Bailey discusses the importance of workflow governance in the mortgage industry and how it impacts efficiency and leadership.
On this episode of Power House, Zeb sits down with Larry Bailey from Mortgage Workflow Partners, who began his career as a loan processor in 1993 and now champions a simple but disruptive idea: “workflow before technology.” Bailey argues that most mortgage and real estate organizations have invested heavily in software and AI without first understanding how work actually gets done. Rather than improving efficiency, new technology is often layered onto disorganized processes because workflows were never clearly documented or owned. The conversation digs into how sales-led leadership shapes this reality. In lending, top leaders rise through sales, where adaptability is rewarded, but workflow is often overlooked. As a result, that critical knowledge resides with individuals rather than in documented processes. Bailey explains that workflow interviews quickly reveal the difference between employees eager to improve operations and those who rely on tribal knowledge to protect their value. Bailey defines workflow governance as documenting processes, assigning clear business ownership and continuously maintaining them as the organization evolves. He shares examples of large…
People in this episode
Host: Zeb
Guest: Larry Bailey
Topics covered
- workflow governance
- mortgage industry
- technology in business
- process documentation
- leadership in lending
Keywords
- workflow
- technology
- mortgage
- real estate
- efficiency
- leadership
- process documentation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Mortgage Workflow Partners
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