What does playing college basketball have in common with running a wholesale mortgage company? Nothing and everything, according to “Running the Corporate Offense,” a new book by Mat Ishbia, CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage in Pontiac.
Ishbia, who was a member of the 2000 Michigan State University national championship basketball team, says people can apply the competitiveness of athletics to the business world and be successful.
At the start of the book, Ishbia describes his first six years as president of United Wholesale Mortgage — a company his father founded — working to accomplish the goal of being the No. 1 wholesale mortgage lender in the country.
Chapters with names like Choose Success, Culture is King,
Emphasize the Why, and Success
is a Team Game guide the reader through Ishbia’s business philosophy and experiences as a
Spartan. Basketball-themed Fast Break Points at the end of each chapter offer tips on how to succeed in business.
“Leadership doesn’t require you to be the most talented player on your team or have all the answers,” Ishbia writes. “You’ve got to be a living example of how things should be done.”
The author asked his former coach/mentor to write the foreword. “There isn’t one person I’ve coached who is more game-ready when it comes to running the corporate offense (than Ishbia),” wrote MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo.
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://www.dbusiness.com/from-the-magazine/required-reading/&media=https://www.dbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2020/03/Required-Reading-featured-image.jpg&description=Mat Ishbia, CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, compares playing college basketball with his business life in his new book, “Running the Corporate Offense."){kind=link}