While watching my favorite Christmas Show, "The Grinch", I was reflecting on 2009. The year that was, or soon to be was, was indeed one in which we all came face to face with economic terms that we all thought were a thing of the past.
Continued deflation in the housing market, double digit unemployment, a credit crunch, and bank failures all quickly come to mind.
After the hustle and bustle of the Holiday's pass and the New Year's resolution are made we will be faced with all the opportunity that every New Year promises. Like the Grinch who's heart grew to the size of 10 Grinch's I was reminded of modern day parable of the big and small rocks. Click here for the best video of the parable that I have seen.
As we prepare to toast the New Year and make plans to make 2010 a banner year remembering the Big Rocks will help us all put things in prospective. A couple of years ago I was speaking with a Consultant/Trainer who relayed the following story:
While meeting with a Group of Automotive Dealer's the following question was posed, "What are the most important things in your life?" The answers were typical, with faith and family topping the list. He then posed a second question, "Do your senior managers and leadership team know the answers to the first question?" Silence fell upon the participants. Lastly Mike asked, "Does your organizational culture reflect your highest priority, the answer to question 1. As the real estate industry struggles to be profitable, thinking about these questions and the answers may go a long way to making sure we are putting the big rocks in first.
Understanding is the key to success. Understanding what we want to accomplish, understanding what those around us want to accomplish, and understanding what our customers and/or clients want to accomplish. Our industry is suffering from an extreme lack of understanding. Broker/Owners don't understand why managers aren't recruiting more agents, agents don't understand why buyer won't buy or why seller's have ridiculous expectations of a home's value, and clients don't understand why an agent can't get the pennies on the dollar that the late night infomercials promise are right in front of everybody.
To understand is to lead. And leadership is what is going to make 2010 a different year than the previous, or if you are one of the lucky few, leadership is what is going to continue to make your company successful. There has been much talk about the brokerage of the future. The brokerage of the future is going to be made up of leaders who understand. Leaders who understand that given the proper tools and training managers will attract the top talent. Leaders that understand agents and sales associates need more than a handful scripts to negotiate the best deals for their clients, and leaders who understand that an educated client or consumer will have realistic expectations.
Knowing what we know, and don't know is the first step. The second step is making the choice to do something to change what we don't know. What worked in the past isn't what is going to work in the future.
2010 needs to be the year you reinvent your brokerage. "It's never too late to be what you might have been." George Eliot
As we begin the process of reinventing ourselves to face the new economic realities of life we must change the way we conduct our day to day businesses. Focus on the Big Rocks and we can build a high trust business with loyal followers, and motivated and productive, employees and agents.
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