Accountability Is Imperitave to Success!

Accountability Is Imperative to Success!

We live in a society where it is much more fashionable to blame others for our mistakes, to make excuses, to pass the buck.  It's almost shocking, and certainly always refreshing when someone owns up to a mistake.  In fact it is almost endearing, and it always makes you want to be more patient and less exacting!  It's really funny how that works and difuses situations!

In real estate it's absolutely imperative to make sure that we are accountable to our clients.  Did we get the listing into the MLS, are the pictures in, the sign, the advertising, the automated lead tracking, feedback systems?  What about the stager, when are they coming, when are you hosting the open house, when is your contractor going to help me finish my fix up list?  Is the title clear, has the home inspection been ordered, completed?  Has the home warranty been ordered, is the latest amendment in my inbox?  Am I going to receive offers at the list price you helped me select?  Am I getting the showings you and I anticipated?  Are you showing me houses that meet my needs?  Are you doing the marketing plan that you promised you would?

There are so many areas of accountability that help determine the success of our clients sales of their homes or purchases of their new homes.  Being accountable and taking care of all of these items quickly helps us get referrals and repeat businss, it's the kind of thing that builds a solid reputation and a successful career.

Also important is having an accountability partner, someone in your office that you can respect, who has a great deal of insight and experience, wisdom from having been there to help you see the blind spots that you may be missing!  This person is someone who can be tough and point out when you are not doing what you said you were going to do.  Are you focusing on your talent, and using it to the best of your ability?  Are you doing your lead generation activities?  Did you make the number of contacts today that you were supposed to? Did you knock doors?  Are you doing administrative work that you should have delegated?  Are unimportant phone calls and emails getting in the way of what you said you were willing to do?

Are you accountable to your family?  They are relying upon you to provide for their needs, and to be effective with your time in a way that allows you to spend the time they need to allow your life to touch theirs and have impact!  Underperforming, being unaccountable, and unwilling to make progress means you are cheating them of your time, and cheating yourself of meaningful interaction!

Are you accountable to yourself?  Doing what you promised yourself you would do is one of the most important aspects of success.  What are you doing when nobody is looking, when things aren't fun, when you get opposition?  When you have failed at 10:00 on Monday morning to stick to what you said you would do? If you aren't accountable to yourself, it doesn't matter what your accountability partner tries to commit you to do!

Are you accountable to God?  We may call Him by different names, or you may not believe that He exists, but if you were endowed by your Creator with great talent and abilities that are not being used to make a difference, then what are you doing?  Do you believe in doing the right thing because it is right, and because not doing so would displease a greater power, and would be bad for your character, bad for society and a disappointment to the all-knowing?  If you believe this, are you praying to do better and striving daily to think about what you can do to accomplish more and make a difference?

I'm thankful for my accountability partner Steve Kunkel, who gave me a quick dose of what I wasn't doing well, and helped get me back on track for next week with a few quick questions.  I'm thankful for the opportunity I have to be accountable to myself for achieving the plans I have outlined, for accountability to my wife and children, a desire to make my parents proud for the effort they have put into my life, and to God for the actions I take that I hope will be helpful to those I serve.