The event was Buffini & Company's Leadership Conference 2025
After four powerful days of networking, training, and breaking bread with 1,000 of my fellow real estate leaders which included two days of intensive education from some of this country's best leaders—I’m coming back fully energized.
The lineup was Brian Buffini of course, Will Guidara author of Unreasonable Hospitality and one time owner of the #1 restaurant in the world, Carla Harris a Wall Street Executive and Leadership Strategist, Craig Groeschel, Leadership Authority and Best Selling Author and founder of Life.Church (taken one church from 40 parishioners to over 100,000). Elizabeth Dixon, a former Chic Filet executive and Customer Service Expert.
Highlights include:
Lead, Grow, Win with Brian Buffini: your team, your clients and your peeps, they want to be seen, heard and acknowledged. In order to provide them this, you must be present in their presence; LISTEN. Be an authentic leader- you're multi-faceted and that's OK, let them see all of you.
Doing My Best vs. Being My Best with Brian Buffini: To avoid burnout, stop living as a human doing and start embracing being a human being. Not everything can be a priority—so get clear on what truly matters and focus there. Be realistic and honest with yourself: it’s rarely about ‘not having time,’ it’s about what you choose to prioritize, therefore learn to say "that's just not a priority." Choose to be focused.
Will Guidara talked about Why Hospitality is Today's #1 Leadership Skill, reminding us it’s about those small, thoughtful touches, like ‘leaving a mint with the check.' List all your touchpoints required in your business to attract, service and keep your prospects and clients. Then, figure out ways to improve them for your customers. Will talked about being present also, he said it's difficult to provide your clients with unexpected extras if you're not paying attention to what they value most. It's never "one size fits all" it's always "one size fits one", so in order to uniquely bless them with your service, you have to get to know them and their values.
Carla Harris shared how to Lead To Win: No surprise, Carla also emphasized the importance of being authentically yourself as a leader. Though she’s a Wall Street tycoon and an award-winning Gospel singer, she hides neither side of who she is from her clients, team, or audiences.
She stressed the power of ‘the meeting before the meeting’—reminding us that the real work happens before you ever walk into the room, especially when proposing change or introducing new ideas. Run your thoughts by a trusted advisor, and even someone outside your team, to gain invaluable perspective for your preparation.
Carla also underscored how to handle feedback: ask the question, then give your team the space to answer. Resist the urge to jump in or immediately critique their ideas. By holding back your own opinion in the moment, you create a safe space where both ideas and criticisms can surface freely.
Craig Groeschel's Breaking Through Leadership Barriers taught us we can make excuse or you can make progress but you can't make both. You can have control or you can have growth, but you can't have both. Focus on the systems, not the outcome. Goals don't win, systems win. Don't tolerate; create better systems.
The systems largely control the outcome for you and ultimately once you've done your part, the outcome is out of your hands.
More is possible than you currently believe, you are capable of more. Empower people around you, the strength of your team depends upon the strength of talent you surround yourself with; don't overlook their potential. Be aware of the 3-5 drivers of your business in order to scale your business. There is untapped potential in you and you're more than you say you are-you are more than you believe you are.
Brian Buffini taught us about The Flying Gas Can, which refers to the story of Charles A. Limburg's 1927 transatlantic flight, referring to his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, being essentially a gas tank for the enormous amount of fuel needed to complete the journey.
We need to find our efficiencies, set a goal for profit-first and increase our effectiveness. Develop our leadership skills, coordinate team production, recruit and retain winners, build a winning culture and develop a business you can scale, whether you ever plan to sell it or not.
Elizabeth Dixon talked about The Strength of Purpose and Leading With What Lasts. Have you notice the reoccurring themes in the speaker's messages so far? Here's another: Elizabeth spoke on focusing on the input not the output. She spoke on the power of saying "no" more often to get to a meaningful "yes". Be a leader not a manager. Leaders challenge the status quo, managers maintain it.
She reminded us to pour into our team and our clients, invest in them, because they've invested in you. If you care for your team, they will in turn care for your clients.
In closing, I think you can see that success leaves clues, often repetitively. It’s like finding footprints on a well-worn path—if you follow them consistently, you’ll arrive at the same destination. The trick is not to reinvent the wheel, but to pay attention to the clues left by those who’ve already traveled the road and proven it works.
I'm never too busy to serve you or your referrals here in San Diego, CA
- where it truly is A Good Life!
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