What Is The Single Most Important Requirement In All Your Business Relationships?

 What is the single most important thing that must be in place to succeed in any business venture? It is always that you and any partners, team members, or those who you work for or works for you is that you have aligned interests. It is critical that you all either prosper together or feel pain together or  it isn't a question of if a problem will appear, it is simply when.

 What does aligned interests really mean, and how does that look in real life? One of the things I often explain to agents is that there are some popular business models that sound excellent on paper, but are creating a misaligned interest between the agent and their brokers, where one loses if another gains, this is a problem waiting to happen.

 Consider this if the plan has a cap, where at a rather low level, the agent no longer pays the broker or main company any further fees this sounds awesome, but let's look at it deeper. Let's say that I'm your best friend who is your top producing agent at a Cap company and you're my Broker. By February each year I produce enough business that I cap and have no more fees to the house until the following January.  However, you still have to provide basic services to support my business, but won't receive any compensation. You still have rent to pay on the building, staff to pay, utilities, office expenses keep going and actually climb as my business climbs. So once I have capped your net income on my business actually drops with each transaction you have to provide services for I grow my business.
This is a gross misalignment of business interests. Not only are you not rewarded for helping me grow, you're actually punished.

 Now let's look at the model we use at RE/MAX Ability Plus where you as an agent hire us to support your business. There is a fee structure that covers overhead and your receive 95% of the gross commission,  then the potential profit to the broker is 4 of the 5% with the 1% going as the franchise fee to RE/MAX. That means that the profit we look for is 4% of the gross commissions of each of our agents and the only way we can increase the net profit is to help our agents grow their businesses. So if you are a 5 million dollar agent and want to be a 10 million we are 100% committed to help you do so. If you are a 10 million who wants to be a 20 million you have all our staff at your side helping you. The interests are aligned, the ONLY way we can increase our net profit is to help you increase yours and for every extra 1,000.00 we can help you make each year we make an extra 40.00.

Our only question is How Big do you want to go?

"But I Don't Want To Change!!!" Sound Familiar?

 Why is it that personal growth only comes out of your comfort zone, and often by stepping into pain? I guess it really doesn't matter if we like it or not, but that is just how it is, always has been and will always be. So, ultimately it always comes down to a decision, your own decision, that only you can make.

 Earlier this month I was assigned the leadership role for a team of our staff to compete with teams led by Jimmy Dulin and Jennie Franklin to see which team will take the most steps with our "Fitbits" each month. My immediate reaction was anything but positive, I am careful not to take on challenges that I know I don't care about the outcome. Further, there was a deep emotional reaction. I had been doing my level best to hide an old high school injury where my hip would fall out of joint that had not been snapping back for the last few years. So I normally try to take a few steps as possible per day because there is a price for each one. So, now all the staff gets to see exactly how many I take per day, this was horrifying to me.

 This little device took on the role of the Junior High bully that mocked, made fun of, and exposed my weakness for all to see, I was transported back to 7th grade. As I tried to get past the emotions and find a resolution the first thought was I had to mute this new bully. In seventh grade, it was learning that running from it, or just living with it were not solutions I could live with. Standing up and fighting the seemingly endless stream of the school "hoods" that everyone was afraid of that my antagonist would set up turned the tide. Not hiding, but standing up ended it. So I realized I had to quit hiding my current embarrassment and admit my challenge with my hip and that my daily numbers would reflect it.

 The next step was learning a new style of leadership I had never had to do before. I'm a huge believer in that in all things you must have aligned interests to have success. I have always believed in leadership by example, to never ask anyone to do anything I wasn't willing to do and do more of than anyone else. Now I had to find a way to cheer them on, while not really carrying my own weight. I started deep diving into leadership secrets from competitive rowing coxswains, who are doing exactly that. Trying to learn how to find an aligned interest when taking more steps was not  my personal goal while wanting to help my team reach their own. This led me to understand that my own interests were to learn a new leadership style, and to gain the freedom of no longer worrying about what other's might think if my infirmity was exposed.

 For years I would talk about how you would see a defensive back in football who gets burned on a big play often comes up limping coming back to the huddle. It is known as the "loser's limp" trying to make an excuse for not making the play. I had to learn to lose my own "loser's limp" of hiding my own limp to protect my own ego. This has been a learning experience so far, and has been strangely liberating. Now on to helping my team reach their own individual goals.

Do you have a loser's limp you are hiding that might be holding you back? An imaginary bully whispering in your ear? You can defeat them by taking away the thing they hold over you, for me it was openly admitting it. What will free you?

Are You Speaking The Language Of Success?

 In any industry, and Real Estate is clearly guilty, we tend to speak our own language. We use terms and acronyms that we know and understand when we speak among ourselves, but habitually use them with our clients as well. Those outside our industry may not use things like CMA or  escrow everyday.

 Over the last month I was slapped in the face how much this is true in our industry, and it came from viewing the most recent commercials from two of the three largest lead generating portals, Zillow and REALTOR.com. I'm not going to get into the benefits of one over another, or my belief that there is no reason for REALTORS to have a preference beyond a direct return on investment to their own businesses. What I do want to point out is how brilliantly they can teach us about language and how to communicate with our clients.

 REALTOR.com's newest campaign is directly targeting their paying clients, they have tapped into the emotions and fears of those who pay them for their product, REALTORS. They attack Zillow directly, they speak to our frustrations with the bad information found on Zillow. In fact they name Zillow by name seven times to only three times for themselves. It is clear that their goal is to reach REALTORS and connect to them, and not so much home buyers who do not have these emotional concerns over Zillow. You can see it here.
REALTOR.com commercial

 Zillow went a completely different direction, their most recent commercial shows a couple traveling looking at homes on Zillow.com and deciding on a home to bring back the child they were flying to meet and adopt into their lives, and the new home they will live together. This clearly is targeting the emotions, dreams and desires of families and how they see their homes, or want to.
You can see it here.  Zillow commercial

Looking at the views on the two videos their impact is crystal clear. REALTOR.com has had approximately 6 thousand views in a month, Zillow has had approximately 143 thousand views each of the last seven months. It seems that REALTORS are watching REALTOR.com as they targeted them to and families looking to find their dream homes are watching Zillow's. Who knows which approach is right for those companies, because both actually make their money selling to exactly the same customer, REALTORS. One chooses to go after their customer directly the other to their customer's customers to sell a connection.

 The most important part for each of us is making sure we are communicating to the people we need to, and in a way that resonates with them. I would suggest watching both several times and consider how you then can also target, communicate and connect with whom your business depends upon.

The Much Maligned Millennials

Millennials. You can't pick up a business magazine without finding articles lamenting the work ethic, attitudes, and entitlement of the Millenial Generation. You also always find articles discussing the need of businesses to recruit, learn to understand, and relate to the Millennials if they are going to stay relevant in the market place. It seems such a conundrum, but is it really anything new?

Last week, I was reading a social media thread from a friend in our industry. This friend was complaining about an interview gone bad with a Millennial and was asking if anyone had any luck working with this new generation. The thread became one of the busiest for a few days, with a lot of "Me too's." What always pops into my mind are the quotes from antiquity bemoaning the "kids these days." It seems like something that likely happens in nearly every generation, or at least after major culture shifts.

My Grandparents' generation was formed by the Roaring 20's, the new freedoms of automobiles, and shocking the older generations with their antics. However, they soon also experienced the Great Depression and W.W.II, and soon became known as the Greatest Generation. My parents' generation was the 50’s, a great time of growth and prosperity. Following them, my generation, the Baby Boomers was formed by the 60's and 70’s. The Boomers lived out the Hippy Dippy Days of challenging every rule, moral, and social mores. The Gen-Xers were the "Latch Key Kids” of the 80’s who saw the rules change on their parents. They watched as their parents maintained a good job, worked hard, and retired - only for their pension to disappear. Now Millennials (Gen Y) are shaped by growing up not only as technology natives, but in a world that has been at war most of their lives. Not only that, but the domestic economy has been as bad as the one of four generations ago. The reason we talk about them so much is the same reason we talked about Boomers so much - both generations are huge and have made, are making, and will continue to make impacts on everything for decades. There were appr. 80 million Boomers, only about 50 million Gen–Xers, and now around 80 million Millennials.

So what are they really like, these mysterious Millennials? Commonly you find them working more than one job, one of which is often their own business. This is likely due to a very tight job market competing with Gen-Xer's and Boomers, who are now willing to take entry level and part-time jobs after being downsized. Companies get experience cheaper. The average household income has dropped 5,000.00 a year since 2009 numbers. This hits those new to the workforce hard, especially with large student loan debts.

They, unlike my Boomers, are “joiners." They are the potential salvation of clubs and organizations like the Masons. They are hard workers, collaborative, and love to work on teams. Are there slackers who feel entitled? You betcha - just like every generation before them. Remember, we didn't create a Nanny State government by just those who have voted in the last two elections. Just like in any generation, look for the cream of the crop and you can't go wrong.

Tis The Season To Reflect On What's Important

Tis the Season for reflection, introspection, sharing memories with family and friends, and planning for the upcoming year. It makes me think of one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite Christmas movies, "The Bishop's Wife” - the scene where an angel visited the good Bishop to give him guidance through a tough time. The Angel's last gift was writing this Christmas Eve sermon for the Bishop to deliver. 

"Tonight I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking. Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child's cry, a blazing star hung over a stable, and wise men came with birthday gifts. We haven't forgotten that night down the centuries. We celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, with the sound of bells, and with gifts. 

But especially with gifts. You give me a book, I give you a tie. Aunt Martha has always wanted an orange squeezer and Uncle Henry can do with a new pipe.

For we forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled, all that is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up. The stocking for the child born in 

a manger.

It’s His birthday we're celebrating. Don't let us ever forget that. Let us ask ourselves what He would wish for most. And then, let each put in his share: loving kindness,

warm hearts, and a stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shinning gifts that make peace on earth."

 This is also a good time for you to ask yourself, what really means the most to you? As you're preparing your goals for next year, what is your burning why? What is it you really value, really want? 

 Today I had lunch with an agent from another firm. It was originally to be a recruiting call, but became more of a coaching session. The agent is at one of the traditional firms, and is finding it to be a financial struggle. After a $5M year last year, the goal this year was $7M;  but it looks like $5M is more likely. We discussed several different points, two of which became turning points: Why the volume wasn’t there and why $7M was the chosen goal. As it turns out, it was to pay a debt. We discussed that setting a goal of debt reduction, while noble and needed, often backfires because your mind is focused on the debt. Whatever you focus on you get more of. I suggested changing the why to living a paid-in-full life.

 When I suggested how to create dreams and rewards for reaching different goals, the response I got was that not everyone is wired that way. I agree that not everyone is as an adult, but all are as children. As we grow from childhood into adulthood, we are taught not to dream somewhere along the way. We need to tap back into that childlike dream-building. Remember, God actually created us to be dreamers. Why else did He tell us about Heaven, if not to build a dream for us to reach? The Bible is full of stories of how the dream was the driving force behind accomplishment. If what you set your goals for doesn't tie back to what you really care about, it is much less likely to happen. Only you can decide what it is you care about. Maybe you desire to do something for someone you love. Perhaps you desire to leave a legacy for your children and your children’s children. Whatever it is, you have to come to that conclusion – it shouldn’t be chosen for you.

 When was the last time you read the story of David and Goliath? You will find it in 1 Samuel 17. If it’s been a while, read it below. You'll likely want to go see for yourself, because odds are, you haven't ever heard it this way before.

 David was the youngest son in his family and his father sent him down to where the army was gathered to take baskets of cheese and bread to the officer in charge over his three older brothers. This was a smart move on Dad's part because in the old way of battle those on the front row always died, so if the commander was getting goodies from some families those men tended to be moved back a few rows. David was there when Goliath came out challenging the Israelites causing them to all pull back in fear. Back in camp he heard some soldiers talking about the reward that King Saul was offering to the man who killed Goliath: he would ride upon a white horse (major status symbol), have land as far as the eye could see, from that he and his family would never pay taxes, and he would be given the Princess to marry.  Upon hearing that David said, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?" It wasn't Goliath who sparked his interest. It was the Princess, the land, the reward. He kept asking more questions until his brothers saw him. And, as family so often does, they tried to stifle his dream.

"When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” 1 Samuel 17:28

 Upon being called out by his brother and embarrassed in front of the soldiers he could have done what many of us do. He could have tucked his tail between his legs and walked away. But, instead, he "turned from them unto another and asked again, what is the reward for the man who kills Goliath?" He went back to his dream.

If it's good enough for this story, isn't it good enough for your own?

How Many Years Experience Do You Bring To Your Business?

When I was hiring and managing new home sales people for builders, one of the questions I would ask in interviews was, "How many years of experience have you in the business?" After they answered, my next questions were, "Is that "X" years or one year of experience, repeated "X" times? What books have you read? What training have you taken recently? When was the last  seminar or training you attended? What did you learn? What have you adjusted or changed in your daily practice from that training? What have been the results? Have you measured them?"  Most looked at me like deer caught in headlights, indicating one year of experience repeated however many years they were in the business.

 When reading the book "Talent Is Overrated," by Senior Editor to Fortune Magazine Geoff Colvin, it is one of those paradigm-busting books that will expand your view of the world, if you will allow it to challenge your belief systems. The premise is that most of us explain away the superstars in any endeavor as "gifted or naturally talented," innately knowing we could never replicate their success without that gift. I thought about writing this blog on his conclusions, but chose instead not to rob you of the opportunity to read it and challenge your own thinking because of his. He speaks of what actually makes the difference is deliberate practice. The so-called superstars never stop trying to improve in different aspects of their craft through designed, deliberate, and focused practice.

 He spoke of something that has long been understood in learning anything new; I know I've taught it for years. That is, the idea when you first try to learn something new, You start as Unconsciously Incompetent. Do you remember your first time trying to drive? You had watched others do it for years and it looked easy; you didn't know what you didn't know. When you actually tried, you quickly realized you didn't know how, so you moved to the level of Consciously Incompetent. You were then aware of what you didn't know and were open to learn. You soon became Consciously Competent, where you could do it as long as you thought about what you were doing. However, it wasn't long before you became Unconsciously Competent, where you could drive on autopilot. That is how almost all learning experiences go: Unconsciously Incompetent - Consciously Incompetent - Consciously Competent - Unconsciously Competent. Once we reach that level, we quit growing. After we get through our first year in our business lives, we may learn things occasionally as new experiences happen to us, but we no longer see real sustained growth.  The superstars learn how to remain Consciously Competent in their practice and stay engaged in learning even finer points.

 This book, fits perfectly with the ideas that Malcom Gladwell writes of in his books "The Outliers," and "David and Goliath." They remind me of mental building blocks. I recommend you experience them all to let your own mind wander to the possibilities.  There is a movie called "Vantage Point" that shows us this thought. The movie is about an assassination attempt and the director shows us the event over and over again from several characters' vantage points, showing how differently the perspectives are. Same event, very different perspectives, just like these books, looking at the same core truths from very different views.

 How many years of experience have you? What are you doing to challenge that and take ownership of your continued growth?

The Call Of The Leader, Is It Calling You?

What does it mean to lead? 

 When put into a leadership position, far too many people immediately think it means special privileges. They seek out to take advantage of the the additional benefits of a title. This is not leadership; leadership is about putting your people first. It is about taking on more responsibilities and holding yourself to a higher standard. Leaders feel the weight of responsibility for those they lead. The decisions they make and the actions they take will directly affect the people under their lead, in more ways than one. Be prepared for some long nights, carrying those families on your shoulders as you pace the floor. One of the greatest leaders I have had always spoke of how he ate a lot of crow, because it paid well. He would always take the blame in any misunderstanding with one of his people, so they could quickly get the issue behind them and work on moving forward. He also made it very clear that while you often try to find solutions to situations that were win-win for you and your team, if ever it came down to only you or your team could win, make sure that you got the win for your team. 

 Sometimes being a leader is the loneliest place on the planet. Sometimes you have to fight battles that your team will never even know we're happening. One of my mentors had a battle that he took upon his shoulders and never let his people know what he was facing. Only his wife and family and a select few of his most inside circle ever knew. The company in which he had built a worldwide distribution business wanted to go public. Their attorney said that they needed to break the exclusive contract they had with their distributor franchises, and he was their test case. They quit paying him and withheld his contracted commissions and bonuses. He fought them in court, kept paying his people, and kept helping his organization build their businesses without knowing the burden he faced. He never told anyone, but he sold his house, his jet, his vacation home, and more. In the end he won. The company that tried to break him eventually apologized. They even thanked him for saving them from potentially ruining the business. That is one of the calls of leadership.

 You may or may not, be so challenged, but understanding the consequences of taking on the responsibility of leadership might help you be prepared just in case.

There are five levels of leadership, each have a different relationship with those you lead.

1. Position: This level is by appointment, by title. This is the lowest level of leadership. This would include most people who carry the term manager in any field. In this level, your people follow you because they have to. They follow you because their position says they have to. Here is the lowest commitment to follow, they will follow you as long as they can see you. They follow you just as far as they are required to in order to keep their jobs.

2. Permission: At this level people follow you because they like you. They like working with you, they enjoy the relationship, and they trust you. This is the first level of earned leadership. I might even go so far as to say this is the true first level of leadership, because this honor had to be earned. It will begin opening doors to growth.

3. Production: Now your people are starting to see results, starting to see the benefits of following your lead. They now follow you because they are seeing the results of your leadership in the organization, but, more importantly, in their own work and lives.

4. People Development: At this level your people follow you because of what you have done for them and the growth they see in themselves. This is the level of reproduction, where you are replacing yourself by developing leaders around you. Here, you are starting to see your people hitting some of the growth that they may have first not seen in themselves. They are reaching the goals and dreams you helped them to set and achieve.

5. Pinnacle: This level is a rarity that few rise to. It is where your people follow you because of how much they respect you. They follow you because of who you are and what you represent. This level will have many Level Four leaders following them. A great example would be the late Dean Smith. The NBA and NCAA is full of top-level coaches who played and coached under Smith's leadership. What you might not know is every year all of them would meet with Coach Smith at a weekend retreat to council and refine their thoughts; none of them would take a job or make other major decisions without bouncing it off Coach Smith. They were the top minds in their industry, but they held so much respect for their coach, they wanted to know his thoughts..

If you choose to follow the call of leadership, there is something you should keep top of mind. In any growing organization no matter what level of leadership you have earned, even if you are at that lofty level five, you will always have people who you must earn their trust and respect. This never changes. It would be a huge mistake to try to relate to someone brand new to your team as a level five when they still are trying to figure out if they really like you, can trust you, will see results, or advance their own careers under your leadership.

 If you should so choose this call, there is nothing like seeing people's lives change. To help them see themselves as more than they would have, or could have alone.