Turner's Perspective

I was just alerted to a groundbreaking, first of it's kind study by the World Institute for Development of Economics Research that shows "assets of $2,200 per adult placed a household in the top half of the world wealth distribution in the year 2000." (1) Let me state that in a different way... 50% of the world's population has assets of less than $2200. They represent just 1% of the total world wealth.  Astounding. But that's just the beginning of the astounding numbers.

Want to be among the richest 10% of adults in the world? No problem... only $61,000 in assets is required.

Shooting to be among the top 1% of wealth in the world? You only need $500,000 in assets.

This study is "the first of its kind to cover all countries in the world and all major components of household wealth, including financial assets and debts, land, buildings and other tangible property" (1) This is physical and financial assets minus debts.

''Income inequality has been rising for the past 20 to 25 years, and we think that is true for inequality in the distribution of wealth,'' said James Davies, professor of economics at the University of Western Ontario, one of the report's authors. - (2)

The study shows that 85% of the worlds wealth is owned by 10% of the population. The top 1% of the world population owns 40% of the wealth all by itself! 

These numbers literally floor me.

Intuitively I knew this to be true. I have to admit that. But seeing the numbers on the screen hit me like a ton of bricks.

It makes me wonder... what can we do?

The "we" I'm referring to is the ActiveRain community. Some of the brightest real estate people I've met to date are right here. I'm very impressed by what I see. There are almost 12,000 of us now. How do we put our heads together to come up with strategies to help lessen the gap, create opportunities for more and provide a path for home ownership?

Home ownership is the key. How can we lead the way?  How can we make our collective voices work for change? I'm not sure I have any answers. But I'm relatively sure that together we can make a difference. This seems to be right up our alley. Wouldn't you agree?

EDIT: i have posted a followup to this post here:

Harnessing The Power Of The ActiveRain Community: An Idea

Reading Randy Prothero's post, Is There A Skunk In Your Office, which I was lead to by TLW's comment on The Interactive Business Meeting, I kept thinking about the way my wife and I are raising our children. This all starts at home.

I wish I could say the following was my idea, but it was my wife's idea.

My wife came to me when our second son was very young and said, "I don't like the idea of bad words. I think it makes it too easy for us not to take responsibility. Words aren't good or bad, it's how we use them and react to them that give them their power. Can we do something different with our children?" I obviously agreed with her assessment, words are just words. We assign them power.

In Our House There Are No Bad Words, Only Strong Words.

With that innocent conversation, the concept of "strong words" was born. There are lots of words on our strong word list, many of them would not even be considered "bad" words in other households. Words like "always" and  "never"  are on the strong words list. It's not that they can't say them, they just have to understand how to use them correctly. Words like "hate," "stupid," and "shut up" are on the list as well. Again, using them requires accuracy and you must be able to back up your use. They know that if we say "hate" in a sentence, it's strong, and we mean it. The same goes for "stupid" and many other strong words. Changing from "bad" to "strong" has helped us focus the discussions on intent and meaning and purpose. We have taken the power from the words and put it in our children's hands. It's been wonderful. In addition, the strong words conversations that we are able to initiate have changed the way we talk as adults, not only in our house, but in our daily lives as well. 

We recently added "I Promise" To The Strong Words List

In fact, "I promise" was given one of our harshest labels... it's on the "Turner's Don't Say That" list along with the word "can't." Why? Because we shouldn't have to say "I promise." If we say what we mean and mean what we say, it's at best redundant. They are not allowed to ask us if "we promise" and they are not allowed to say "I promise." Not in our house. Not in our earshot. The lesson is simple... if you say it, you mean it. Period. There is no need to "promise" something if you've said it. If we, as parents, say it, we don't need to promise. We mean it.

Strong Words & The Code Of Ethics

Randy's post this morning brought to mind a lot of recent posts on Understanding The Realtor Code of Ethics, and as I've read each one I am both happy that the code is there and sad that it must exist at all. I can only imagine that some of you feel the same way. Perhaps you're like me and are increasingly alarmed with the decline of solid manners, ethical standards and general morals in our youth. Well, they are learning them from us. 

I Have No Idea How Our Little Experiment Is Going To Turn Out

Our oldest is only 12 and our other five chilren range in age from 2 to 7, so it's way too early to tell how the "strong words" experiment is going to end. I know it has made my language clearer and more explicit. I was given a little glimpse this morning at the breakfast table, however. Our Three year old was joking with his Grandmother, who is out visiting from West Virginia. She playfully said, "Oh, shut up" to him. He then politely said to her, "Gramma, you know that's a strong word, right?"

My mom laughed and apologized. She knows the drill. I was giggling to myself as I watched the scene unfold. But I was also hopeful that my kids will grow up with a full understanding about how they use words, the importance of saying what you mean and meaning what you say, and a strong desire to see others live up to their own standards. I have hope that they won't need to read a code of ethics to follow them.

If you've got some techniques you use with your kids, I'd love to hear them. 

The lights on the Christmas tree have been turned off and all of the children are asleep. The presents are neatly placed under the tree and it's about time to go to bed. I wanted to say a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of the ActiveRain family. Earlier this evening, while wrapping presents, I was entertained by some of my new AR family members. Their comments and online laughter brought a huge smile to my face.

Click Here For A Christmas Show!

We don't like to admit it, but the vast majority of the decisions we make in our lives are made without rationally thinking through all of our options and carefully considering the path we finally choose. It's as true of the big decisions as it is of the small.

Blink, Malcolm Gladwell's follow up to The Tipping Point, deals with our "adaptive unconscious." The adaptive unconscious is that part of our brain that allows us to process immense amounts of data in a very short amount of time - a split second. It's what makes us human. It's what has allowed us to survive as a species.

"I think we are innately suspicious of this kind of rapid cognition," Gladwell writes. "We live in a world that assumes that the quality of a decision is related to the time and effort that went into making it." This book not only gives key insight into why this is not always true, it also provides insight into those times when our instincts betray us. 

Reading this book will help you better understand why the first few steps someone takes inside a home they've never seen before are so critical. It will help you understand the "emotional" decisions we make in buying a home and why presentation matters. It will help you understand why the first few moments that someone spends on your website, the first few seconds they spend watching a featured tour, are the key to your success.

Gladwell has three missions in Blink. The first, "is to convince you of a simple fact: decisions made very quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately." His second goal is to help you understand "when to listen to you powerful onboard computer and when to be wary of it." And his third goal, the one I consider the most powerful, is "to convince you that your snap judgments and first impressions can be educated and controlled."

Blink is a powerful book, filled with excellent real world examples and studies that will keep you glued to the pages. And though it is not a truly cohesive theory, it's more of guess, it's none the less provocative and motivating. Do yourself a favor. You've already decided whether you want to read this book. If you've made it this far, it's because your adaptive unconscious has already told you to keep reading,  to learn more. Trust that instinct.  

EDIT:  Additional Review Links

Malcolm Gladwell's Own Review of his book - complete with other suggested reading titles.

Powells.com review

The CEO Refesher review

Why Blink Matters: The Power Of First Impressions 

As I read Rick & Ines' great post Don't Steal The Show this morning, one line from the post caught my attention. "I have never understood why some agents have a fixation with walking people around a house saying "this is the bathroom, this is the kitchen, this is the pool," isn't that obvious?"

It struck me because this is exactly the same behavior some real estate agents display in their marketing of the home.

We don't buy houses based on information. Buying a house is an emotional decision.

And yet, property descriptions are filled with an endless stream of adjectives that do nothing but add to the noise. When your combing the Internet in your search for a new home, all of the descriptions begin to sound alike. The adjectives are so prevalent that they lose their value. Since I've never read "ugly master bath" before, I pay no attention to the words "beautiful" or "spacious" or "fabulous" or "gorgeous" placed in the description. Basically all you're telling me is that there is a master bath. 

And, it really helps me NOT to have you put as the caption to a photo of the front of the house, "front of house." I know this may come as a surprise to some, but if I'm blind and can't see that it's the front of the house from the photo, then I can't read your caption either. 

Your job is to get me to begin living in the house. I need to feel that this can be my home.

We start our search for a home based on information. "I'm looking for a four bedroom, three bath house in Woodland Hills, between $650 -$700K." But I've never bought a house based on information. We had been looking for our last home for months and had specific criteria and price range in mind. But the house we ended up buying was $50K over our "budget" and had one fewer bathroom and no master bedroom. We just fell in love with it the moment we walked in. We rationalized the purchase despite the fact that this homes "information" didn't match what we were looking for.

Help the Internet shopper begin the process of falling in love with the house.

Do your clients a favor: use more verbs than adjectives. Don't describe what's in the photo, describe how they're going to feel when they're in the photo! So, instead of "front of house," try "enjoy quiet evenings on the front porch."  Instead of "gorgeous master bath," try something like, "soak in your private retreat." Instead of "elegant dining room," which is more a comment on the furniture that will leave with the current owners, try "entertain friends and family." You will set the home apart and yourself at the same time.

Craig Schiller's Real Estaging website has this as one of the reasons to stage a home properly. "Real Estaging creates an image of an inviting lifestyle that potential buyers picture themselves living." Your Internet presentation must have the same goal. Effective titles make a world of difference.

Be creative. Show your seller you understand their home. Try to use verbs when possible. Help the Internet shopper fall in love.

If you have used some creative descriptions that you felt worked well, give 'em up! We can all use the inspiration. 

If you don't watch Studio 60, then you missed an amazing, moving musical tribute to the City of New Orleans. Thankfully they put up a link to the free download of the MP3 file. I downloaded it and it's now streamed to every place in my home. I can't stop listening to it. I just had to share it.

HERE IS THE LINK. ENJOY! 

I received an email from Craig Schiller on Wednesday morning. What a shining example of what ActiveRain is all about.  His email was so honest and moving and well written, that I had a very difficult time responding to it. Each time I tried, I felt like my response was inadequate. He shared so openly his career ups and downs and his desires for the future. It was a breath of fresh air that left me breathless.

In the midst of attempting to respond, a few thoughts kept getting in the way. I just could not shake them. I had to stop and write them down. He caused me to reflect on my own stops and starts, my own failures and successes. I sent what I wrote to Craig and I asked him if I could share the words that he drew out of me. He obviously said, "yes." Here is what I wrote.

_______________

I have had many pinnacle moments in my life. I've had many low moments in my life. I've done good. I've done bad. I've had millions in the bank. I've had debt up to my ears. I've been applauded. I've been denounced.
 
Every time I allowed myself to think I had arrived, I hadn't. Every time I called myself a failure, I wasn't.
 
Every moment - each high and each low - was simply a step on the path to this moment.
 
Period.  
 
Nothing more. Nothing less.
 
True success can't be defined by a moment. Neither can failure.
 
Success. Failure. It's all just part of the journey.  Where I find myself today doesn't really matter in the big picture.
 
I can't linger in success and I shouldn't wallow in failure.

Every moment is simply a lesson. I can learn things from the moments of success that I can't learn from the moments of failure. And vice versa. I enjoy the moment or I endure the moment. But I know this - no moment is permanent. The moment moves on and so must I.
 
Feeling like a success today? Enjoy it. Learn the lesson. Move on.
 
Feeling like a failure today? Endure it. Learn the lesson. Move on.

One of the reasons I go out of my way to fly JetBlue is the DirecTV channels they provide at every seat. I rarely, if ever, watch the History Channel at home. But for some mysterious reason I am drawn to it on an airplane like my five year old is drawn to Krypto The Super Dog on the Cartoon Network. I become transfixed by it. Once I start, I can't stop watching.

Except to write this post.

I am fresh off of writing two posts detailing my previous company's corporate values. So my mind is preoccupied with the topic right now. Today on the History Channel I came face to face with a man who walked the talk of his stated values and clearly understood what it meant to live them.

I don't often cry openly on an airplane in front of strangers, but today I did.

After starting and finishing Realty Blogging (I couldn't put it down and finished before the drinks arrived), I did what I always do on a Jet Blue flight. I scanned through the channels to find the history channel. I landed on an episode  about Rick Rescorla, the security chief at the World Trade Center offices of Morgan Stanley in New York. Rick had predicted the possibility and high probability of the 9/11 attacks and had trained the 2700 employees located on the 44th through 73rd floors of Tower 2 to get out of the building the moment they sensed danger.

The interviews with everyone clearly showed that Rick, in the frantic moments immediately following the attacks, displayed his true values by making sure that every floor under his care was empty. He had a clearly stated personal value that placed the safety of others above his own and was committed to making sure every one of the Morgan Stanley employees could and would survive in the event of an attack. He refused to leave until he could be sure everyone was out. He could have left, maybe should have left. But his values would not let him. Based upon the interviews, my bet is he never gave it a second of thought.

All but 6 of the 2700 Morgan Stanley employees made it home that day to hug their friends and relatives.

Rick did not. He was trapped in the rubble of Tower 2 and his body was never found. He died proving that his stated values were his true values. He'd be alive today if he had been less than authentic in the statement of his values. But he wasn't. His words and values matched. Thankfully.

I am humbled by people like Rick. I feel small. I know that my values truly show themselves in times of stress. Its easy to live my stated values in good times, when there's no pressure. It's adversity, more often than not, that brings my true values to light. The light of adversity is intense. Its impossible to hide what you truly value in those times.

I have no idea what I would have done in Rick's situation. I question whether my own values would have led me to do what Rick did. Perhaps not. Perhaps if it were my wife and children in the building? Certainly. My family members? Certainly. Those who I knew and called close friends? Probably. Names on an employee list, who I had already warned and given detailed instructions on what to do in case something like that were to occur? I just don't know. I'd like to think so, but I honestly don't know.

I will probably never have to find out. The odds are against it. You probably won't either. It's one of the blessings of living in this country. The stresses you and I face on a daily basis are far less critical. They create decisions that are not so black and white. The choices aren't so stark. They are usually grey.

Stressful times tell us more about ourselves than good times.

Those stressful times are the ones we need to pay closer attention to. If we do, we'll see the truth of what we value. Did I overreact? Did I fudge  a bit? Did I stretch the truth? Did I out and out lie to save my skin? What was I afraid of? What did I value? It may be painful, but these are the moments I need to pay attention to. They are the truth. My true personal brand shows through in the stress.

There have been many times in my life in the past, and many more to come in the future, when I will be asked to choose between living a value I view as noble, one I laud and would be happy to proclaim as mine, and choosing to act out another value that I might seek to hide, a less noble value that would be uncomfortable to address in public.

Do I always choose the noble value? No. I'd love to be able to tell you I do, but I don't.

Right now, sitting on this airplane, flying toward New York City at 36,562 feet above the earth, I am simply happy that there are men like Rick who I can look to for inspiration.  He inspired me today.

Who inspired you today?

Yesterday, I talked about the first four values that came from the mentoring and values consulting process. Today I'm sharing values 5-9.

As a reminder, the most important thing learned in this process is that I don't have to try to live my values. I always live my values. Everyone does. What we don't do is admit to ourselves what they really are. For most of us, what we call our values is really just a statement of best intentions.

Our real values are played out each day whether we like it or not. The POWER comes from discarding the misconception about what those really are and stating accurately for ourselves and for those around us the truth about who we are. The absence of that truth is the root of the lack of authenticity we see in ourselves and in others. We "try" to be what we say we are and those around us can tell when we're faking it. It's the most important lesson I've learned in my life.

The result of the process was a set of 9 core values that became the foundation of a values based management program that empowered explosive growth and productivity.

The first four were:

• We Value Ideas
• We Value Mutual Respect
• We Value Excellence And Quality
• We Value Productivity And Profitability
  

We value integrity: we make and keep our commitments:
We define integrity as doing what we say we will do. Ours is a world where commitments must be made and KEPT every day. We must meet deadline schedules - no matter what. And so we value meeting commitments in every aspect of our business. Our best efforts are commendable. Our results are measurable. We are judged, valued, respected and rewarded based on our results. In the final analysis, effort in the absence of results has little meaning - or value. It is important that everyone in our organization truly learns and lives the meaning of making and keeping commitments. A person and an organization that does what it says it will do are a person and an organization that can be trusted. It goes beyond honesty. It's about reliability, dependability, certainty. People who exhibit integrity earn respect as a result.

• Living Our Value: Learn the difference between expressions of good intentions and commitments. Statements like, "I'll try my best," or, "I'll do it as soon as I can," or, "This shouldn't take too long" are expressions of good intentions, and they are not commitments. The language of commitment sounds like, "I'll have this done in two hours, no matter what," or, "You need this by tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. I will have it for you by then." And then meeting those commitments. It is about knowing what it takes to produce a result when it is needed so that resources (people, time, equipment, etc.) can be obtained and managed to achieve the agreed upon result. It is about knowing (as much as you can) and not guessing. It is about really listening and respecting the person asking and not giving someone an easy answer just to get rid of him or her for the moment.

We value enjoying our work and ourselves:
We believe that productivity and enjoyment can go hand-in-hand. We value finding ways to make that happen. And we value people who bring that spirit to their jobs and to our culture. What we do has great significance. It is important work and should be enjoyed. We work hard. We deserve to enjoy it.

• Living Our Value: Stress the JOY in enjoyment. Joy can be found in learning and mastering skills, in creating innovative new ways to do things, in becoming world class in your field, in knowing that you are making a difference.
• Joy can come from broadening and deepening your understanding of people who may think and act differently than you. Look for ways to put JOY into your work and your relationships. When you find ways to do that - share them.

We value teamwork and team players:
We believe that team goals and needs take precedence over individual goals and needs. As the old saying goes, there is no "I" in team. We place a very high value on people working together for the good of the whole. We value shared learning. We set each other up for success, not for failure.

While we have many units within each of our production areas, every unit and every individual is a member of the team. Ultimately, it is the  team that wins or loses in the marketplace. We value people who maintain and demonstrate that team perspective and attitude.

• Living Our Value: In our organization, part of being a team player means learning how to, and living all our values. It means putting aside personal agendas that are not aligned with team goals.
• In our world, workloads in each department are almost always unbalanced, with certain departments having more or less than others on any given day. Being a team player means unselfishly and willingly helping others when your personal work is completed. It means doing that with the same attention and dedication to quality and productivity with which you handle your primary jobs. By doing that, you become a valuable member of the team.

We value high quality relationships - in everything we do and with every person with whom we interact:
We place a high value on relationships that are healthy and productive. We place that value on employee-to-employee relationships (peer-to-peer, peer-to-subordinate), employee-to-client relationships, employee-to-outside partner relationships - every kind of human relationship that we have in our world. We value people who develop and bring strong relationship skills to their relationships that are based on a win-win philosophy, where all parties derive significant benefit from the relationship.

• Living Our Value: Examine some of our other values, which can be found in healthy, productive relationships. Such relationships always contain integrity and mutual respect. Look for the presence (or absence) of these qualities (values) in all your relationships. If your relationships lack integrity and/or mutual respect, look at what you can do at your end to bring those qualities to the relationship. In addition, always look for ways in which you can UNILATERALLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY add value to the relationship. If everyone did that, the quality of all our relationships would significantly improve. It is important to think only about what you can do to add value, and to not make your actions dependent on what someone else should also do. You can only control what you do. So focus only on that.

We value our commitment to our vision:
We place high value on actually doing the things necessary to achieve our vision. Our emphasis is on the doing. It is possible to value our vision and not do what is necessary to achieve it. So it is important for us to distinguish between the two, and focus our attention on the doing.

Our vision is very ambitious. There are many pieces needed to achieve it, some of which are not yet in place. And some of those pieces are not yet even identified. So it is important that we remain focused and aware. Things will cross our path, things we don't know about today, which will be essential to help us achieve our vision. We must remain constantly aware or we may miss an important opportunity, an important step on our journey. We must remain focused. In the coming months and years, we will uncover many opportunities promising growth and profit. We must be alert and wise enough to select only those which take us on the path toward our vision - not the ones which, no matter how promising, divert our path and our purpose.

• Living Our Value: Learn our vision. Keep it present in your consciousness. Learn how the performance of your individual and your team's job supports and contributes to the achievement of our vision. Learn why what you do is so important and necessary - how it and you truly make a difference. Because you do make a difference. Live all our values to the very best of your abilities. Stay alert. Stay focused. Be prepared to go the extra mile. We believe the rewards for all of us will justify your extraordinary commitment.

__________

I believe that an accurate statement of core values is essential to achieving ultimate success. I know they have been essential to me - not only in achieving levels of business success, but also for insuring the quality of life that I choose to live. 

Look honestly at your behavior, not your statements of good intentions. Identify your core values. That is your true brand.

I welcome your comments!

Yesterday I wrote about the importance of choosing a mentor who shared your core values and several people commented on their ongoing quest to define their own core values. It's an important quest, because our values are our true brand. This is true for companies as well as individuals. My quest took many years and I thought it might be helpful to share the outcome. So, I went into my archives and pulled out the documents that were part of the corporate transformation that resulted from the personal mentoring.

One of the most powerful aspects of the mentoring process for me was the gradual acceptance of what my core values really were. It's painfully obvious now, but at the time it wasn't. The goal of identifying the core values was to align my words with my behavior authentically. It was NOT about changing my behavior. It was being honest about what my real values were based on my behavior. What I was telling myself didn't matter. My behavior told the real story.

The Journey To Values Based Management
What came from that process was a blueprint for using values as a way to run and grow my company. I thought I would share with you the document that became our "bible" for how we made decisions and the blueprint for how to communicate with each other. The results were revolutionary. I have never been a part of anything as meaningful.

Nine core values were identified.
Some of the values I identified at the beginning were thrown out, because my behavior contradicted them. The key to everything that follows is that I had to be sure I could live each one without compromise. This couldn't be a wish list! It's better to not state your values, than to state them and not live them. I had to be willing to make myself accountable to my employees for living the values, just as I was going to hold them accountable for living the values. It always starts at the top.

I presented the values to our employees directly and committed to living the values. I gave each employee the authority to hold me accountable when they felt I wasn't living the values. (And they did) I wanted to assure them that nobody was above the values. We instituted a values training program that focused solely on those values to insure there was no confusion about what those values meant. Several hours per week, per employee were spent in values training. We were explicit. The values were front and center in everything we did.

(It's important to remember, this was not about religion in the workplace. The values were designed to respect the religious difference in our workplace, not enforce one religion's precepts over another's.)

An amazing thing happened. Our work environment became more vibrant, our productivity improved and our profits soared.

The First Four Values.
I'm going to share the detail on the first four today and the last five tomorrow. Each value is explained and then an example is given for how to live the value.

The following is the unedited version of what each employee was expected to commit themselves to living in the workplace.

__________

OUR VALUES

What do we mean when we talk about our values? What is the purpose and importance of values? Why even state them? What's the point?

Values are the moral and ethical rules we all live by. They serve to guide our actions, our behavior and the decisions we make in operating every aspect of our business everyday.

They define what is most important to us in the quality of our dealings and our relationships with every human being with whom we interact.

They are the standards by which we will be judged and by which we will attain credibility.

Values are the way we behave when no one is looking. Living our values is the path where we walk our talk.

If we likened a company to a person, we might say that: if strategy is our brain, and performance is our body - then values is our soul!

By stating them, we are declaring:
· These are the rules of human conduct to which we commit.
· These are the qualitative standards by which we want to be judged.
· We want all of our people to know them, understand them, commit to them, live them and, in so doing, become accountable.

Here they are.

We value ideas:
We place great value on ideas - all ideas from any and all people and sources. We respect ALL ideas-and the people who express them. We believe that there are NO BAD IDEAS. All ideas are valuable to our process of learning and growing. We encourage people to speak out, to give a voice and a life to their ideas. We know that not every idea will be implemented or acted upon. Some may prove unworkable; others may not be used for any number of reasons. Some may not be put into action as given, but might serve to spark other ideas. That is the value of every idea.

• Living Our Value: The most effective way to encourage and foster the continuous flow of ideas is to value and honor their source, i.e. the people who provide them. We are committed to accepting ideas without judging them based on whether or not we agree with them. That does not mean that one must agree with every idea. But we can suspend our judgment for a brief time in the process of embracing and valuing another person's perspective. We can and must do this with sincerity and respect. That is how to live the value. That is what we are committed to do. We will not tolerate the dismissal of ideas.

We value mutual respect:
What we mean by mutual respect is learning to value each and every person for whom they are and not for what you would like them to be. It means seeing and respecting what is different and unique about every individual. It means finding positive value in our diversity and not just our sameness. It means learning from those differences for there is so much more to learn from people who are different from us than from those who are very much like us. It means respecting everyone's perspective and point of view, especially when it is different from your own. Keep in mind that respecting is not the same as agreeing. You can hold on to your own views while still respecting those of others. Mutual respect means that we treat everyone with dignity - all the time - not just when we are in a good mood, or when things are going our way, or when we agree with them. All the time means all the time - no matter what!

• Living Our Value: Funny thing about respect: the best way to get it is to give it! Actually, the only way to get it is to give it - freely, willingly, unconditionally, non-judgmentally, naturally, meaningfully and openly. If you respect everyone all the time, you become a person who is easy to respect. You become someone whom others want to respect.One example of behavior that illustrates respect involves gossip. Gossip is inherently disrespectful. Think about it. Where is there any respect in gossip about another person or a group of people? There is none. Yet, most of us have participated in gossip in the workplace at some time. It has no place in a mutually respectful culture. It has no place in our culture.
• Another example relates how we hear another person's ideas, especially if we don't agree with them. It is possible to listen with respect and still hold on to your own point of view. It is possible to listen and say, "Oh, that is how you see it. I see it differently, and I still hear what you are saying." That is one illustration of mutual respect. It is the way we are committed to being.

We value excellence and quality:
We place high value on excellence and quality in everything we do - the products of our work, relationships, service - everything. It both defines and differentiates us in the marketplace. Good enough isn't good enough! Excellence means we are constantly striving to be the very best we can be. It means reaching deep down inside ourselves and finding a level of desire and performance we didn't even know was there. It means never being complacent. It means always looking for the next improvement, the next better way of doing something. We value people who take pride in their work and the products they produce. That holds true for employees, business partners, everyone with whom we interact.

• Living Our Value: Excellence is an attitude, a state of mind. It is a place in your head and your heart where anything less than your very best is simply not acceptable. And everyone knows whether they are truly there or whether they are faking it. You cannot lie to yourself about excellence and quality. You cannot tell yourself that you are doing your very best when, in fact, you're not. What we ask of everyone is to always tell the truth - first to yourself and then to your team. If you find that you have gotten off the excellence and quality track - admit it - tell the truth about it - and get back on track.
• Excellence and quality is an inherent part of our product and service. Without it, we are lost. You must be in touch with your own and your team's attention and commitment to it constantly.

We value productivity and profitability:
We place high value on producing quality work in the most efficient, cost effective way possible. We diligently and continuously look for ways to eliminate waste, improve our productivity and our bottom line. Wasted motion, needless re-work, high error rates and inefficient processes are money down the drain. They sap the resources we need to reinvest in developing our opportunities, expanding our relationships and securing our future.

• Living Our Value: Our products and our people need to be responsively creative. In other words our creative approaches must be commercially successful with our customers and their customers. At the same time, everyone must be aware of and focused on producing quality products in the shortest time and in the most productive way possible. This requires a continuous state of awareness - of time, efficiency, quality and output. Be aware. Stay aware. Do not allow yourself to get lulled into a state of robotic repetition that has you lose focus on your own and your team's productivity. Look for more efficient ways to perform. Express your ideas. Become a voice for continuously improving productivity. It's how we can win together.

Values 5-9 will be presented tomorrow... think about how bringing values to the forefront of your business might change the way people work and communicate on a daily basis.

I welcome your comments! 

And You Are Not Going To Get Any Smarter By Yourself.

There are few realizations as important as this one in our lives - that we need someone else’s help. Recognizing this fact is often the difference between stagnancy and growth, mediocrity and excellence, failure and success. We all have blind spots and weaknesses that aren’t addressable by opening another book or taking another class. Some weaknesses can only be addressed by someone who has spent enough time with us to know the patterns of behavior that need to be addressed and changed before we can grow any further. It takes a trusted Mentor.

My only purpose in writing today is to encourage you to find one if you don’t have one already. If you do, I hope you’ll simply enjoy this story.

I’m lucky to have found a great mentor early in my career.

Here’s what prompted me to write about this today. Leaving the NAR convention in New Orleans, my business partner, Bill Leider, and I were standing in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel talking about the differences between what we hear real estate agents say about the Internet and what they actually do. Bill casually said, “Behavior is the only authentic form of communication. Our words either confirm or contradict it.”

He wasn’t trying to be profound. We were just gabbing. But, I’ve not been able to get that phrase out of my head since.

I’ve known Bill for almost 15 years and I can just about predict what story he’s going to tell in any given situation. The moment a business meeting heads down a familiar path, I know what anecdote he’s going to share. It’s both comforting and annoying. And you can bet I’ll take every opportunity to point out how many times I’ve heard any given story.

But I had never heard him say this particular line before and it instantly reminded me of why I chose him to be my mentor and why he and I are so good for one another.

My Awakening.

When I was in the early growth phases of my last business venture, I was invited to a young presidents event of some sort. I can’t even remember what it was about today. (I’m getting old and it was almost 15 years ago!) What I do remember is that Bill was one of the featured speakers that day and he was laying out his unique approach to business strategy. I remember thinking to myself, “I have no idea what he just said.”

It was as if a lightning bolt had come down from the heavens and instantly what I thought was reality was just a fantasy that was living in my head. The notion that I could build my business to any level of significance by myself, that I had all the tools necessary to succeed in a meaninful way, just fell apart. Oprah would call it an “ah hah” moment.

I wanted to meet Bill. I knew right then that I needed to meet Bill.

As fate would have it, he turned out to be an associate of the person who invited me and we were able to chat that very day. Unfortunately that lightning bolt didn’t give me any other insight. I had no idea what I wanted or needed at the time. So I walked away from the meeting knowing that I needed help and having no idea where to begin.

Ready. Fire. Aim.

Close to six months would pass before Bill and I met again.We found ourselves working on two different ends of a marketing campaign for a major retailer in Los Angeles. He was handling the strategic consulting and my company was handling the design production. I was once again impressed by what he knew and perplexed by how much I didn’t.

I knew Bill was charging some stupid large amount of money per hour for consulting services. We were a very young company and I couldn’t afford his retainer, this was right around the same time we were factoring our accounts receivable just to stay alive.  But I thought I might be able to swing one hour per month into my budget. So I begged Bill to be my mentor. I simply told him I had no idea what I didn’t know or how he could help me. I just knew he could. I asked if he would charge me for one hour per month and allow me to take him to breakfast to pick his brain. No agenda. Just be honest with me and see where it goes. Thankfully, he agreed.

Once a month we would meet at Jerry’s Deli in Encino, CA and I’d tell him about the decisions I was making and how I came to them. Bill had a technique he used with me that worked. He would never disagree with me. He started every response with, “That’s one way to look at it. Here’s another way.”  And I would choose to listen or not listen. He instinctively knew that head-on confrontation probably wasn’t going to get the job done with me.  Believe me, at first it was hard to pay the bill for breakfast and his hourly fee, but I knew, and still know, one thing for sure - I am not as smart as I think I am. And I think I’m pretty smart. And Bill knows things I don’t know.

Pick A Mentor Who Shares Your Core Values, Not Just Someone Who Is A More Successful Version Of Yourself.

One of the things that attracted me to Bill was how different we were. It still attracts me today. We have totally different work styles, completely different decision making styles, different skill sets, different hobbies, different entertainment likes and dislikes, different taste in clothes. His areas of expertise are not my areas of expertise. We are as different as two people can be.

Except for one thing.

This one thing is the key to success with any mentor, with any relationship for that matter. The one thing we do share without compromise, is our core values. Sharing core values is the key to making the difference work to your advantage. We disagree on many issues, but it doesn’t divide us. It sharpens each of us.

Hold On To Them For As Long As You Can.

When you’ve chosen someone who can truly add value and make you better, they are going to grow through time in ways you are not going to grow. The original relationship changes, but the benefits don’t need to.

I was eventually able to hire Bill and put him on retainer. He has been an invaluable asset and a key contributor to any success I’ve had as a business person. Even after the sale of the company, Bill stayed and became and advisor to the Chairman of the company that purchased us and continued as mine as well. Over time, we simply became friends, best friends, and then business partners.

That casual conversation in New Orleans was a reminder of how powerful picking the right mentor can be. It is my wish for each of you.

If You Don't Have A Mentor. Get One.

Find someone who shares your core values. Find someone who is not like you, who is smart in ways you're not, who forces you to think differently. Find someone who will be willing to challenge you and call your bluffs and force you to grow and get better, even when every fiber of your being is satisfied with where you are. You will never regret it.

If you do have one, I’d love to hear your story too. If you've written about this already on ActiveRain, please feel free to hijack my comments and lead all of us to more knowledge!

I am new to the blogging world. I guess you could call me a "late blogger." But I've been reading other blogs for a good long time. I know what I like when I see it. Apparently, what I like is not unique to me. There are some common elements to a successful blog that apparently lots of people are attracted to. The one element that is common among all the myriad of different styles of writing and topics for discussion is this, the ones that allow us to see into their personal life, the ones who have found a voice that is uniquely theirs and use it to allow us to develop a distant relationship with them are the ones I like the most. I'm not alone. 

It shouldn't be a surprise. There is a reason why the only newspaper growing in circulation in New York City is The New York Post. Their cover story in their print edition today was about the breakup of Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Anniston. We like to peer into other people's lives. We're all voyeurs to some extent. It only stands to reason that the more willing someone is to share their personal stories, the more likely we are to find something in common, something that makes us say, "Yeah, I can relate to that. That happened to me once too." And, the more likely we are to want to come back and read about them some more.

I am on an email list for a guy named Gary Fong. He's the biggest thing in Wedding Photography, or used to be before his blog. Now he's a celebrity of sorts. He told me personally a few years ago that he had over 30,000 subscribers to his Xanga Blog email. That's a lot, by the way. Here's his formula. He writes every day. His posts today are about his birthday, a new underwater camera, complete with photos of him and his friends playing underwater (including a moon) and an ad for his new Chromedomes. He invented something called the LightSphere. Every day he talks about the silly things his frends do, his jet setting travels, his vacation homes, his advice on investing in real estate, his love of music, he bride to be, whatever is happening in his life. I can't bring myself to unsubscribe, because I just never know what little tidbit of wisdom he'll weave into his personal stories. He is unashamed to say that he does this to sell more product. I "know" Gary because he has let me "know" him.

Last week Kristal Kraft talked about about Dooce.com, the blog by Heather Armstrong. Her formula is basically the same. The blog is about her life. The fact that she is a terribly gifted writing and a creative force to be reckoned with is a bonus, but the key is the personal nature of her blog. She is unafraid to share photos of her dog, child, relatives. I found her blog four years ago doing a google search on wedding photos. I still feel her contact me page is one of the best I've ever read. Oh, she gets 1,000,000 visits to her blog each month. I did not type that wrong. Sharing her personal life is now her living.

So this plays out here are ActiveRain as well. I've only been here a little more than a week and I already have my favorites. Imagine this, the ones I like the most have a disctinctly personal flair to them AND they appear to be the ones others like the most as well. I'm not surprised.

One ActiveRain Example: Broker Bryant

Why do you think his blog is consistently at the the top of the blog heap here at ActiveRain? There is no one right answer to that question. Here's what I think. I think it's because he uses his personal life to tell us stories that teach. We learn without feeling like he's being didactic. He kills two birds with one stone. He lets us into his personal world, so we feel like we have a relationship with him, all the while using the stories to illustrate an important lesson. Remember, this is all about relationships. He's has his own voice. He is not afraid to be personal and to let us into his world. And he does it consistently well.

How does he do it? I have no idea. But I know this for a fact, in order for someone to be that comfortable sharing their personal stories, they have to be comfortable with who they are first and foremost. I don't get the feeling he's trying to be perfect or convince anyone that he's better than them. I think he has a real desire to share and does so naturally. That's the key. It's natural writing. It may not win any Pulitzer prizes, but it's going to make a lot of people want to hear what he has to say. (There are lots of other blogs on ActiveRain I like by the way!)

There's no template to follow. How do the rest of us do what Gary Fong or Heather Armstrong or our own Broker Bryant does? As I went to find a post by Mary McKnight to illustrate someone who understands some of the elements of the "formula" I see that she wrote a post earlier today on How To Write A Blog That Generates Leads. (the world works in mysterious ways) The first thing she mentions you must do with your readers is establish that "you are like them". Someonehow we have to find our own sense of self and get comfortable with the result. It can't be forced. We can't decide who we want to be like and then fake it. It has to be authentic.

I am trying to find my voice and I know I've not found it yet. I know that one of the keys to success in all things is authenticity. If you meet me personally, you'll sense it in me. I know this. For some reason, it's natural for me to be authentic in person. How do I translate that to paper? I haven't quite figured that out yet. Perhaps you haven't either. But one thing is for sure -  when we do, when we present ourselves as authentic individuals and allow others to have as large a peek into our personal lives as possible, we'll see the same results as the examples above. 

With Microsoft ready for public release of their new Windows Vista operating system, speculation about their ability to plug the security holes rampant in every existing Windows platform has been widespread. Microsoft had touted the update as "extremely secure" and several of their executives even went so far as to say, "I'd let my children use Vista without any antivirus protection."

Well, the speculation can stop. ZDNet is reporting that Vista is vulnerable to known malware from 2004. That's right, 2004!  These are not new, obscure kernal attacks, these are very well known internet worms that comprise 39.7% of all malware currently in circulation. In addition, there is a Windows Vista crack circulating around that turns out to be a trojan horse, and not a very nice trojan horse.

So the question this begs is this, "is it time to switch." I'm not talking about switching to Windows Vista. I've seen it, it's nice. It's looks lot like an old operating system I used to use. But if it can't improve security, what's the point. So when I ask, if it's time to switch, I mean to a Mac.

First, a disclaimer. I have been a Mac user since Macintosh was invented. I am an unashamed macaholic. I believe for good reason. But I have also worked in the large corporate world and understand past hesitation about the Mac. Most people are still trapped in that past thinking, however. The truth is the reasons to stay away have always been highly suspect, but now that the Macintosh runs on the Intel platform, they are non-existent. In fact, the reasons to choose a Mac over a PC are enormous.

So here are a few reasons.  A Mac is simply more stable and easier to use. And for the real estate profession, which depends on good communication tools, the Mac comes packed, free, with tools that are widely regarded as best in class, iPhoto, iMovie, the entire iLife suite.

It's also secure. Sure, one day in the distant future malware on the mac may present a problem, but it's not likely. Apple controls the entire environment, since they really are a hardware company first. This is how they protect the end user.. The current OS was rebuilt from scratch and Apple required all of it's software vendors to conform. This was easier to do at the time they did it, because the numbers were low. Windows Vista must be able to support legacy applications in the millions, so it could not be rebuilt entirely from scratch. The security holes exist because the underlying code to support the myriad of legacy applications has to exist. It's more complex than that, but that's the simple explanation.

And the most important reason to consider a Mac now is Parallels. I think, as do many others, that this is the most significant piece of software produced in 2006. I am using a current version on my new Intel Mac Pro tower. I run two monitors. When I need to run in a Windows environment, like in the back end of Realtor.com's Picture Path software, which only runs on PC, then I fire up Parallels and I am running Windows XP Professional on my Macintosh... without loss of speed and in a secure portion of my hard drive. I go full screen and let my left monitor display windows and my right monitor display my Mac. I seamlessly switch back and forth. When I am done with the PC work, I close it down and get back to working on the Mac only.

Here's how I work when I need to be in both worlds:

More significant is a very quiet beta Parallels release, accessed by the link above, that goes one step further. It has a feature called "coherence mode." It makes it so it looks like a Windows application is running naturally on a Mac. Without having a different "environment" to run in. Amazing. It makes the OS irrelevant. When I need to get to a pc application, I'll just click on it and it will sense that it needs to be in the Windows world. I won't have to think about it. Imagine the possibilities.

I know change is scary. Even positive change. But the benefits of working in the Mac environment are overwhelming. You'll simply be more productive. I'm happy to debate that with anyone. I know what the naysayers will say. I will await the comments. But given that a lot of people were hanging their hopes on a Windows environment that was significantly more secure, the fact that they are not going to get it should prompt some thought about change. 

Consider this: I've never met anyone who raving fan of their pc, who will go out of their way to tell you how great it is. And I've never met anyone who uses a Mac who isn't!

Just food for thought.

The demise of real estate classified advertising is well known. (And I'll admit I am trying to hasten their demise.) Several posts (Here is one by Chichi Ahia) in the past week have talked about advertising budgets and where you should be spending your money. It's evident from all the numbers, and from the comments on the posts, that advertising a listing in the newspaper is not necessarily going to give you any bang for your buck. According to NAR, only 3% of home owners surveyed found their home as a result of a newspaper ad. 

That said, newspapers can be your friend. One of our clients, Cynthia Roberson from Coldwell Banker JME in Destin, FL sent me an unsolicited email. She wanted to share a success and how she achieved it.

"I just wanted to share with you what I have been doing with your Shows," she started. "I did a tour of our area which I named, Best of Destin. I have been sending this to my out-of-town prospects with a flyer and explaining that I want them to click on More Photos and More Info. I am in the process of getting ready to do a huge email farm letter to 5,000 email addresses. I have already received great response from this tour. I have also secured a sale just from someone viewing it in another state. It not only draws people in but they look at my other listings as well."

She continued, "I showed the editor of our newspaper what I was doing and they are going to write an article on me and my thinking outside the box."

View Her Area Show Here

Presenting your content to your local newspaper is a good idea. This is where the newspaper can be your friend. A well written community blog or a great set of neighborhood tours, just about anything may be of interest to a newspaper editor. They are constantly in search of content.  If the real estate editor won't bite, call the travel editor or the lifestyle editor. Find a way to get your face in front of the consumer outside of an advertisement. We've all become jaded to advertising, but a well written article about how YOU think outside the box may get someone's attention.

Show created by Cynthia Roberson, Coldwell Banker JME Realty | Destin, FL | 850.585.3602 | Site

I was just reading one of the "off topic, humor, etc" posts and thought... ah, why not. I have 6 kids (11,7,5,3,2,1). So, at any time one of them is bound to say something hilarious. Son number 4 couldn't pronounce "truck" very well for awhile. So, we got it on film. I can't watch this without cracking up and I've seen it at least 1001 times. Enjoy.

 If you forward it to someone who has kids, be sure to warn them not to watch it with their kids around... : )