Mark's passion and expertise is enabling real estate broker-owners and team leaders to create the systems, structure, and processes to support their growth. He also enjoys sharing his thoughts on business success on his blog: www.winningtheday.blog
A question I was asked today: “Are you being faithful with your time?”
True confession: I gave myself an 8 out of 10.
Let’s face it: we all want to make the most of our time regarding our faith, families, and careers. Yet those distractions get in the way.
With so many things competing for our attention, how do we keep the main thing the main thing?
Hint: It won’t happen by accident.
We have to make intentional decisions each and every moment. And as our acquittance Tony Robbins says, “It’s in our moments of decision that our destiny is shaped.”
As leaders, you and I have learned through years of experience and problem-solving that one of the solutions is intention. The other is accountability.
So here is to being even more intentional next week. My good friend Tom Ferry and I have always said the number one thing we can all do to increase our performance level? Increase our accountability!
1. Weekly Learning Review – 5 key questions
2. Weekly Life Review – 10 Key Areas like faith, fitness, finances and family
3. Weekly Habits Review (Change the behavior or change the goal?) – 6 areas of clarity to courage
I thought I’d share – I’ve got work to do – how about you?
If I can be of help with accountability or ideas, I’m always here for you.
Cheers to your success.
The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.
Here’s the deal this week – the 5 words that kill more dreams than alcohol, drugs, addiction, and afflictions:
I don’t feel like it.
Of course, you don’t feel like it – do it anyway tomorrow and this week. Build those relationships, make those calls, write those notes, and launch that campaign.
ACTION creates insight and momentum. More DOING!
Of course, you don’t feel like it, of course, you might not be 100% ready, but of course it could always be better.
Do it anyway.
One of my leadership mentors, General George Patton said it best, “A Good Plan, Executed Now, Is Better Than a Perfect Plan Next Week.”
During the COVID lockdown, I wrote a blog titled, “Doing The Right Thing Is Always The Right Thing,” today’s unveiling of the recent lawsuit settlements brought that to mind.
I’m writing this from Tahoe, where I was part of a panel with the Realty Alliance on scaling your business. All the companies attending are the best of the best, yet some have 100 years or more of operations. You create a 100-year enterprise by always doing the right thing.
Some 20 years ago, I worked with buyers, and a co-op commission came up that was $1.00. Because I had adequately educated my buyer clients, I could show homes of any commission level—the right thing.
Today’s news released by all the major real estate news outlets summarizes some of the settlement points; only one is breaking news, in my view. The summary:
Significant
Redfin no longer requires agents to be NAR members.
Anywhere, company-owned operations no longer require NAR membership and encourage franchisees to do the same.
REMAX company-owned regions no longer require NAR membership and encourage franchisees to do the same.
Note: in most areas there is no procedure to have a hybrid membership brokerage – you are all in or all out.
Implication: Significant policy discussion at the local associations. And the decoupling of NAR, state associations, and MLS. The watch out – this could be like CPA’s not having GAP (generally accepted accounting principles). The wild wild West will not serve the consumer.
I’m a fan of the local and state associations and NAR. I see the value, the advocacy, the standards, the services like RPR, economic reports and research and so much more. More on this in another post.
I’m also a fan of freedom of choice… those who deliver the most value will not struggle to maintain members.
The Right Thing – Nothing Really New
The settlements also include the following:
Anywhere will prohibit their brokerages and agents from claiming buyer agent services are free and will also require agents to include the listing broker’s offer of compensation for prospective buyers’ agents as soon as possible in each active listing.
Agents must disclose that commissions are entirely negotiable and not set by law.
No minimum commission requirements
No technology or manual method that enables the sorting of listings by commissions offered.
The implication here? Nothing new – for over 20 years I’ve taught my agents to do the same, and executed my practice with these principles. Bringing these practices to a higher level of awareness is a good thing. Yet here is what I know, those who deliver the most value will not struggle to create thriving real estate practices.
For the vast majority of my REALTOR® colleagues – regardless of your brands position – is leadership and service not abdication. Get involved and be the change you want to see.
75% of the year is over… it’s time for a quarterly business and operations review! Is it scheduled? I have a powerful 21 question business review – [email protected]
Are you ahead, behind or on track with your goals? In any case “declare it perfect and move forward powerfully.”
Review what’s working, what’s not. Make the adjustments, and keep moving forward.
Basic agenda:
Mission, vision, values and stakeholders – any adjustments?
Key KPI s
What’s work working What’s not
Start, start, more, less
Action steps (no more than 2)
The results will happen – as long as we are all willing to execute the daily activities, track the results, make the changes to the behaviors and engage an accountability partner.
Are you nterested or committed to what’s left of this year?
I ran across a YouTube video – Good with Jocko Willink– that reminded me of my good friend and mentor, Tom Ferry.
Tom and I were blessed to travel and work together on many projects, and I noticed one day when something did not go as planned, he said one simple yet powerful word:
Perfect!
Mark, declare it perfect. Good, bad, or indifferent, Tom would declare it perfect.Something didn’t go our way? Perfect – more time to get better! Unexpected challenges, perfect: we have the opportunity to figure out a solution. It was an intentional mindset and the opposite mindset of many people I know.
It’s an enabling core belief. I was thinking you and I don’t need a new market, a new tool, or a new widget. We need an upgrade to our belief system.
Perfect!
So maybe today, do as George did in Seinfeld Season 5, Episode 22 do the opposite. Or, like Tom does, declare it perfect. And that’s how you’ll win the day.
Tuesday mindset: I’m not sure who counted, but research says we can have as many as 60,000 thoughts a day.
Go figure: The person we have the most dialog with is ourselves.
The implication? Ask a better question and get a better answer.
Examples:
What can I learn from this? vs. Why does this always happen to me?
Why do I never have enough money? vs. How will I set aside more money for my emergency fund next time? What can I do differently that will make it easier?
Over time, if we are not aware of our self-talk, questions included become a cyclical habit — and, more often than not, a negative one.
With some intention, you and I can turn that around to win the day.
When it comes to growing your real estate business, all the folks I work with have ambitious ideas for growth. Yet, have you stopped to consider that trying to execute too many goals at one time is a barrier to your success? As you and I know, the only way to ensure your ideas for growth succeed is to have a very clear plan of action.
For me, in sports and business, I’ve found success in 90-day sprints.
Whether it is completing the LA marathon or starting a new division of my company, I’ve used 90-day springs. For me, 90 days is long enough to stay engaged, yet not so long it seems out of sight.
Yet, for some of my clients, 90 days is an eternity. For my friend and mentor – a recovering alcoholic – early in his journey, he would say 1 day at a time is too long; some days, I work one minute at a time.
So, if 90 days is too long for you, pick your time: 1 day; 1 week, or 1 month the same concepts outlined here can apply.
So, where do I start? I’d suggest a 7-step approach:
Close the gap. Assess your current state. Where are you, and where do you want to be? In real estate, which one of the 16 factors will create the most momentum for you?
Choose your goals and actions.
Plan your days and weeks.
Block your time.
Find an accountability partner.
Review, reflect, and redirect.
Step one
What is your vision? Your goal? Your outcome? Are your goals – between now and the end of the year – well defined and measurable?
What are your financial expectations and your milestones for success?
What key performance indicators and targets, such as new appointments created and appointment conversion rates, will help drive you forward?
Step two
Assess your current state using a gap analysis. Where are you now, and where do you want to be? Now this is where so many of my clients go overboard.
As type A’s, we want to close the gap on everything and do it now. Step back and think, “Less is more!” I’ve had more success with a singularity of focus.
Step three
Only you can choose your goals and actions. One exercise I’ve always found helpful is the red light and green light exercise:
What do I need to STOP doing?
What do I need to START doing?
What can I do LESS of?
What can I do MORE of?
This can lay the foundation for a perfect 90-day sprint.
Step four
The perfect day exercise. What does a perfect day look like for you? What would your daily routine look like? This is the foundation for your 90-day sprint.
Step five
Time blocking and the daily action checklist. I use a hybrid of the David Allen “Getting Things Done” or GTD and time blocking to manage and prioritize my tasks and projects.
On the other end of the spectrum is Elon Musk: Even though many people point to Elon Musk’s ‘superhuman’ ability to focus without distractions or his freakish level of genius, he states that time blocking is the explanation for his effective time management.
Elon Musk 5 5-minute rule is his secret sauce. It makes you divide your day into blocks of time. Each block is dedicated to accomplishing one or more tasks, allowing you to have a concrete schedule that lays out what you will work on and when.
Step six
Let’s face it, the number one tactic you and I can execute to exponentially grow our business is accountability. The top three barriers to accountability:
Lack Of Definite Expectations
Low Engagement
Fear of Failure
My formula?
Clarity On What You’re Accountable For and Who You’re Accountable To
Be Honest With Yourself & Everyone Else
See It.
Own It.
Solve It.
Do It.
Step seven
Review, reflect, and redirect.
In the business world, the term “debrief” frequently has had a negative bias associated with it, probably because it is used only when there’s a mistake, a negative outcome, or a fault to find. Yet such a fear-based approach is the opposite of how Blue Angels pilots structure their training, practice, and subsequent success. On the contrary, their goal is to drive fear out of the organization.
The best pilots in the world. Blue Angels pilots create a safe environment for debriefing, where they open and share their wisdom of success and failure side by side. It’s something elite teams know well.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels use a debrief tool at the end of every single day. It is built into their culture. You might wonder why, if you had a great performance, you would need to deconstruct it.
In sports and in business alike, debriefing sessions have led to wins and increased bottom lines. And the benefits can be even greater. In the right setting, debriefs have the power to save lives. The extreme environment within which Blue Angels pilots perform airborne acrobatics demands effective debriefs—both for the safety of the pilots and spectators.
How often do you debrief wins and losses and capture key learnings to incorporate into your process?
Wrapping up:
The 90-day sprint is all about stretching your ambition. My experience with 1,000 of clients and connections is your growth goals need to be realistic, yet they should stretch you just a little beyond your comfort zone and what you think is possible.
You have a lot to share with this world. So, make this 90-day sprint ambitious. You know it’s perfect if it scares you.
Here is what I know, it is easy to overestimate what you can do in a single week, and that can often leave you feeling like you’re just not making progress on the things you want. However, you can totally underestimate what is possible in a 90-day sprint. So, surprise yourself.
