In The Compass Came First, post I ended with a question: can you write the one sentence that tells you which way is north? Then the harder one: could your agents write it for you? Here is a way to find out. At your next sales meeting, hand out index cards with one question: Where is this […]
Coach the Agent You Sponsored, Not the One You Imagined
Every new agent arrives with three plans: the one from their last brokerage, the one in their head and the one you described in the interview. Most first-year plans fail because they’re written for an average agent who doesn’t exist. The Core Capacities Index gives you something better: a picture of how this specific agent […]
What 17 Brokerages Taught Us About Growing When Everything Falls Apart
Between 2008 and 2012, the real estate industry went through the worst stretch most of us will ever see. Values collapsed. Hundreds of thousands of agents left the business. Brokerages that looked unbeatable in 2006 were gone by 2010. And yet some firms grew. My friend and longtime business colleague Steve Murray and his team […]
How to Interview for Capacity, Not Charisma
The best talker in your interview room isn’t always the best agent for your brokerage. Charisma wins interviews. Capacity wins careers. Most managers know this. Then a confident candidate walks in, the conversation flows, and the decision is made in the first ten minutes. Here’s how to slow that down with the Core Capacities Index. […]
Sponsor, Don’t Hire: Why One Word Changes How You Select Agents
Most brokerages don’t hire real estate agents. They sponsor them. That one word should change how you select the people who carry your name. When you hire, you buy someone’s time. You set the schedule, assign the work and supervise the output. When you sponsor, you put your license, your brand and your reputation behind […]
How to Select the Right Real Estate Agents Before You Sponsor Them
Most retention problems start as selection problems. Here is a practical system for choosing real estate agents who fit your brokerage, produce, and stay.
The Clock Came First. The Compass Matters More.
Direction Beats Speed Every Time It was 6:31 in the morning, and my feed had already handed me six productivity systems. Pomodoro. The 3/3/3 Method. The Eisenhower Matrix. Eat the Frog. The Seinfeld Strategy. Time blocking. One graphic promised eight hours of work in four. Another had been shared more than thirteen hundred times. Then […]
Everything Is Borrowed. Only Time Is Yours.
Inspired by Seneca’s first letter to his friend Lucilius, written almost two thousand years ago. Seneca was one of the richest men in Rome. Villas. Vineyards. A fortune most senators could only dream about. He tutored the young Nero and then served as one of the emperor’s closest advisors. Power, access, reputation. He had all […]
Humility in the Dark, Conviction in the Light
Two Olympic golds. One silver. One standard. Freestyle skier Eileen Gu captured elite performance psychology in eleven words: “I train like I’ve never won, and I compete like I’ve never lost.” It sounds great on a motivational poster. But look closely at what it actually asks of you on an ordinary Tuesday morning. Gu’s equation […]
They’re Asking for a Faster Horse
Dollars Is Seventh on Our Own List. It’s the Only One They Ask About. Every leader in real estate knows how the recruiting conversation starts. An agent sits down, glances at the numbers, and asks the question you can set your watch by: “What’s your split?” And if we aren’t careful, we answer it. We […]