In a recent WSJ article titled, “What to Expect in 2016,” 12 writers gave their take on the future. The topics ranged from politics in the USA to the future of ISIS, banking, bookstores, energy, genetics and so forth. I enjoyed the articles and the authors’ insights. As I paused to reflect on the articles, my own insights began to form with respect. Not to the authors’ opinions individually. But to the whole concept that appeared as a sort of sub-plot from the whole. I came away with four observations I wanted to share with you as we look ahead to what could happen in your life and business this New Year. If you developed the right kind of attitudes in leadership. First, those who interest us most and those who often impact our lives the most are the dreamers and visionaries. Humans are hard-wired to seek to better their lives and conditions. For proof, I call upon your memory of the images of masses of emigrants fleeing oppressive and hostile regimes in Syria and Northern Africa. Risking all in hope of a better life. All of us felt the tug on our heart and the lump in our throat as we saw images of tiny little bodies lying limp and lifeless on the shores where boats capsized or where waves and tides washed them ashore. Tiny testaments that spoke volumes to the dreams and risks. Yet, the dreamers continued to emigrate, unstopped by even the most crushing of losses. Once a dream has found fertile soil in a man’s soul, hell itself cannot burn it out. Death cannot kill it. A man without a dream is a man without hope. But a man with a dream will endure beyond hopelessness. What are you dreaming about this year? I’m not talking about the carnal and coarse silly dreams of languid fantasies in idle moments. No, I’m talking about dreams of what you could do potentially in your business, in your lifetime. Do you ever dream of what you would do with success if you were to achieve it? Are you a visionary who can “see” his/her future as though it were actually happening now? Do you see the influence for good you could have? Secondly, I looked at all 12 articles and understood there were no negative or pessimistic tones in any of them. Leaders are optimists. It’s not that leaders don’t see the negative parts of life. But they see them as opportunities to change. Honest leaders know bad things happen in life. There is an ad on TV by a retirement investment company that shows people writing down their perspectives on their pasts and their futures on different colored pieces of paper. The past is abundant with both negative and positive colors, while the future is primarily filled with positive colors. Leaders see...
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You turn on the nightly news. You hear, “The stock market had its worse day in more than two decades. January stocks are suffering their worst start. Analysts tell us that how January stocks go is a predictor of how the remaining year will be in the market.” Question. When you hear that news, A) Do you immediately consider selling your stocks to avoid a worse loss? B) Do you feel nervous about your 401(k) and begin to fear for you retirement? C) Do you ponder the news and think, “This may be a good time to consider picking up some cheaper stocks? or D) Do you ignore the news and go back to work? Controlling what you CAN control and ignoring what you cannot? How you answered those questions reveals much about how you make decisions. Decision-making is crucial to success in business. We are well into January and I want to help you make this your best year so far. Just as the stock analysts say that how January stocks go predicts the future 70% of the time, I want to help you make good decisions that will predict your future with a certainty of success. I am dedicated to helping you succeed in business, in life, in your goals, and in your purpose. Let’s Get Started with the first Four of these Super 16 Decisions: 1. Have Long-term, medium-term, and short-term goals Let’s use football as an analogy. The long-term goal is to win the game. Sure, one can argue that the long-term goal should be to win the Super Bowl, but that is just one more game that must be won, so if winning games is your long-term goal, the post-season and Super Bowl will be nice by-products of achievement. Now, to win games, the team must have medium-term goals of getting touchdowns and field goals. To achieve those, the team must have short-term goals of getting first downs, which consists of making 3rd down conversions and properly executing the running and passing plays. 2. Work at Perfecting your execution of your short-term goals Football games are won and lost by the execution of individual tackles, receptions, blocks, hikes, and runs, etc. How many times have we as fans groaned when a receiver starts running up field before he has secured the ball, only to fumble it and turn over the game to the opponent? Or a defensive player misses a crucial tackle or a lineman fails to block a blitzing linebacker and our QB gets sacked?? Aaarrggghhh! Those are examples of players focusing too much on the medium range goals – like touchdowns – or not executing the smaller short-term goals of catching, receiving, blocking and getting a first down. I love – LOVE – dreaming about my long-term goals and purposes, and we MUST have them, but today I am focused on properly executing this blog for you, preparing...
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Several months ago, I took a detour in my travels. I went to meet with an old friend who had been super successful in business. He had started in RE as a teenager and is now semi-retired. Having built his business to a global RE venture with some 2,400 employees. I wanted to share some of my ideas with him that I was trying to get off the ground. I also wanted to tap into his experience and learn how an entrepreneur can best reach his goals and dreams. After several hours of friendly chatter and heavy discussion, my friend looked at me and said, “Andrew, you have the curse of the entrepreneur on you.” He explained. “Men who dream and work as we do have very little patience with those who don’t or can’t or won’t quickly catch on, get on board and produce like we do.” Also, he pointed out that many of us entrepreneurs have a hidden insecurity in our personalities. It keeps us from developing deeper and stronger relationships with others. Especially those with whom we work. I was a little uncomfortable being “psycho-analyzed”, but he was correct. I felt he was putting his finger on a much-needed area for improvement in my life. One that could significantly help both my personal life as well as my professional life. He taught me that I must not let my strengths limit my potential. That sounded contradictory to me, but he explained that a person’s strengths often become the standard by which he judges every other person, and that people who may be stronger than we are in another area – but not as strong as we are in our areas – can be judged as incompetent and dismissed as unneeded. And then we lose the horsepower that my cost us our power and plans. He also pointed out that my insecurities could prevent me from hiring strong people, always wanting to have people I can control and who won’t question my decisions. But he told me that that is a dangerous weakness that can create unhealthy relationships and will definitely limit my potential. My friend has given me much to ponder, but along with those suggestions, he gave me several decisions I should consider in building a great team around me. I’ll share four with you in this blog: Decide if you want the freedom of total independence or the satisfaction of reaching really big dreams and goals. What I had long-admired with envy about my friend were the huge goals he reached and the amazing success he saw. What he revealed to me in private was the incredible amount of time he spent corralling strong-minded and independent-thinking team members. He compared leading a great team to conducting a great orchestra of brilliant musicians. The conductor may be a talented musician...
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In my college days, I heard a statement. “You can borrow brains, but you can’t borrow character.” It has been my fortune in RE to meet and consult with many of today’s finest RE brains. Today, I want to give you my final four Super Decisions for 2016. Gleaned from the great minds of successful men/women I’ve talked with in my career. This first decision I recommend parallels my statement above about borrowing brains. Though it comes from the mouths of many experienced businessmen/women. 1. Build your own “Board of Advisors” It dawned on me early in my career that I was full of ideas and energy, but empty of experience. I often wondered why young men/women are full of the horsepower of energy and stamina but empty of the “driving” experience. What a shame that we can’t combine the energy of youth with the experience of age! But, we can! I wanted the wisdom of the older experienced “drivers.” And so, I went after it. It is not a sign of weakness to admit that you do not know something. In business, it is a sign of wisdom. Now, staying ignorant IS a sign of weakness, but, youth and ignorance can borrow brains. I strongly recommend that you assemble a board of advisors. These could be living people you consult with regularly, as well as people who have passed away, but have left their wisdom in books and videos. Many times I will spend time with a successful person, and they do not realize the wisdom they are imparting to me. They think I’m just asking good questions about them or their business. They may feel flattered, but I feel enriched. Everyone knows something I don’t know; hence, every man is my teacher. My duty is to ask the right questions and glean from their knowledge. Most of us are only too eager to talk about ourselves. But, I’m not learning anything when I’m tooting my own horn; I’m just wearing down my own battery. I want to learn. I don’t have time to waste bragging about me, I need to learn how to better run my business and how to succeed with my vision. I’d recommend carrying with you a list of questions that you could ask if you find yourself with a smart person in any field, but especially in RE. Keep a running list of questions on your phone and update it regularly. Here is a partial list of my Board of Advisors: Patrick Lencioni, Tom Peters, Spencer Johnson, Robert Kyosaki, Napoleon Hill, Charles “Tremendous” Jones, David Snow, John Maxwell, and Peter Drucker. Now, some of these are dead, and a few are unavailable to pick up my phone call, but ALL of them have written excellent wisdom in books that I read like the Bible. I don’t just read...
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