At the most recent meeting of the Business Before Breakfast Group, the “Challenge Question” was, “What values do you admire in leadership?” This Mastermind group is sponsored by the Brookfield Chamber of Commerce and is bi weekly forum for the discussion of different business topic. It is open and free to any local business owner and is drop in.Continue Reading

At a recent seminar given by Filson Thomas of Archegos Coaching, we learned about the Law of Intentionality. I, personally, am committed to lifelong learning and growth. My one, over reaching goal and value is to be better tomorrow than I am today. Better to me means, more skilled, more knowledgeable, a better communicator, more focused, better at relationships and ultimately happier. Filson pointed out that for many, growth stopped after graduating from school. For true success you need to continue to grow as the world and circumstances change. I love the quote, ‘You may be on the right track but if you don’t keep moving you will get run over.” To me, growth is an imperative. My calendar is color coded and if I don’t see some light green time blocks I know I am not committing to my growth goals.

I know that to INTENTIONALLY grow, I need to do it every day. I have to think like a learner, realizing that there is something to take away from everyone I meet, every situation I am in, every book I read. Intentional growth takes perseverance. It takes hard work. A couple of the benefits are that I will be ready for opportunities. I will learn BEFORE I make a mistake. Accidental growth is waiting for growth to come instead of reaching for is. Accidental growth depends on luck. I PREPARE to be lucky. Another quote..I love quotes…”The harder I work, the luckier I get.”.Continue Reading

“A day is 24 hours, mostly misspent.” Ambrose Bearce

So I am a fanatic about time blocking. But after reading THE ONE THING by Gary Keller I learned I am doing it all wrong. My Outlook calendar looks like a rainbow of colors. There are blocks of time for paperwork, networking, and agent meetings, each with a special color. The goal was always to have many colors so it would indicate all of the business “BUCKET” I needed to do. They were strict appointments with myself to get stuff done. Sound OK, right? I was getting my STUFF done but I was not doing the things that truly grew my business, improved my skills, or made progress towards my long term goals.

New plan- Productive Time Blocking. By knowing what my ONE, overall goal is I need to spend time doing the things that will get me moving in that direction daily. Put another way, I was in the weeds, being reactive to what needed to be done rather than working from the 10,000 level working on the ONE THING that would make everything else easier. I needed to spend more time working ON my business rather than IN my business. I needed to switch from being a MANAGER (oversees and directs) to being a MAKER (do or create). Continue Reading

My daughter sent me the best quote this week. The more I thought about it the more meaning it took for me. I had my TEAM at McCaffrey Professionals discuss it and also used it as a TABLE TOPIC for the Business Before Breakfast networking group that I facilitate for the Brookfield Chamber of Commerce.

At first glance the thought was, predatory, doing anything to succeed. Shark Tank has promoted this interpretation. Sharks, however, do not eat other sharks- except on that show. Sharks hunt to eat, with an occasional accidental chomp on an unlucky swimmer. I contend that these shark attacks are accidental mistakes. Of course I haven’t interviewed the culprits for confirming evidence.

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Fall is really the beginning of the year according to my biological clock. From years of starting a new school year myself to those years where my kids started a new school year, it seems like it is time to begin again. I get a burst of energy this time of year, cleaning out, starting new projects at home and at work. I know many people use January 1st as this benchmark but that seems sounds counterintuitive to me. Other use the first day of spring, or the first day of summer. I have different goals and different energy levels during each season. I know, for example, that I tend to hibernate in January and February because of the weather and short days. It is NOT the time for me to institute new goals or initiatives.

My Real Estate life and business is divided into quarters, not season. It just happens that this last quarter is when I feel the urge to grow and change. It is when I get ready to get ready. I know that if I do not POWER THROUGH the next 3 months, the spring market will not be my friend and I will not have closings (income) until June or July. Our sales cycle is at least 60-90 days from the time you list a home or meet a new buyer to the time you actually see income. Of course it can be a lot longer than that.Continue Reading

I am a written goal person. I know you have heard of the Harvard study that on the 25th reunion they did a survey of who had written goals. It turned out 20% of the attendees had written goals. The interesting thing was that those 20% accounted for 80% of the net worth. I do annual goals and 3 month goals but had never heard of 10 day goals until recently.

I was listening to one of my podcast that talked about CORNERSTONE behaviors. Those small additions to your life that make big changes. Brian Buffini, the podcast author, talked about how it is harder to stop a bad habit then it is to start a small, CORNERSTONE, habit. I saw this for myself overContinue Reading

When at a networking event it is critical to see those attending as people instead of a potential sale or business contact. The Mastermind Group, Business Before Breakfast, sponsored by the Brookfield Chamber of Commerce, discussed what questions would they ask a person that they had just met at a networking function. It was unanimous that this is NOT the time to make a sale or ask for business. It is the time to find resources, find out how to help the person you are talking to, gather information and most importantly ask questions. It is not the time for a sales pitch.Continue Reading