Jake Breen Joins National REthink Council as Broker Advisor

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, part of the HSF Affiliates LLC family of real estate brokerage networks, recently announced Jake Breen, managing broker at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Utah Properties, has joined the national Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices REthink Council as a broker advisor.

The national REthink Council, a millennial think tank formed in 2013, connects and inspires motivated leaders in real estate; it creates resources and tools to enhance the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network and provides feedback to more than 25 local REthink Council chapters around the country as well as to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices leadership.

Breen, who was previously a national member of REthink, will serve along with Vince Leisey, broker/president of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real Estate and broker advisor to the national council. Together Breen and Leisey will help guide the 15 top-producing members of REthink Council as they brainstorm ideas to move the brokerage network—and real estate industry—forward.

“The REthink Council provides an excellent setting to allow these top-producing Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices agents to better themselves,” said Breen. “There is power in like-minded people who are motivated to get together and discuss the latest industry trends, best practices and the future of our industry.”

Gino Blefari, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, congratulated Breen on the position. “Jake is a forward-thinking real estate leader who will help our national REthink Council members succeed.”

To connect with the REthink Council, visit Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Thursday Thoughts on Leadership: Winning is A Habit

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels find me first in Irvine for a meeting with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties CEO Mary Lee Blaylock and the California Properties team then off to Dallas to meet with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty Texas agent Russell Rhodes, leader of the Russell Rhodes team, PenFed Realty Texas Broker/president Rick Wylie and the entire PenFed Realty Texas team. After that I flew to Detroit and spoke with agents, managers and leadership at Real Living Kee Realty. For each meeting, I delivered several principles for success, specific ideas to follow in order to win.

It’s no surprise winning is on my mind because I just received a text from my good friend and former All-Pro wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers as well as five-time Super Bowl champion, Dwight “The Catch” Clark, who’s on his way to Houston for Super Bowl Media Week appearances. Each summer, as soon as pre-season begins, teams have one Wildly Important Goal (WIG) in mind: Make it to the Super Bowl and then, win the Vince Lombardi Trophy. This trophy—a football resting atop a pedestal that measures 22 inches and 7 pounds of sterling silver glory—is only given to the team that has proven to be the very best in the world.  

Continue Reading

Thoughts on Leadership: Rethinking Your Perspective

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels find me in Irvine, CA and the trip to Southern California has afforded me a healthy dose of perspective. On Tuesday morning, I moderated a lively Book REview session—if you don’t know, Book REview is our quarterly online discussion of a business book—then sat in meetings with our national REthink Council for the next two days.

For me, reading (and listening) to books is a way of life. I’m never NOT starting a new book. Why? Because new eyes see old things in new ways. Reading about the perspectives of others helps broaden, sharpen and focus your own. Our book for this week’s Book REview was The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson, all about small changes (I call them small wins) you can make to ultimately drive big results. Olson also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a positive mindset from the minute you wake up so that lasting success is less of an uncertainty and more of an inevitability.

Continue Reading

Thoughts on Leadership: From Denver to New York City

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me first in Denver for the launch of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Innovative Real Estate. The brokerage, led by Brokers/Owners Scott Nordby and Lora Nordby—two fantastic leaders in the real estate industry—operates four offices with more than 160 agents. It also consistently dominates the Denver market in key production categories and stands among the Top 10 brokerages in the competitive Denver metro area. When I say I’m proud and honored this fantastic team joined the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices family, I really mean it.

Continue Reading

Thoughts on Leadership: Face-to-Face Leadership

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels find me in Irvine, CA at our HSF Affiliates LLC headquarters for a Sales and Service conference. The conference brought together our sales, service, operations, education and business consulting teams for a collective, three-day event filled with presentations, team-building activities and idea-sharing. As you know, I’m a firm believer in setting Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) and not just setting these WIGS but also limiting them to only the very most important achievements you need to get done. These were our two WIGs for the meeting:

Continue Reading

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Establishes Presence in New York City

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices announced today that Manhattan real estate leader Ellie Johnson has joined the network to direct its first New York City affiliation, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New York Properties.

Johnson and New York Properties are part of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties/Westchester Properties family, which continues its strategic expansion in the Northeast under the leadership of CEO Candace Adams. New England Properties, a Wallingford, CT-based company owned by HomeServices of America, entered Westchester County, NY in 2015 with the acquisitions of brokerages operating in Scarsdale, Larchmont and Eastchester. The brokerage expanded into Rye in 2016.

Continue Reading

Thoughts on Leadership: Omaha, Change and an Exchange with The Oracle

Last week my travels found me in Omaha, NE attending the Berkshire Hathaway Energy January 2017 Executive Leadership Conference and related workshops. More than 350 officers and managers from throughout the enterprise attended the three-day event, which included cross-business panel discussions and presentations related to key challenges and opportunities.

Panel discussions centered on managing competitive risk, modernizing assets, reducing our environmental footprint, enhancing cybersecurity plus an overview of political and economic effects on our businesses – all great material.

Continue Reading

Thursday Thoughts on Leadership: A Lesson for the New Year

This week my travels found me in Northern California, working from my home office and preparing for the new year (although as I told you in an earlier post, my business plan has been set for months). Whenever I’m home, I meet my friend and former All-Pro defensive back for the Los Angeles Rams, Johnnie Johnson, for a weekly breakfast; this week was no exception. Fortunately, Johnnie’s sons, Kirk and Collin, were also in town—on break from college at the University of Texas—so they joined us as well.

Continue Reading

Thursday Thoughts on Leadership: A Jolly Leader

Everyone knows there’s not one mold from which great leaders are made. Yet it’s also known that all leaders share common traits: They inspire, they motivate, they bring about joy and cheer to every member of their team.

What leader inspires, motivates and spreads cheer and joy more than jolly, old St. Nick? If you think about it, he’s got a lot on his cookie-filled plate. And we can’t deny he’s one busy guy. Here are three reasons why St. Nick is the epitome of a great leader:

Continue Reading

Thursday Thoughts on Leadership: Our Latest Homeowner Sentiment Survey

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels find me in Southern California for leadership meetings, our HSF Affiliates December Town Hall meeting and our team’s annual holiday celebration. I arrive in Irvine at the ideal time, just as we released Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices’ Q4 Homeowner Sentiment Survey to wrap up the year with a consumer-centric bow.

Continue Reading

No more posts.