By Gino Blefari
This week, Inc. Magazine asked me to name one jargon term I thought should be eliminated from business-speak. My pick? “Try.”
Let me explain: “Try” is the absolute archenemy to accomplishment, a word loathed by leaders around the world … and beyond. (Even Jedi Master Yoda famously said, “Do or do not. There is no try.”)
This week my travels found me in Chicago for the 2015 National Convention of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals®. NAHREP® is The Voice for Hispanic Real Estate® and an incredibly important organization that works tirelessly to help Hispanic families achieve the American Dream of homeownership. (I wrote about this association in a previous post you can read here.) It was an honor to meet with NAHREP® members and leaders, like Teresa Palacios Smith, agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties, who serves as NAHREP® president.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels first found me in Washington, D.C. to meet with the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty team and Kevin Wiles, their talented president. I spent the day speaking to these fine agents and managers then traveled to New York City for RISMedia’s CEO Exchange. This annual event is a can’t-miss opportunity to gather with real estate’s preeminent minds as they discuss all things from mortgage regulations and data control to sustainable success and broker best practices. Each year I depart the Big Apple with incredible insights and a renewed sense of purpose in the direction our industry is headed … and this meeting proved no exception.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels find me in San Antonio for Real Living Momentum 2015, an event celebrating Real Living sales professionals from around the country. As I spend time in this Texas town lined by river walks and traditional, Spanish-style architecture, it’s hard not to imagine how the city appeared in the early 19th century, when the west was far wilder and brave frontiersmen and women fought tirelessly to safeguard their land.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels found me in Irvine to meet with our talented franchise sales directors for a three-day conference held at HSF Affiliates LLC headquarters. As the meeting progressed, one thing became clear: Our sales team is among the finest in real estate and each director works tirelessly to find ideal franchisee candidates within an assigned sphere. They’re skillful players on a team positioned to win big this year in key markets across the country—and in time, around the globe.
By Gino Blefari
“Now the first of December was covered with snow, and so was the turnpike from Stockton to Boston. The Berkshires seemed dream-like on account of that frosting, with ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go.” – James Taylor, Sweet Baby James, 1970
This week my travels find me all around Massachusetts and the entire experience feels just like a return home. Yes, it’s true that I’m a mere 50 miles from my hometown of Pittsfield, MA, a city shaped by vast swathes of picturesque countryside and tucked into the heart of the Berkshires, but beyond the familiar New England locale, it’s really the warmth of the people I’ve met that makes this trip seem familiar as a good old James Taylor song.
Pictured above (L to R): John Thompson; Gino Blefari; Brian Buffini; Tom Tognoli; Darren Hardy; Dermot Buffini; Brian Wildermuth; and Mike Lancaster backstage just moments before Darren Hardy addressed the crowd.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels again found me in San Diego for the Buffini & Company 2015 Mastermind Summit. Each year I try to attend this spectacular event and each year I walk away with new insights that can be applied to every aspect of business, leadership and life. (As Brian Buffini, founder and chairman of Buffini & Company said, “Our mission is to impact and improve your business and your life; plain and simple, we are here to help.”) So what, you may ask, was my big takeaway in 2015? I’ll sum it up with two words: All In.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels find me in San Diego to attend Tom Ferry’s Success Summit. The theme for Summit 2015 is “unstoppable,” a powerful word with many applications in life and business. In a recent blog post, Tom detailed five easy steps to achieve an unstoppable mindset and I’d like to highlight them now:
By Gino Blefari
This week I was in San Francisco at Inman Connect, an annual real estate technology conference that provides the ideal setting for forward-thinking leaders to discuss the technology transforming our industry today … and tomorrow. As I share highlights from Inman Connect, you’ll notice that each of these memorable experiences has something very specific in common (but more about that later). For now, here are some of my favorite moments from the event:
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels found me in Chattanooga, TN, for a visit with Vanessa Mercer and Ben, Karen and Byron Kelly, along with their entire Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Realty Center team. I had a fantastic time speaking to these professionals and left Tennessee invigorated by their energy and enthusiasm.
From my brief visit, I can tell you the people in Chattanooga are wonderful and just as charming as the location itself: Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in Tennessee, a place where countryside meets commerce in green, rolling hilltops and high rises set among the broad bends of the Tennessee River.
Thoughts on Leadership 