#09 Thoughts on Leadership: The Importance of Friends

By Gino Blefari

One of the stops on my travels this week was to Indianapolis where I met with the fine agents and managers at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Indiana Realty and spend time with Kevin Kirkpatrick, CEO; and John Dick, who recently retired as co-owner and president. I’ve known John and Kevin for about 14 years and they’re more than my colleagues; they’re my friends. Friendship is sometimes overlooked in business but it’s one of the most important assets in every company, office … and even sports team that has ever found lasting success. I’ve always said that I love what I do largely because of who I get to do it with. I get to work with my best friends in the world.

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#08 Thoughts on Leadership: Prepare for Success

By Gino Blefari

“Achievement is talent plus preparation.” – Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success

This week, my travels took me to Minneapolis, Dallas and St. Louis. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting all three cities but for today’s post, I want to focus on Dallas and what exactly brought me to the Lone Star State. As many of you know, the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Sales Convention is fast approaching and during the event, I’ll have a chance to address a crowd of agents and affiliates from the stage at the Mirage in Las Vegas, explaining my vision for our company and our future.

While in Dallas, I stood in front of a green screen rehearsing my presentation, making changes and deciding how best to convey my thoughts … and even after leaving rehearsals, the process of preparation is far from over.

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#07 Thoughts On Leadership: Trust from the Source

By Gino Blefari

Last week, I wrote about former Navy SEAL Mark Divine and how his book, Unbeatable Mind, has recently inspired me in my career. At the same time my post was published, an email from Mark came in, which might seem like a coincidence but we all know it’s the universe at work.

Mark’s email delved deeper into the topic of trustworthiness, a cornerstone of any successful real estate operation and a character trait every great leader must possess. In light of the importance we, as leaders, should place on trust, I found Mark’s comments particularly insightful and would like to share them with you now:

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#06 Thoughts on Leadership: An Unbeatable Mind

By Gino Blefari

Last week, my travels took me all over the Golden State—from San Francisco to Palm Springs. And this week, I’m still in California, working closely with our staff at HSF Affiliates in Irvine. In between conference calls and meetings, I had the incredible opportunity to chat with author and former Navy SEAL Mark Divine, who penned one of my favorite leadership books, Unbeatable Mind. During our conversation, Mark was incredibly friendly, even extending an invitation for me to visit his SEALFIT Training Center, which from what I’m told, is everything you’d expect from a hard-core fitness facility. Even over the phone, Mark’s can-do attitude and positive outlook fit perfectly with the resiliency and mental toughness he champions in his writing. More on his leadership philosophy later …

First, let me tell you how this all started.

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#05 Thoughts On Leadership: Leadership Springs from Nowhere

By Gino Blefari

Leadership can spring from unexpected people in unexpected places. I was struck by this fact Sunday watching the Seahawks and Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX. This incredible game matched all the hype, with lead changes, hard-hitting and dramatic plays.

Both teams’ stars came out to play with quarterbacks Tom Brady (the game’s eventual MVP) and Russell Wilson orchestrating scoring drives involving key players; and the defenses flexing their might at important junctures.

This was pro football’s biggest stage in front of more than 70,000 screaming fans and the largest audience in American television history (114.4 million) – certainly no place for the meek.

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#04 Thoughts on Leadership: No Place Like Home

By Gino Blefari

This week, my travels found me in Florida visiting Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty, Florida Properties Group and tomorrow, the team at Florida Realty. I’m thankful to have the opportunity to meet so many inspiring agents, managers and executives, all leaders in their own right who make me feel at home with their generosity and kindness.

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#03 Thoughts on Leadership: A Fourth Quarter Win

By Gino Blefari

“If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too …”
– Rudyard Kipling, “If”

Stepping off the plane in Seattle Monday, I was overwhelmed by the number of travelers at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport who were sporting Seahawks jerseys, although it made perfect sense. Only one day before, in a thrilling overtime triumph, the Seattle Seahawks had earned their spot in this year’s Super Bowl match-up. Let me explain …

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#02 Thoughts on Leadership – Soaring with Ducks and Buckeyes

By Gino Blefari

While enjoying the College Football Playoff national championship game Monday night and the dramatic duel between two exceptional quarterbacks—Oregon Duck Marcus Mariota and Ohio State Buckeye Cardale Jones—I was reminded of a Chinese proverb:

“Not the cry, but the flight of a wild duck, leads the flock to fly and follow.”

The Duck pun is somewhat unintentional. The message, of course, is that true leaders through their actions—not necessarily their words—inspire others to achieve.

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#01 Thoughts on Leadership: An Unrelenting Fighter

By Gino Blefari

My thoughts this week are less thoughts than they are a written tribute to someone I’ve forever admired and respected as a titan in the sports-reporting industry, a kind-hearted man who famously prized family above fortune and still rose to the status of a cherished icon in his field. If you haven’t guessed, I’m speaking of renowned sports commentator Stuart Scott, who tragically passed away several days ago at the age of 49, leaving behind a legacy of compassion and strength, and a message any leader can learn from: Even when faced with an opponent as merciless as cancer, there’s always an opportunity to fight.

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#11 Thoughts on Leadership: Goals for the New Year

By Gino Blefari

“When it comes to setting goals, the law of diminishing returns is as real as the law of gravity.” – The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey and Jim Huling

It’s an age-old tradition: The clock strikes midnight. It’s Jan. 1 and we mentally run through our list of resolutions for the new year, ready to conquer all of them. And by New Year’s Eve of the following year, we celebrate our accomplishments, satisfied with the fact that we’ve achieved every single goal we set out to attain, right? Well, maybe.

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