THOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP: HAPPY HOLIDAYS

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels find me at home, starting Monday with my typical WIG calls. On Tuesday, I had my weekly Berkshire Hathaway Energy Presidents Meeting and five CEO reviews, followed by two CEO reviews the next day. It’s been a busy week of conference calls and Microsoft Teams meetings as we tie a bow on this challenging year while looking forward to the next. The holidays are such a special time, even though this is the year many of us can’t be with our family and loved ones or hold the traditional holiday parties, but the spirit of the season remains. Surprisingly, the holidays are also filled with leadership lessons and they come from the boss of yuletide cheer, St. Nick. Here are twelve tips he can teach us:

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THOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP: SUCCESS LEAVES CLUES

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me at home, starting off with my typical Monday WIG calls. On Tuesday, I had the Berkshire Hathaway Energy President’s Meeting and the end of year HomeServices of America CEO leadership virtual meeting and on Wednesday I presented 4DX to the team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties then filmed a few videos for the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Sales Convention 2021 and presented Mindset Leadership Amid COVID-19 to the team at Intero South County. Today, I had the HomeServices of America corporate team virtual holiday gathering and Iowa Realty’s employee service recognition virtual event. In between, I hosted six CEO reviews.

It was a long and busy week, filled with interactions among leaders I admire and respect. Famed self-help and business author Napoleon Hill once said: “It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others succeed.”

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THOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP: LET’S TALK TEAM CHEMISTRY

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me at home, beginning the week with my typical Monday WIG calls. On Tuesday, I had the Berkshire Hathaway Energy Presidents Meeting and presented 4DX Tune-up to the leadership team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, REALTORS®. I also presented on time management to the Intero Academy and celebrated by beloved dog Kona’s 12th birthday. On Wednesday morning, I presented “Mindset Leadership Amid COVID-19” to the teams at Huff Realty, Rector Hayden REALTORS®, Semonin REALTORS®, and WR REALTORS®. On Wednesday afternoon I gave the presentation to the team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Premier Properties. Today, I kick off the day with a HomeServices of America corporate team gathering and I’m hosting four CEO reviews. 

For our Thoughts on Leadership post this week, I want to talk about team chemistry. In sports, chemistry is everything. You win or lose based on the chemistry of your team. The same concept applies to business. A good leader not only understands their team’s chemistry but also can utilize it to effectively accomplish ‘Wildly Important Goals’. A leader knows who works best together and who doesn’t. A leader knows how to bring out the chemistry between a team and strengthen it every day.

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THOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP: FOSTERING FUTURE LEADERS

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me at home, starting Monday off with my typical WIG calls. On Tuesday, I attended the Weekly Berkshire Hathaway Energy President’s Meeting followed by a Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices global alignment session. Next, I presented Mindset Leadership Amid COVID-19 to Intero Real Estate Services’ Peninsula offices and to the team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties. I also had two succession calls this week.

I’ve been including these succession calls in my weekly recap now for a while, but we haven’t really gone into detail on what they mean. Let’s explore together: a succession call is exactly as it sounds, an opportunity for a CEO to create a plan for their succession in the event they leave the company or something unfortunate causes them to step down from their leadership position. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

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THOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP: HAPPY THANKSGIVING

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels find me at home, starting off with my typical Monday WIG calls. After the calls, I met virtually with two groups of students at the San Jose State University School of Business Entrepreneurial Venture Lab class. Listening to their pitches and delivering critiques was the closest I’ve gotten to becoming a Shark Tank judge. On Tuesday, I participated in the weekly Berkshire Hathaway Energy Presidents Meeting and today I was invited by Ken Baris (CEO of Jordan Baris Inc., REALTORS® Real Living) to give a 30-minute presentation about gratitude during the West Orange New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Thanksgiving luncheon, held via Zoom.

And gratitude really is the name of the game this week. I feel so grateful to pursue my calling with leaders who have become more like family. From the staff members to our CEOs to our network brokers and owners to our agents — everyone deserves my ultimate gratitude today and always.

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THOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP: FINISH THE YEAR STRONG

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me at home, beginning Monday with my typical WIG calls. On Tuesday, I attended the Weekly Berkshire Hathaway Energy President’s Meeting and hosted our HomeServices of America monthly CEO Leadership Meeting. On Wednesday, I presented Mindset Leadership Amid COVID-19 to the entire team at ReeceNichols followed by a presentation of 4DX Tune-Up to the HomeServices of America Marketing/IT Conference attendees. This afternoon I presented Mindset Leadership Amid COVID-19 to more than 10 incredible Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brokerages from Anchorage, Alaska to the Big Apple. 

As many teams dart, charge and race toward the finish line of 2020, they may find difficulty staying focused. Thanksgiving arrives next week in all its turkey and sweet-potato glory. Then, the heart of the holiday season follows soon after. In all the festive chaos, the typical whirlwind that throws off your daily plans turns into a veritable storm of tasks to get done. To stay focused and goal-oriented, here are a few ideas to help you out:

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THOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP: MENTAL MARKETING FOR SUCCESS

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me once again at home, starting the week with my typical WIG calls with our HomeServices of America leaders. On Tuesday, I attended the weekly Berkshire Hathaway Energy Presidents Meeting and on Wednesday, I began the day with Long & Foster’s senior leadership meeting, where I presented 4DX Tune-Up. Throughout the week, I hosted nine succession planning calls and this morning, I sat down to write down my leadership thoughts for you.

Marketing is an incredibly influential asset to any business. It can create sales, increase brand awareness and trust, foster deeper connections between a team, and show prospective customers why your service is so valuable to them.

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THOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF VERBALIZING NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me at home, beginning my Monday conducting WIG calls with our CEOs. On Tuesday, I attended the weekly Berkshire Hathaway Energy President’s Meeting and had three succession planning calls. On Wednesday, I had two succession planning calls and two 4DX Tune-up presentations — one to a team from Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty and another to the virtual attendees of the HomeServices of America Title & Escrow Conference. Today I had one succession call and wrote this post with the idea of positivity in mind.

Did you know that a leader’s influence on a team member has one-tenth the power of a team member’s influence on themselves? That’s why I focus so much on mindset. If your team has the right mindset, they can influence themselves to be productive, determined and goal oriented. Shifting mindsets toward all things positive isn’t easy and it takes small but measurable changes to get it right.

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THOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP: HUMBLE, HUNGRY AND SMART

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me at home, beginning the week with my normal Monday WIG calls. On Tuesday, I had a HomeServices of America Corporate Team Gathering and on Thursday I was a guest speaker for Guarantee Real Estate’s managers meeting. I also participated in five succession planning calls this week.

Being a leader means constant self-reflection, accessing your habits good and bad to double down on the former and break the latter. It’s part of a constant re-invention process every leader must regularly go through to evolve and grow. If a leader is going to be a catalyst for outward change, they must also be a source of inward change. And there are three key characteristics that help in this leadership evolution: staying humble, hungry and smart. Let’s examine those attributes and their distinct components as they relate to effective leadership:

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THOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP: THE MINDSET OF NEUTRALITY

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels find me at home, completing my weekly Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Presidents Meeting and typical WIG calls on Monday. I spent Tuesday planning and sending out handwritten notes then on Wednesday, presented 4DX Tune-up + Mindset Leadership Amid Covid-19 to the team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties, led by the great leadership of CEO Candace Adams. And today, I spent an hour with the members of the Intero Academy.

One of my preferred ways to recharge is by watching my favorite sports teams compete. Sports has so many parallels to business—it’s why I so often write about inspiring NFL coaches or top players on this blog. In business, your goal is to win and in sports, your goal is to win. I also see parallels between sports, business and being a parent. You lift up your family. You lead them when necessary and you ensure every member of your family finds success, just as you would with a business or sports team.

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