Thoughts on Leadership: See You in San Antonio

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels find me first in Northern California and next in San Antonio, where preparations are underway for the 2018 Sales Convention, which commences Sunday, March 4. Our theme this year, as you know, is innovation, and I’m honored to be delivering a keynote speech about the definition of innovation and the ways in which innovation is—and should be—ever-present in our businesses and lives.

As a preface to what I’ll soon be saying onstage, one of the main questions I’ll seek to answer is how we as an organization can strike the appropriate balance between high-tech and high-touch to propel our brokerage network and its members forward. How can we juxtapose an ever-evolving digital landscape with a growing renaissance to connect beyond the computer screen and the smartphone to add much-needed humanity back into our personal interactions?

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Thoughts on Leadership: How to Lose, How to Win

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels find me in Irvine, CA at our HSF Affiliates headquarters for alignment sessions and meetings with the team. As we prepare for our upcoming Sales Convention in San Antonio, I can’t help but catch a bit of the Olympics buzz going on across the country as I watch world-class athletes get ready to race. The Olympic competitors are all shining examples of leaders—hard working, focused, motivated and committed to a single Wildly Important Goal: Winning the gold.

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Thoughts on Leadership: The Importance of Preparation

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me first in Dallas to rehearse for the 2018 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Sales Convention and next in Northern California where I continue to get ready for our upcoming event, happening March 4-6 in San Antonio. Our theme this year is “Innovation” and the topic plays well with the serious preparation happening for Sales Convention.

In my mind, innovation and change cannot happen unless you’re fully and totally prepared for the changes taking place. It’s always interesting to me when something major is happening—a big change, the launch of an innovative endeavor—and people wish you “good luck” with regards to this new development. Of course, the well wishes are always appreciated (as leaders, we must forever be humble and grateful for the support we’re given) but luck in the context of effective leadership is an interesting thing to study.

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Thoughts on Leadership: The Spirit of the Underdog

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me first in Lancaster, PA to meet with the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty leadership team. Lancaster is one of the oldest inland towns in the United States, an area rich with history and urban charm.

From Pennsylvania, it was off to St. Petersburg, FL to attend Real Living Connection 2018. I was grateful to deliver a keynote presentation to the group on artificial intelligence and the importance of staying relevant. Bob McAdams, president of Real Living, and my good friend Allan Dalton, Real Living COO and former realtor.com CEO, are doing a fantastic job keeping the brand not only on top of industry trends but also ahead of the game.

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Building a Team, Building Success

By Lindsey Fowkes

When I entered the real estate industry, building a team never crossed my mind and I had no idea where I was headed or where I would be 12 years later. Teams have become a popular subject as of late, with the market’s mounting demand for our time and as young professionals and millennials continue to embrace the team oriented work atmosphere. Teamwork makes the dreamwork, right? Although teams have been around for some time, they have to evolve tremendously if you desire to be successful and relevant for years to come.

Most team leaders, such as myself, didn’t start out with a plan or structure before the team was created, it was honestly done organically out of necessity for my sanity.

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Thoughts on Leadership: Temperature Check for Leaders

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me first in Northern California then off to Denver for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Innovative Real Estate’s Appreciation Night with Broker/Owners Scott and Lora Nordby and members of the Innovative Real Estate team. It was a fantastic event and I’m thankful I packed appropriately—temperatures in Denver dropped to 29 degrees!

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Thursday Thoughts on Leadership: The Importance of a Morning Routine

This week my travels found me first in San Diego for Mike Ferry’s Production Retreat. It was an incredibly motivating event and I was fortunate to attend with my good friend, Allan Dalton, former CEO of realtor.com and current COO of Real Living Real Estate. The enthusiasm of the crowd was electric!

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Thoughts on Leadership: Facebook, Vision and Social Trends

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels first found me in Irvine, at our HSF Affiliates headquarters office for alignment sessions with prospective brokerages, a leadership meeting and a Town Hall with our team. From there it was off to San Diego this Thursday afternoon, where I was honored to speak at my friend Danny Morel’s Vision 2018 event at the Lowes Coronado Resort in San Diego. Additional speakers included Gary Acosta, co-founder and CEO of NAHREP; Cheri Tree, founder and CEO of BANKCODE; Mel Robbins, an international bestselling author; and of course, Danny Morel, renowned author, coach, trainer and host for Vision 2018.

The two-day event is designed to show real estate agents how to build clarity in a business plan, grow sales and income, and create raving fans who buy from the same agent repeatedly and for years to come. The conference also focused heavily on social media and the techniques agents MUST embrace to win listings and grow their businesses.

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Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty Agent Embarks on Bucket-list Adventure

Erica Baker, a 27-year-old agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty in Annapolis, MD, set a goal of traveling to 30 countries before she turns 30. So far, she’s halfway to her bucket-list goal. With a friend, Baker has so far climbed the Great Wall of China, swam with whale sharks in the Philippines, traversed 82 miles of Mt. Everest and spent hours holding the perfect spot for New Year’s Eve fireworks in Australia.

“I’m a real estate agent, so traveling keeps me the best,” Baker told Capital Gazette. “I’m making sure I feed my soul so that I can help others.”

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The REthink Council Experience

By Cameron Deehr

When I was selected for the REthink Council, I had no idea what the next two years had in store for me or my business. I was honored to be named one of four inductees selected to the council for the 2017-2018 term, and I was eager to begin networking with the other fourteen council members, all of whom I knew would bring something different and exciting to the table. From focusing strictly on the luxury market or working as a buyer’s agent on a team, to sharing the best practices that help build and establish relationships with clients, all of the “know how” the other members have in their specific “niches” is impressive. It also makes REthink meetings ideal for learning at least one  new idea to implement into your own business.

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