Posts tagged:real estate agent

Thoughts on Leadership: Celebrating Black History Month

By Gino Bleafri:

This week my travels find me starting Monday at home, conducting my typical WIG calls. On Tuesday, I had an early morning Berkshire Hathaway Energy call, and in total this week, I had 20 appointments with the mission to help team members achieve their goals faster than they would in my absence. Today, I attended Iowa Realty’s 70th Anniversary and Agent Award Ceremony.

One of my Wildly Important Goals this week was to attend and participate in our “Diversity Meets” monthly meeting, which just so happens to coincide with the start of Black History Month this February.

All month long (but really, all year long) we celebrate the leadership of incredible Black leaders whose wisdom and insights challenged and changed our world in extraordinary ways. For this post, I’d like to focus on my pal Johnnie Johnson.

A fearless leader, advocate, good friend, and former All-Pro defensive back for the Los Angeles Rams, today Johnnie is president and CEO of World Class Coaches. He’s also the author of a must-read book, From Athletics to Engineering: 8 Ways to Support Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

In the book, Johnnie outlines 8 tactics for creating a more diverse and inclusive environment at work, at home and in every facet of your life. Here are his 8 ways:

  1. It starts with each of us. Johnnie says the first step to supporting diversity, equity and inclusion is deciding that you will. If you wait around for someone else to do it, it’ll never happen in the way it should. A more inclusive approach must always start with you.
  2. Love your neighbor. But don’t just love them, says Johnnie, take the time to really get to know and appreciate who they are as human beings. This removes barriers that inhibit the flow of a diverse, inclusive society.
  3. Talk about it. Engage in constructive conversations, Johnnie writes. Be sure to create a safe environment where tough questions can be asked without fear of recrimination. There is always more knowledge to gain.
  4. Check your biases and blind spots. Identifying the places where you have bias allows you to correct and eliminate them.
  5. Expand your comfort zone. Johnnie defines a comfort zone as the place where we can be productive and operate with confidence. When we operate outside of it, our performance suffers. Therefore, it’s critical to expand our comfort zone, so we can perform comfortably at a high level in a variety of circumstances.
  6. Build diverse teams. Diversity inherently brings varying perspectives to a company, which helps teams perform better. A McKinsey & Company study cited in the book found that “the most diverse companies outperform less diverse companies on key indicators, such as profitability.”
  7. Collaborate. Creating a team with diverse backgrounds is what Johnnie calls “a good start.” Next comes the actual collaboration to ensure the team performs. When you collaborate, you must not only acknowledge the differences among the team but also celebrate them.
  8. Align actions with goals and values. Johnnie says goals must be in alignment with personal values, and we should take time to define and articulate our core values. Then, we must ensure that we’re following them with everything we say and do.

So, what’s the message? At HomeServices of America, diversity is who we are and who we’ll forever strive to be. It’s a perpetual journey, adding new perspectives and fresh ideas as we travel this diverse, inclusive, and equitable road together. Johnnie Johnson is an example of a leader who does just that … and in sharing his strategies this Black History Month, we find inspiration to create a better world for all.

Posted by rethinkcouncil

Thoughts on Leadership: Lessons from Katherine Johnson

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me at home on Monday celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day. On Tuesday, I had an early morning Berkshire Hathaway Energy call and monthly leadership virtual meetings. Wednesday through today (and really, for the rest of this week), I’m working on various projects and in between those projects, sat down to write this post to you.

This week our HomeServices family of companies honored the tradition of MLK Day of Service with a wide variety of company events. So, in the spirit of leaders who give back, I want to dedicate this post to a Black leader whose contributions changed our country, our world and really, our entire universe: Katherine Johnson.

Read more: Thoughts on Leadership: Lessons from Katherine Johnson

Johnson lived an extraordinary life. She was born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia in 1918 and immediately it was clear she had a penchant for – and brilliance with – numbers. By age 13, Johnson was already attending high school classes. At age 18, she enrolled at West Virginia State College, where she excelled in mathematics and was mentored by math professor W.W. Schieffelin Claytor, the third Black American to earn a PhD in mathematics. In 1937, she graduated West Virginia State College with the highest honors and began working at a teaching job at a Black public school in Virginia.

In 1939, when West Virginia quietly integrated its graduate schools, West Virginia State president Dr. John W. Davis chose Johnson and two other men to be the first Black students at the state’s flagship graduate school, West Virginia University. Johnson left her job teaching and enrolled in the program, though she left the program shortly after the first session to start a family. When her children were older, Johnson returned once again to teaching.

Several years later, in 1952, a relative told Johnson about a few open positions at the all-Black West Area Computing section at the Langley laboratory at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Johnson moved with her family to Newport News, Virginia and started working at Langley in the summer of 1953.

For the next four years, she analyzed fight data and plane crashes, and in 1958, her mathematics work was used in “Notes on Space Technology,” a series of lectures by engineers in the Flight Research Division and the Pilotless Aircraft Research Division (PARD) who would become the Space Task Group, NACA’s first official exploration into the possibilities of space travel. Later that year, when NACA turned over operations to NASA, Johnson, according to NASA “came along with the program.” The year prior, she co-authored a report along with engineer Ted Skopinski – “Determination of Azimuth Angle at Burnout for Placing a Satellite Over a Selected Earth Position” – and this credit marked the first time a woman in the Flight Research Division was named on a research report.

Her work on NASA’s Mercury program (1961-1963) was perhaps what she’s most well-known for today. In 1961, Johnson’s calculations of the path from Freedom 7 sent the first U.S. astronaut – Alan B. Shepard, Jr. – into space. In 1962, Johnson began work on an orbital flight for astronaut John Glenn that required the building of a complex communications network around the globe.

Despite the intense work to create this network, astronauts were hesitant to trust their lives to electronics. “Get the girl,” Glenn told his engineers, during the preflight checklist.

“The girl,” of course, was the brilliant Johnson, who ran the same equations that were programmed into the computer all by hand, using a desktop mechanical calculating machine.

Johnson would later recall Glenn saying, “If she says they’re good, then I’m ready to go.”

On February 20, 1962, Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. The mission, thanks to Johnson, was a success, and marked the beginning of NASA’s accomplishments in human spaceflight.

So, what’s the message? During Johnson’s 33 years spent at Langley, she co-authored 26 research reports and among many, many achievements, was part of the team that made calculations about when to launch the rocket for the 1969 Apollo 11 mission that sent the first three men to the moon. She also worked on the space shuttle program. In 2015, at age 97, President Barack Obama awarded her with the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom, though sadly in February 2020 Johnson passed away at the age of 101. When once asked about her time at Langley, Johnson said, “I loved going to work every single day,” proving that when you love something that much, you can achieve goals that are out of this world.

Posted by rethinkcouncil

Thursday Thoughts on Leadership: A Tribute to Pierce Allman

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels find me at home, starting Monday with my typical WIG calls. On Tuesday, I participated in an early morning Berkshire Hathaway Energy call and was a guest speaker for the team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New Jersey Properties, where I spoke on “Ways to Thrive in a Shifting Market.” Today, I presented to the team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Lifestyle Properties, and tomorrow, I’ll wrap up 15 succession planning calls that happened over the course of this week with leaders from across HomeServices.

Read more: Thursday Thoughts on Leadership: A Tribute to Pierce Allman

While my work schedule was typical, this week was anything but, as I mourned the loss of my dear friend, Pierce Allman. He passed away on November 25 with his beloved family by his side, including his wife, Allie Beth of Allie Beth Allman and Associates, which is widely recognized as one of the most productive and fastest-growing residential real estate companies in Dallas. Pierce’s legacy no doubt contributed to this overwhelming success.

We’ve all experienced that special moment when you meet someone and have instant chemistry. That’s what I had with Pierce.

He lived an incredible life. A devoted husband, father, grandfather, entrepreneur, community leader, preservationist and philanthropist, Pierce co-founded Allie Beth Allman and Associates with Allie Beth. He was renowned for his marketing brilliance, industry expertise, sharp wit and impeccable style. Pierce was not only an integral part of our HomeServices family but also an integral part of American history.

Born January 5, 1934 in Little Rock, Arkansas, Pierce showed a penchant for the extraordinary at a very early age. As a child, he earned 104 out of 105 available merit badges with the Boy Scouts of America, becoming the youngest Eagle Scout in the nation. He also started a paper route for The Dallas Morning News, which he continued into his college days, and thanks to a later scholarship from the publication, was able to enroll at Southern Methodist University (SMU) where he studied radio and television broadcast.

He graduated from SMU in 1954 and joined the U.S. Air Force, serving in the Strategic Air Command in Austin, Texas from 1955 through 1957 before moving to Dallas to work for WFAA radio. He made his way quickly up the ladder from announcer to program director.

Pierce told me his time at WFAA was “an adventure,” recalling how as a crew cut-sporting professional in his mid-20s, he was about 25 years younger than the average age of a WFAA employee. During his time there, he pioneered many innovative programs and initiatives, including a call-in talk show (“in those days, it was a little edgy,” he said) and much of his programming would evolve into what we know as standard, modern-day radio and podcasting today.

At WFAA, Pierce met a young Texas Christian University graduate named Allie Beth McMurtry, who became the absolute love of his life. They married in 1963 and about one month after the wedding, on November 22 (exactly 59 years and nine days before this tribute is published), Pierce witnessed an event that would change his life forever.

Where were you when JFK was shot?

It’s a question that defines three generations – The Greatest Generation, The Silent Generation and the Baby Boomers. A moment of tragic remembrance …

I was in my third grade class …

But Pierce was there. And not just standing among the crowds as the motorcade passed by but across the street from the Texas School Book Depository and then, inside it minutes after shots were fired.

Pierce told me, around noon on November 22, he decided at the last minute to walk with a WFAA colleague the four blocks to see Kennedy’s motorcade – with President Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy inside. (“The closest thing to royalty was coming to town,” he said.)

Together, Pierce and his colleague walked along Houston Street in the early afternoon. Here’s the story he told me: “I remember a couple of blocks over, I kept looking at the buildings and rooftops and the open windows and I kept wondering, ‘How can they secure all that?’ And I don’t know why, but we got about a block away and I turned to my colleague and said, ‘You know, if there were to be anything like an assassination attempt, it would probably be here.’”

They kept walking, finally arriving on the corner opposite the front door of the Texas School Book Depository, a seven-floor building facing Dealey Plaza that housed a school textbook distribution firm.

The First Lady was closest to Pierce as he watched their motorcade drive by; JFK sitting on her other side. He saw the President brush hair out of his face, saw the “marvelous” Jackie O and got so carried away in the awe of the moment, he hollered, “Welcome to Dallas, Mr. President.”

The motorcade turned a corner.

Pierce told me when the first shot happened, no one around him even recognized it as a shot (he asked his colleague if it was firecrackers), but then there was a second and a third shot … Pierce said he looked up to where the sound was coming from, to the Texas School Book Depository building. The motorcade car sped off and Pierce thought, ‘I’ve got to get to a phone.’ (All this happened in the span of 18 or 19 seconds.)

He crossed the street and went up the steps of the Texas School Book Depository, passing a man on his way and asked him where a phone was.

“In there,” the man said.

Inside the lobby of the Texas School Book Depository, Pierce found a phone and called in to the radio station, all the while wondering exactly what to say and unsure of what he just witnessed. Was the President dead? Was it a solid hit? What condition was JFK in now? Pierce had no idea, but with the Russian Cold War still raging, he told me he wasn’t about to go on air from the lobby of this building and say the President had been shot, only to inadvertently initiate WWIII.

“There was an unreal quality to the entire thing,” he told me.

But Pierce would forever go down in history as one of the first media representatives on the scene during the Kennedy assassination.

And the story gets even more intense.

Pierce said less than two weeks after the assassination, he received a call from the Secret Service, asking for an interview. He went down to the police station and started detailing the afternoon to them. He went through the entire ordeal several times, and finally the Secret Service said, “In the testimony of Lee Harvey Oswald, he states that as he was leaving the Depository building, a young man with a crew cut identified himself as a newsman and asked for a phone. Based on what he’s said and what you’ve said, this is you.”

Yes, Pierce not only reported live from the scene of JFK’s assassination but also came face to face with JFK’s assassin moments after the shots were fired. He didn’t just witness history; he was part of it. Over the past 59 years, countless news organizations have used his eyewitness report. And because he was live on the scene, Pierce started what would become the 24/7 news cycle we know today.

To keep JFK’s legacy alive, Pierce was a key player in the founding of the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, and his voice is the one you’ll hear if you take an audio tour.

After his work at WFAA and later at SMU, Pierce started a public relations division for Tracy Locke, winning the prestigious Clio Award (among others) for his work. When Pierce and Allie Beth founded Allie Beth Allman Real Estate (known now as Allie Beth Allman and Associates) in 1985, he served as the company’s Director of Marketing and instituted brilliant and visionary initiatives – the use of color in newspaper advertising, catchy taglines like “Some firms follow the Market, We Make the Market,” The Allmanac and more.

In addition to his marketing and communications genius, he was dedicated to giving back, becoming heavily involved in several local foundations and non-profit organizations that positively impacted the lives of thousands within his community, a patriarchal figure to the city that gave so much to him. In 2017, he was named Dallas Father of the Year.

So, what’s the message? I feel incredibly fortunate to have met Pierce and wish I had met him sooner in my life so we could have spent more time together. He was insightful, smart, kind and humble – everything a great leader should aspire to be.

Pierce, we all miss you. Though you are no longer with us, the tremendous legacy you leave behind is a testament to the extraordinary life you lived.

Posted by rethinkcouncil

Thoughts on Leadership: How Not to Die

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels find me starting Monday at home with my typical WIG calls then flying to Salt Lake City, Utah for the Berkshire Hathaway Energy 2022 Executive Leadership Conference. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I attended conference sessions on topics ranging from the vision and plan for the future of energy to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Today, I’m on my way to Las Vegas for the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices 2023 Sales Convention Creative Review hosted by Corporate Magic, and as the clouds roll past my airplane window, I write this post to you.

I’ve been listening to nutrition expert Dr. Michael Greger’s compelling book, “How Not to Die,” as I implement healthier changes into my diet and lifestyle. (Remember, it’s all about continual improvement!) Dr. Greger, with extensive research, explains the importance of whole food, plant-based nutrition.

Read more: Thoughts on Leadership: How Not to Die

I first learned about the book on a recent WIG call with Martha Mosier, president of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties.

With the HomeServices philosophy of continuous improvement, we end every leadership call with the answer to the question, “What am I doing to improve so I’m better this week than I was last week?” And in Martha’s response, she mentioned the book.

Her brother – an anesthesiologist in San Diego – was a fit, healthy individual who rode his Peloton every day, but at 60 years old, he was faced with an extremely serious heart condition that required heart surgery. His cardiologist told him, “The only way you will live with this condition is to read the book, ‘How Not to Die.’”

He was (rightly) scared, and he read the book cover to cover and is now transitioning to a plant-based diet. Dr. Greger’s book was an eye-opening experience and launched the family into a new phase of a healthier lifestyle and nutritious eating. In fact, he’s become such a follower of Dr. Greger’s nutritional philosophy that Martha said they will have a vegan-style Thanksgiving!

After Martha’s moving story, I got the book and listened to it every night before I went to bed. Like Martha’s family, reading “How Not to Die” had a similar impact on me.

Dr. Greger says 85% of the leading causes of death in the U.S. can be directly tied to nutrition. He also believes the answer to proper nutrition is through whole (or minimally processed) food and a plant-based diet.

There are so many popular diets and fads and food trends but according to Dr. Greger, what’s far more important than any number on a scale is your overall health. And the dietary choices we make directly contribute to what that overall health will be. Dr. Greger says nutrition isn’t about a quick juice fast or a week-long program, it’s about making sweeping lifestyle changes that will benefit your wellbeing forever. He believes:

  • Poor diet is a huge problem that goes largely ignored.
  • Proper diet must be balanced with daily exercise (90 minutes of moderate exercise or 40 minutes of intense exercise).
  • Eating fruits and vegetables and drinking plenty of water will help thwart off disease.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should run to the grocery store and switch out all your meat for broccoli (if you know me, you know I love my steak) and you should always consult a medical professional before making any major dietary changes, but the premise of Dr. Greger’s argument is solid: Eat healthier, be healthier.

The typical U.S. diet contains dairy, meat, eggs, and a ton of processed foods. Dr. Greger points to a study that showed when Japanese Americans switched from the Japanese diet – high in vegetables and low in sugar – to a more American-style diet, their risk for heart attack increased. He also names countless groundbreaking studies that show how detrimental processed food can be to your health.

Dr. Greger says any healthy diet should consist of whole, plant-based foods to avoid these harmful, toxic processes. He recommends four servings of fruit, and one of those servings should be berries, which are high in antioxidants and have immune-boosting properties. He also recommends five servings of vegetables each day as vegetables keep cells healthy and aid in liver and lung functions, among many other beneficial qualities.

Overall, Dr. Greger advocates for:

  • Drinking plenty of water
  • Eating beans, or bean products, like lentils, miso, and chickpeas
  • Having berries like cranberries, strawberries, and blueberries
  • Adding cruciferous vegetables to your diet like broccoli, kale, and cabbage
  • Putting greens into your meals like kale, spinach, and arugula
  • Eating nuts and seeds like flax seeds, walnuts, almonds, and pistachios
  • Flavoring your meals with healthy herbs and spices like turmeric, ginger, and pepper (with an emphasis on the health benefits of turmeric)
  • Exercising each day (moderately)

So, what’s the message? Even a small change like drinking more water, adding moderate exercise to your morning routine, or having a few servings of berries throughout the day can make a huge impact. And healthier eating could make you happier! Dr. Greger cites a review in Nutritional Neuroscience that found eating a significant number of fruits and vegetables positively supports brain health, which means being a happier, healthier leader for you and your team.

P.S. If you’d like to purchase the book, click here. Dr. Greger generously donates all proceeds from the book to charity!

Posted by rethinkcouncil

Thoughts on Leadership: Lessons from the NFL

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels find me starting the post-Labor Day work week with an early morning Berkshire Hathaway Energy call on Tuesday. After the call, I hopped on a flight to Washington, D.C. to join the RISMedia CEO Exchange and had a fantastic time presenting the opening keynote for RISMedia Founder, President & CEO John Featherston. Today, I returned home and sat down to write this post to you.

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Thoughts on Leadership: Sleeping Habits for Leaders

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels first found me at home, starting Monday with my typical WIG calls. On Tuesday, I participated in the Berkshire Hathaway Energy meeting then the Monthly CEO call. After that I headed to Las Vegas, Nevada for the Mike Ferry Superstar Retreat, happening as I write this post to you now.

Last week, we talked about M.E.D.S. (Meditation, Exercise, Diet, Sleep), keystone habits that create small wins. This week, I want to break down that last part of M.E.D.S. – Sleep – and dive deeper into how you can achieve the most restful sleep possible.

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Thoughts on Leadership: Ideas for Coping with a Downward-moving Market

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels find me at home, starting Monday with my typical WIG calls then attending the NBA Finals’ Golden State Warriors game in the evening. On Tuesday, I participated in the Berkshire Hathaway Energy call and had a 2023 plan working session with Berkshire Hathaway Energy, followed by the monthly CEO virtual leadership meeting. Yesterday, I had an acquisition dinner meeting; and today, I am in team meetings and sitting down to write this post to you.

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Thoughts on Leadership: A Post for Pride

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me starting off the holiday week on Tuesday at home with an early morning Berkshire Hathaway Energy call followed by my typical WIG calls. These WIG calls were moved from Monday but still conducted for consistency, and as an important aside, let me expand on why we held the WIG session on Tuesday rather than skipping a week: Ideally, WIG sessions are held at the same time every day and every week. This consistency is critical; without it, your team will not be able to establish a sustained rhythm of performance. Missing even a single week causes you to lose valuable momentum and this loss of momentum impacts your results. This means the weekly WIG session is sacred and takes place even if the leader cannot attend and has delegated the role of leading it to someone else.

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Thoughts on Leadership: Lessons from New York

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me starting Monday at home, conducting my typical WIG calls. On Tuesday, I hopped on an early flight to Uncasville, Connecticut for an incredible event at the Mohegan Sun, led by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties/New York Properties/Hudson Valley Properties President and President and CEO Candace Adams. I congratulated the team on stage and was with them for a fantastic celebration, including a team dinner on Wednesday night. The energy at the event was electric. It was the first time many of those team members had seen each other in person since the pandemic began. Candace did a fantastic job as emcee, and we heard from Steven and Debbie Domber, Steven James, Brad Loe and Allan Dalton. It was amazing to see how fired up Steven James and Brad Loe are to take over the New York market. When he spoke, Steven’s passion and energy left no doubt in anyone’s mind that his prediction to be No. 1 in New York would happen soon.

Today, we drove to Rye Brook, New York and spent the afternoon with Houlihan Lawrence and President and CEO Liz Nunan where we toured the Houlihan Lawrence offices and had a luncheon in the Houlihan Lawrence Agent Development Center. I gave a leadership presentation and then attended an agent networking open house.

We then drove to Manhattan, where I write this post to you now, and because the Big Apple is so inspiring to me, it’s our topic for today.

New York City has a vibe unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s palpable. You can practically reach out and touch it, as it buzzes in shades of taxi-cab yellow and skyscraper gray across the city that never sleeps. Here are a few ways I’ve been inspired by the people and places of this global metropolis:

First in, last out. In his aptly named book, “First In, Last Out,” New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Battalion Chief John Salka explains how the FDNY’s strategies can be applied to any business and any leader. By first in and last out, Salka references the idea that a leader, just like those who lead the FDNY, should always be the proverbial first one to charge into the room when it’s on fire, and the last one to leave before the fire is completely extinguished. It’s a lesson in ultimate accountability; as the leader, you are the person others follow and you also set the example, never abandoning even a burning building until the flames of challenge are extinguished and you’re treading on safer, more sustainable, more successful ground.

Gratitude unlocks endless improvement. When asked for our #LeadershipPGI social media series about the one thing she’s doing this week to become better than she was last week, Liz Nunan said this: “Practice daily gratitude. I find that it leads to a more positive mindset, helps when I need to deal with adversity, and has helped me build strong relationships, both personally and professionally.” Gratitude, as I say, is an attitude! And while it helps strengthen your mindset, as Liz explains, it also helps you on your path of perpetual improvement. With gratitude, you look forward, you think positively, and you see the potential in situations rather than whatever is holding you back.

Your team can never hear enough how much you appreciate them. When Candace Adams was asked the same question – “What are you doing to improve this week so you’re even better than you were last week?” – she said: “I am going to reach out to as many people as I can to say thank you for who they are and what they do.” And showing how much you care isn’t just good for strengthening trust, connection, and respect among your team, it also strengthens the team itself. In a 2020 Harvard Business Review article, authors Kerry Roberts Gibson, Kate O’Leary and Joseph R. Weintraub wrote that letting your team know you appreciate them enhances productivity and the team’s ability to perform given tasks. Why? Because everyone wants to know that the hard work they’re putting in doesn’t go unnoticed.

Team members need a voice – and that voice must be heard. Writing for the Harvard Business Review, authors Bruce A. Strong and Mary Lee Kennedy documented the process of change at the New York Public Library, one of the largest public libraries worldwide. An estimated 18 million people visit the library each year. (And one of them was Sylvester Stallone who wrote the screenplay to “Rocky” in three days at the New York Public Library.) So, when it became clear the library needed to shift its strategies amid an ever-changing digital world, what did the leaders at the New York Public Library do? They asked employees exactly what should happen next. In the spring of 2014, any of the 2,500 staff members had the chance to speak directly with senior leaders, offering their best ideas to digitize the library system. The staff was asked to propose, test and advocate solutions. The senior leaders provided guidance, support, resources and made decisions on those ideas, but it was the staff whose ideas would be carried through. “The project expanded their sense of belonging,” the authors wrote in the Harvard Business Review. And it’s a lesson any leader can take back to their teams. Sometimes problems can’t be solved unilaterally, and instead it takes a collaborative, concerted effort by all to create the change you seek, whether it’s digitizing a massive public library in NYC or providing even better service to your clients.

So, what’s the message? Artist Georgia O’Keeffe once said, “One can’t paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt.” And I felt that this week in New York. It’s a city that constantly reminds us that sometimes leadership is a set of principles, sometimes it’s a system of execution and sometimes, it’s a feeling that guides us exactly where we want – and need – to go.

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Thoughts on Leadership: An InvalYOUable Trip to Louisville

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me in Louisville, Kentucky for the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Sales Convention. Each year, our outstanding events team – led by Vice President of Global Conference & Meeting Services Denise Doyle and the team at Corporate Magic, including the incomparable CEO Jim Kirk – selects a theme, and for 2022 the theme was InvalYOUable. Yes, spelled just like that because at the end of the day, the value you bring to your organization, your clients, your colleagues, and the people in your life is highly individualized, a reflection of your unique experiences, skills, talent, determination and ability to inspire others to achieve their goals faster than they would in your absence. In my life plan, under my role, I have the affirmation: I am a highly disciplined focused leader. I understand my income is a measure of the value I bring to the marketplace.

As I sat in General Sessions, attended networking events, and met with attendees, there are three leaders whose InvalYOUable characteristics shined so bright, I just have to highlight them in our blog post today.

Let’s start with Christy Budnick, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. From Christy, we learn the power of optimism. Spend 30 seconds around Christy and you’ll understand how infectious her positivity truly is; she lights up a room and when she delivered her keynote at General Session for the first time this year as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices CEO, her optimism took center stage. Christy is also coachable, she learned from the best: her mother, Linda Sherrer. Linda is founder and chair of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty. She has been an iconic force in real estate for decades and still is today. From Christy, we also learn the importance of being in the trenches, comprehending the complexities of an industry before you lead it to even bigger and better ways of operating. Christy has been there. A seasoned agent, manager, CEO, she gets real estate because she’s one of us. And that’s a trait we can all learn from and admire.

From keynote speaker Jade Simmons, we learn the power of your personal journey to create breakthroughs in your life. Jade began her presentation playing (no slaying) on a grand piano, as only a professional concert pianist (who played renowned halls including those at the White House and U.S. Supreme Court) could. Jade’s original vision was to be a classical pianist, a life of Rachmaninoff, and said it would sound something like this. On cue, her hands flew across the piano keys in perfect rhythm and mesmerizing crescendos, and we were moved not only by her words but also by the messages she conveyed through her music. Jade explained that she finally came to realize life didn’t have to be one thing or the other, all classics, all day. She played another tune that skillfully combined classical with modern, rhythmic beats, and she told us there is great power in embracing the things we cannot change because those are the things that make you, YOU. Jade understood being a Black female made her distinctive in the classical music world. She also understood that her profound love of rhythm was another opportunity for a breakthrough. Somewhere between her classical journey and combining it with rhythmic excellence, Jade found a photo of herself as a little girl, sitting in diapers playing the African bongos. It was this nostalgic visual that reminded her why she kept coming back to drum lines and beats; rhythm had been a part of her all along. Instead of trying to go the purely classical route, she instead embraced this unique facet of her passions and expanded the once-tight vision she had of how she must succeed. Immediately, everything changed. She did not, as she says, compartmentalize her brilliance, she instead took every extraordinary part of her and used that to find her next breakthrough.

Finally, last but certainly not least, from keynote speaker Magie Cook we learn about perseverance, forgiveness, and mindful success, and even learned the day she delivered her keynote was also her birthday. (The crowd of course sang to her.) It’s funny when I first read the description of Magie Cook before I had the opportunity to hear her speak, I imagined she might be very tall. In high school, Magie had an opportunity to play basketball for the Mexican National Team, until a broken collarbone left her sidelined. Next, she got a scholarship to play for the University of Charleston. So, was Magie a towering 6’3”? Nope. When I saw her in person, she was actually 5’2”, and once you hear her speak, it all makes sense. Magie is fierce. She’s got incredible grit. She grew up one of 68 children in a Mexican orphanage, doing construction work, gathering soil and hunting for her own food at a very early age. She practiced basketball with another orphan (found in a dumpster as a baby). She ran drills blindfolded and was so good her orphan brother thought she could surely see where she was going. Not even something fundamental like height could stop Magie from basketball greatness. She was unstoppable because she had the mindset of a champion. Either life controls you, or you take control of your life, she says. Even when she was homeless after college, living in the streets and in the woods, it didn’t stop her from pursuing her dreams. (She says she didn’t even notice she was homeless because she had grown up much the same way.) As a gift, some friends gave her $800 and she entered a salsa competition, unanimously winning. That one win would turn into an idea for a salsa business that would eventually see her product available in 38 states, major supermarkets and sold to Campbell’s in a multi-million-dollar deal. When she came out to her father, he told her she’d never amount to anything. That she’d wind up in jail with AIDS. She took his cruel words and used them as fuel. (As she says, “If anything can stop you, nothing can stop you.”) She wanted to show her father she would make it, she would succeed and even read a letter her father wrote her years after those terrible words were spoken, where he expressed how proud he was of her. When she read the letter, there wasn’t a dry eye in the Sales Convention house. We were moved by the acceptance in his words, and by the fact that we all know the ending to her story – she did it, she found success despite everything and in her determination to succeed against prejudice, bias, homelessness, poverty and insurmountable odds, we realized that we can do it, too.

So, what’s the message? Christy, Jade and Magie all share one thing in common: their success is the result of their unique attributes, those special traits that make them the incredible leaders they are today. They know their value with absolute conviction and use it to show others just how InvalYOUable they can be.

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