By Gino Blefari
This week my travels found me first at our HSF Affiliates headquarters in Irvine, California to attend alignment sessions—global and domestic for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and domestic for Real Living Real Estate—where I shared our system of execution and goal-accomplishment with prospective brokerage teams. Next, I traveled to Nashville and it’s here, on the location of the 2020 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Sales Convention where I find myself now.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels find me in Hawaii, recharging, resetting and putting the finishing touches on my 2020 goals while keeping my calls and actual work to a minimum.
In fact, here’s a practice I employ from the book “18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done” by Peter Bregman: Set your alarm clock or phone to go off every hour during the day … that’s eight 1-minute check-ins. When the clock goes off, it’s your reminder to pause, reflect, recharge, recalibrate and refocus. And that’s what I’m doing in Hawaii.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels find me in Northern California. On Monday, I met with technology experts who are helping our organization tackle the complexities and subtleties of putting together an effective technology plan. In a world driven by technology and competition, it’s important for non-biased experts to recommend a path forward for our company. They examined what we’re doing without agenda or predisposition and we were able to have constructive conversations. The combination of business and technology is an art rather than a science and having the right people in the room allowed for creative collaboration to flourish.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels found me first in Orange County and next in Washington, D.C. where I had a chance to attend Long & Foster’s Company Executives and Senior Leadership Meeting. In September 2017, HomeServices of America, Inc. announced the acquisition of The Long & Foster Companies, Inc. According to the REAL Trends 500 report released that same year, Long & Foster ranked as the largest independent residential real estate brand by volume and the second-largest independent brand by units.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels find me in Southern California, where even though the scene isn’t quite a snowy winter wonderland, you can feel the festive holiday spirit everywhere.
The month of December is a precarious time for many leaders; it’s often when they see an expected drop in the efficiency of their teams and sometimes, in themselves. But it’s just when the going gets fir-tree tough that the tough have to get going.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels find me working from Northern California, where I’m preparing to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family. Even though Thanksgiving is tomorrow, I woke up feeling particularly grateful for the incredible team I work with – from the staff members to our leadership to our network broker/owners to our agents. You deserve to be thanked today and every day for your hard work and dedication.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels found me first in Bloomington, MN for the HomeServices of America Marketing/IT Conference where I spoke about leadership and Wildly Important Goals (WIGs). Today, I recorded a podcast with Amy Vetter, a keynote speaker, trailblazing technologist, CPA and yogi. Her philosophy melds mindfulness with management to help leaders across the world generate more business, create balance and find bliss.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels find me in Maui, presenting on mindset and the creation of a positive routine to a Young Professional Network (YPN) group of real estate professionals.
Young leaders are an important facet of our real estate industry, and we should foster their development at every turn. In fact, young professionals must be taken seriously because they are quite literally the future of real estate. The brightest young leaders today are all digital natives, they grew up with technology and a cellphone in their hands. Through social media, they also know they’ve got a platform to share their opinions and do so readily, which creates transparency in the workplace and a formidable chance for them to revolutionize obsolete business practices. Writing for Forbes, contributor Kate Harrison says: “Young leaders don’t make it complicated, and they recognize the daily opportunity to share their voice and spread change instead.”
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels first found me in Minneapolis to present on the West Coast Offense and leadership at the HomeServices of America Title & Escrow Conference. I then headed back to Northern California and this weekend, will attend the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in San Francisco. The conference, known on social media as #NARAnnual, is described as “the largest annual event for the most successful real estate professionals,” and features more than 100 educational sessions and 400+ exhibitors.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels found me in Minneapolis and then with the team at First Weber, Inc. in Wisconsin and then in Southern California. Last week, I wrote about the importance of preparation and I want to continue with that theme. In an ideal world, we should all prepare for the new year on October 1.
