This week my travels found me in Irvine, California at our HSF Affiliates headquarters for alignment sessions with prospective franchisees from Paris, France and from Maine, Vermont and Minnesota. It was a pleasure to meet with the brokers of these firms, as each is a dynamic leader with a clear set of goals.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels found me first in Vancouver, BC for the 2018 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Summit Conference and today in Palm Springs, CA for The National Association of Gay & Lesbian Real Estate Professionals 2018 convention. But more about that great experience in next week’s post …
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels found me first in New Jersey with Chris Stuart, COO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, for a very special companywide event, “The Power of the Brand,” hosted Sept. 21 by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New Jersey Properties. The event included a company update from Bill Keleher, chairman and CEO of New Jersey Properties, and guest speakers, including CEO of Prosperity Home Mortgage, Tim Wilson. Here are some photos from the event:
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels found me first in Northern California, although I write this now as I attempt to pack for an eight-day trip on the road. Anyway, it’s been a busy week, and especially a busy Wednesday that was packed with meeting unforgettable leaders and remembering them, too.
Let me describe for you my day and how on each of three stops I made yesterday I kept encountering the same theme: loyalty.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels found me in Las Vegas for Mike Ferry’s Superstar Retreat with HSF Affiliates COO Chris Stuart and our entire business development team. I’ve written before about the efficacy of Mike’s events and I was motivated to attend this one by one terrible word: complacency.
There’s a great line I often recite: “I call complacency the most insidious disease in the world; it just sits there on your shoulder and tells you whatever you’re doing is OK.”
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels first found me in Northern California, preparing for the upcoming Berkshire Elite Circle Conference. This morning, I departed for Hawaii, and I’m en route to the Big Island as I write this to you now.
Another important milestone of the week happened in celebration of a longtime friend. Between conference calls and emails, I took time to honor a titan of our industry, Mike Ferry, on his birthday, which took place yesterday.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels found me on Monday in Northern California, on Tuesday through Thursday at noon in Minneapolis and now, as I write this on Thursday afternoon, in New York City. But let’s get back to Monday when, ironically I was in my beach house, the Capitola home once belonging to my partner and great pal, Dwight “The Catch” Clark. It was there I received the tragic news from Dwight’s wife, Kelly, that he lost his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and had passed on.
While in Minneapolis for the HomeServices of America, Inc. CEO meeting, I was greeted with hugs from colleagues and endless condolences from those who knew of my close friendship with Dwight, including many who had met him at our Sales Conventions in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
To say Dwight inspired me almost doesn’t do the word justice. He helped me understand the kind of selfless, determined and generous human being every great leader should be. I was lucky enough to witness his incredible charity work with the Intero Foundation and the Sunshine Kids, and well before that to be a San Francisco 49ers fan in the 1980s and watch Dwight play for my favorite team.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels find me first in Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting over the weekend, next in Northern California then to Southern California for alignment sessions and Mike Ferry’s 2018 Management Retreat at the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach.
As I travel from event to event and meeting to meeting, I’m reminded about the importance of being held accountable to the goals I’ve set. It’s easy to forget your goals in the often chaotic whirlwind of the everyday. Yet, it’s during those moments when you’re at your busiest that you must hold yourself accountable the most.
Thoughts on Leadership 