UlTImATE SUccESS GUIdElet anything get in front of my ethics and that commitment has always
served me well.
D. Be CoURAgeoUsThere are a lot of powerful, wealthy, and influential people leading
some of the top real estate firms throughout the country. Most of these
individuals are men. I will even take it a step further and say that most of
these individuals are the “alpha male” type. They have an internal drive
to be in charge and to dominate in any activity in which they participate.
I remember monitoring the activity of one of our affiliates that had been
doing well. However, they encountered some issues that caused their
growth to be inhibited, and I noticed that their earnings were consis-
tently trending downward. I worked with them to improve productivity,
bring in new agents, and a number of other efforts to reverse their nega-
tive spiral. After concluding there needed to be a change in leadership,
I went to the President of my company with the recommendation that
we find someone else to take over the firm I had been monitoring and
advising. He agreed and a plan was set in motion to execute a take-over.
I was charged with the responsibility of finding new leadership for the
firm and a date for a meeting was set.
When we arrived at the city where our meeting was to take place, we
decided to have lunch before the meeting. At lunch the President said to
me, “What are you going to say to these guys?” After I picked my jaw
up from the table, I questioned emphatically, “What am I going to say
to these guys?” I went on, “You are usually the one that handles these
conversations.” Much to my chagrin, he insisted I be the one to deliver
the news. I had done a lot of consulting and advising, but, at that point, I
had never had to explain to anyone that I was going to take his keys and
his business from him and give the reigns of leadership to someone else.
To make matters worse, the “someone else” was also his direct competi-
tor. The man I had to confront was very large in stature, older than me,
and definitely an alpha male. I knew he wasn’t going to take this lightly.
To say I was nervous is an extreme understatement. However, I stepped
up to the plate and courageously laid the facts on the table and asked for
the keys. He gave me the keys and the transition began. It was some-
thing that had to be done. It was an extremely difficult task. It wasn’t
something I wanted to do. I would have been very comfortable sitting
in a supportive role as the President asked for the keys. But sometimes