Over the past three years I have heard the following words from ALL of the smartest people I know: "The world has changed!" 
These words may sound shallow and cliche when they come from the mouths of most people. But, when these words trickle out, VERBATIM, from the mouths of my top ten list of most successful clients, mentors, acquaintances and friends I am blessed to know, I tend to listen…..carefully. And so should you.
I have questioned each of them about what they mean when they state that "the world has changed," and invariably it can be boiled down to the following: Each and every business and each and every position within those businesses (especially the visionaries and the managers) must overhaul how they approach their work from this point forward if they expect to remain competitive. Here's what these folks are really saying:
"You don't have to reinvent everything, but you must do a thorough assessment of all you do, and everything you believe, and rethink its proper fit in today's…and tomorrow's markets."
I have deliberately spent some time thinking about the changes that I see in your position and responsibilities. I would love to hear from all of you about the changes that you see. I will start the list with two observations I've made, but will amend the list as I hear from many of you. I will post however many changes we can list. It may be five…it may be 12…I'm not sure yet. But, you and I can help build the list together. So, for today, here are two ways that Real Estate Manager jobs have changed:
- Today's manager must change WHO they recruit: The days of thousands of brash and naive "I want rewards without work" kind of people wanting to make an easy buck in real estate are probably over…and should be over. Prior to 2008, a manager could actually argue that it was appropriate to hire hundreds of low quality people. After all, everyone's neighbor, or someone in their circle of friends, was selling or buying, and fewer homeowners were as concerned as they are today about squeezing every last dollar out of each exchange. Today, customers are demanding a more savvy approach and increased need for professionalism. As an example, my neighbors, who recently put their house up for sale, formally held interviews with three agents (one was a mutual friend and neighbor) before finally choosing an agent who demonstrated the most professionalism in asking questions, intelligently listening to their needs and presenting a plan for selling their home that best reflected those needs. (The friend/neighbor didn't get the gig.) Experience in the business and who you know may mean less than an agent's actual customer focused skills these days. The new agent must be an excellent executor of sales tasks that drive business as well.
- Today's manager must change HOW they recruit: Today's agent in today's market must be a hard-working professional. They must be a high caliber business person who understands the essential importance of how, (despite the importance of every technology tool out there) through meeting peoples' needs daily, they will build a good referral base. These agents will not be recruited through traditional means, but like mining for gold, will be found after lots of digging, lots of panning, and very hard work on the part of the manager to dedicate a great deal of time interviewing.
In the next blog I'll take this gold mining analogy a step further and describe what must be done to end up with the best talent…
Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.
