As the New
Year approached, no doubt you were creating your office plans and working with
your agents on their plans for 2015(at least I hope you were!). Now that we’re into the New Year, it’s time
to begin fine-tuning those plans.
One of the
most left-out parts of the planning process—yet, I believe, one of the most
important—is the “vision” aspect which starts the whole strategic
planning process.
Let’s begin
by prioritizing “core values.”
Why
Should You Care About “Vision” Stuff??
In what I
believe is the best business book ever written, authors Porras and Collins
researched great companies and found the most profitable by far were those who
shared management’s “vision and values” with their people. (Read:
Built
to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.)
Why Most
Office Business Plans Fail to Ignite Agents
First of
all, unfortunately, most office plans are merely half-hearted guesses at
goals for the coming year. This won’t inspire your agents, it won’t make
them team players, and it certainly won’t elevate your office to a higher
performance level. The second problem is that management doesn’t share
its core values with its agents in any meaningful way. The strategy below
solves both those problems.
The
“Focusing Workshop”
Before I
left a management position in one of my real estate offices, I wanted to cement
the vision and values that I believed we had created. I wanted to leave a
permanent reminder to our agents of why they were with us, of the atmosphere
they had created, and of the values they held dear. So I conceived what I
call the “Focusing Workshop” in which we created a true meaningful mission
statement. When I started managing this particular office there was no
organized office plan. So, I just used my previous office mission
statement (Don’t do that!) which I, of course, shouldn’t have. It’s never
too late to take advantage of the following strategy to create your
own
mission statement ... hence leading to more teamwork, more success.
The
Seven Steps to Creating this Workshop
1.)
In a general office meeting, explain why you’re organizing a company focus
workshop to facilitate and create a vision and mission statement for your
office -- so everyone achieves more through synergy and teamwork. Tell
your agents how you will proceed so there’ll be no surprises later on.
2.) Talk
to several agents in your office who you feel would be excited, contributive,
and would lead others as you “raise the bar” from merely surviving in real
estate to achieving exceptional goals. Pick about three to five
agents. Ask them to be on a task force to start gathering useful
information. Tell them you will be assigning books to read on “vision and
mission statements” from well-known, successful companies. Understand
that you, yourself, will first need to do some prior research, so you can point
them in the right directions. Set a date for their research to be
completed and also when you will meet again.
3.)
When you do meet again be ready to guide them as they sort through important
information they gathered (just keep an outline of their ideas and
recommendations). And now set a date for an “all office” meeting.
4.)
At this meeting you will announce progress, get input from others, and excite
the group about this effort. Here’s the agenda I found useful:
a.)
Recap your task force’s work (better yet, have a task force member do it);
b.)
Explain again why this is important (what’s in it for them—the sales agents);
c.)
Brainstorm with them your proposed mission statement and elicit ideas
like the ideal qualities of an agent, what makes a team work well, and so
forth.
d.)
Also brainstorm setting team performance standards—what kind of people
should be on the team, how best to determine this, how to measure an agent’s
performance, and similar topics.
5.) Take
all this information and meet again with your task force. Refine your
initial vision and mission statement.
6.)
Report the final statement in a general sales meeting. Discuss how to use
these in advertising, in an agent’s personal promotion, in recruiting
activities, and so forth.
7.)
Revisit your vision and mission statement yearly during your annual planning
session.
Note:
There’s only one “downside” to this process. The agents in my task force
were so inspired by the process they kept thinking of more and more
“tasks!” They were much more motivated by this exercise than by any
platitudes, quotes, or “pep talks” I could have given. The experience
they had creating the company’s vision and mission had a lasting effect on
them.
Remember,
Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t say, “I have a business plan.” He said, “I
have a dream.” Coupling your own business planning process to the focus
workshop’s ideas provides the inspiration and motivation you need to create the
teamwork and enthusiasm of your agents which lasts all year and beyond.