Business is business no matter what service or product one sells.
Applying practical principles to help reach a goal is applicable to any situation.
I just returned from the National Association of Realtors 2011 Convention in Anaheim California with some great information that could be useful.
2012 is just beyond the horizon. 5 best practice ideas presented here might give a jump start on business or personal plans.
5 Favorite Take Aways from the National Association of Realtors 2011 Convention in Anaheim, California including tips from Michael Eisner and Jack Canfield.
The Anaheim Convention Center is located on the outskirts of Disneyland. Over 20,000 members of the National Association of Realtors and service providers came together to learn and share with one another in this ever changing new world.
Take Away 1. Stay in budget! Michael Eisner
One cannot think of Disney and not think of the name Michael Eisner. His accomplishments speak for themselves and his ability to lead a team to success.
Michael Eisner has been a leader in the American entertainment industry four decades. He began his career at ABC, where he helped take the network from number three to number one in primetime, In 1976, he became president of Paramount Pictures, turning out hit films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Saturday Night Fever, Grease, and Terms of Endearment. This string of critically acclaimed and blockbuster films led the studio to become number one in box office and profitability in both theatrical movies and network television production.
In 1984 Michael assumed the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company and, in the ensuing 21 years, transformed it from a film and theme park company with $1.8 billion in enterprise value into a global media empire valued at $80 billion.
In 2005, Michael began the “next act” of his career by founding The Tornante Company, a privately held company that invests in, acquires, incubates, and operates media and entertainment companies.
Michael emphasized working within financial boundries.. make things happen within the framework of what you have. Don't overspend, keep it in the box as far as the cost and out of the box as far as thinking.
Identify a budget for your business and stick to it. Think of creative ways to achieve the goal within your budget to stay on track and take your business to the top like Michael has done four decades.
Michael Eisner shares: "Everyone has growing pains it's just part of the process." Keep seeing the green and going forward.
Take Away 2. Rule of 5! Jack Canfield
Jack Canfield and Carra Riley with "Know Your Monkey™" in hand.
Jack shared J. Paul Getty's Success strategies.Rise early
- Rise early
- Work hard
- Strike Oil
Motivate yourself to do something different. Change your behavior, do something different.
Walk away from negative talk or behavior.
Change Can't to Won't and see if that word really fits.
Drop the word can't and change it to: I wish I was able to.
Television is an income reduction box. Watching it reduces your income!
Chicken Soup for the Soul aka Jack Canfield series….. was rejected by 144 publishers so when you think of quitting think of the dedication it took to present his book to 144 publishers.
Now this is interesting…. who do you hang out with? "You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Hang out with people making more money than you."
Rule of 5: Do 5 things a day to help you get to your goal. Your self talk should be "what 5 things am I going to do to day to achieve my dream?"
Take away 3: Learn about personality types and how different people fit with your traits.
The Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers CRB sponsored a class on Managing and Leading Teams taught by National Real Estate Educator Brad Hanks.
Every business could be considered a team and a very helpful idea to increase productivity and consumer satisfaction it is to learn about different personalities and how they work together in a DISC assessment test.
The typical American company bases 80% of their hiring decisions on the "intellectual" aspect of an individual: skills, resume, training and experience.
The National average rate of successful hiring is less than 50% because of Behavior or Style incompatibility. Here in lies the major disconnect or wrong hiring practice. The person can do the job but it is not getting done. By using the DISC assessment method an employer can better understand the thinking process of the potential hiree and see if the person is a good fit with the vision and direction of the company.
The important take way is to really learn about how different people think and adjust what you do and how you present what you have to share accordingly. The DISC study does require an action item on your business plan to help balance the way the work flows in all environments and they type of communication that will be successful.
CRB is just completing some major modifications in their courses and have added many new trainers to their instructor cadre. I am delighted to share the fact I am a new CRB instructor and look forward to talking to you about the classes and the program designation that can be presented in your area.
Find out more about obtaining your CRB designation, many progressive classes and National instructors contact the Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers.
Take Away 4: Learn the new technology tools.
Technology Super Stars Bill Lublin, Jay Thompson, Chris Smith, Nobu Hata, Todd Carpenter shared the latest web sites and tools to know about today. Check out Bill and Chris on their mobile devices during the presentation. If you are not mobile… you should be!
Evernote is a must have app.
"Inducted into the Apple "App Hall of Fame", NY Times "Top 10 Must-Have Apps", Winner of the Best Mobile App Award from TechCrunch, Mashable and the Webbys."
Evernote turns the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad into an extension of your brain, helping you remember anything and everything that happens in your life. From notes to ideas to snapshots to recordings, put it all into Evernote and watch as it instantly synchronizes from your iPhone to your Mac or Windows desktop. See why millions of people worldwide use Evernote:
Drop Box for sharing in the cloud!
Sugar Sync for more sharing in the cloud. Personal Cloud! File sync and online backup for all your devices including PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, and more!
In a head-to-head review of SugarSync, Dropbox, Apple’s iCloud, Amazon’s Cloud Drive, Google, and many others, SugarSync was named the “Ultimate Victor” as the best online storage solution of 2011.
Track this now to see what people are saying about you, your company and your brand.
Twittrratr How do you rate and is it positive or negative, what are people saying?
Search.twitter.com search any thing you want. search: buying a new house in Phoenix Arizona or buyuying ________ (what ever you are selling) and see who is tweeting about what you do.
Walkscore.com Type any address to get a walk score and see what is nearby and how far you are from aything.
localmind.com iphone app to see what is going on around you locally. Now foursquare matters because localmind connects with local check ins to help you find out about where you want to go.. how crowded a place is and what the hours are etc.
Localmind is a new service that allows you to send questions and receive answers about what is going on—right now—at places you care about.
MUST be in Google Places with your business! Must get past clients to give you reviews. Participate and share the Google Connection. 40% of mobile searches are local in nature.
Google+ BE there… "get past the Google Creepyness and just say 'What's Next?'"
Scott Carpenter Social Media expert from NAR says the most important aspect of social media is to
"Prove to me that I can trust you." Create relationships in social networks and do business on your website. Spend more time on Linkedin. Get recommendations online for Linkedin. Make sure your profiles are correct on Zillow, Truilia, and Realtor.com
Take Away 5: Be part of making the world a better place!
NAR President Ron Phipps led the keynote session with poise and inspiration. He honored our men and women of the armed services and requested us to take action in expressing gratitude.
"If you see someone in uniform, stop and THANK THEM for service to our country."
Ron also presented the REALTOR Good Neighbor Award Winners and encouraged each and everyone of us to join the Good Neighbor Society. 
"Capture the good neighbor heart and put it into action. We have 1,000,000 Realtors… see what 5 did!"
"For the past 12 years the Good Neighbor Awards program has recognized Realtors® who are devoted to strengthening communities through volunteer work and helping those in need. The five individuals named as this year's REALTOR® Magazine Good Neighbor Award winners are leading examples of how Realtors® value service and are committed to improving communities.
The 2011 Good Neighbor Awards winners are:
- LeRoy J. Bendickson, Edina Realty, Edina, Minn., for National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Minnesota Chapter
- Marta Karpiel, Alain Pinel Realtors®, Carmel, Calif., for Freedom Fields USA
- Vito A. Pampalona, Vito Anthony Homes, Rochester, Mich., for the Yellow Ribbon Fund
- Judy Pitt, Wright Kingdom Inc., Boulder, Colo., for Kazi Yake (His Works)
- Wayne J. Shaffer, Shaffer and Associates, Santa Cruz, Calif., for St. Francis Catholic Kitchen, Siena House Maternity Home, and Jesus Mary Joseph Home
The Good Neighbor Awards have been granted annually since 2000 and are presented by NAR’s REALTOR® Magazine. Winners receive a $10,000 grant for their charity and a $2,000 Lowe’s gift card, and are profiled in the November-December issue of REALTOR® Magazine.
Lowe’s (www.lowes.com) and HouseLogic, www.houselogic.com are sponsors of the Good Neighbor Program
Ron leaves us with the vision of going out to help our world and make it a better place!
"We are at the tipping point of changing the future in so many ways… go back to the problem and leave a bright future for our children and grand children.
We fail if we give up. "
To get our country back on track we have to help one another…. what do you think?
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