As most of you know, I work for the MOST AMAZING real estate company in the world (yes, I am biased) Keller Williams Realty.  One of the things that I admire most about this company is the core foundation on which this company is build… The Associate.

Being in the real estate industry I am hearing a lot about the “Next Gen Office.”  I am challenged with that right from the get go.  Who ever called it the “Baby Boomer Office?”  The reality is this, the way we work has been evolving from day one and that simply isn’t changing.  So we are not looking at the next gen office, we are simply allowing ourselves to flow with the times and not get caught like some car and airline companies have in the past.

What does this new workforce look like?  Interestingly enough, they look a lot like the people that are currently in our workforce today AND those that will join our ranks in the future.

When I look around at some of our mainstream real estate conventions they feel an awful lot like when I launched my first dot com in 1999.  We raised $4 million on our passion and were set on changing the status quo.  We found ways of doing things that hadn’t been done before on the simple fact that nobody ever told us we couldn’t.  And if they did, we simply didn’t listen.

We were out to change the way people think and enlist people to challenge our thinking.  That is what I LOVE about our current environment in real estate.  Like I said, it feels a lot like the good ol’ Dot Com days where creativity and innovation ruled.  People were collaborating and sharing ideas which only caused us to create even cooler products and services (some of which were shut down and are only now seeing the light of day).

When I founded my tech company (that’s what I called it for many years after the dot com bust) we rented executive suites complete with a cyber cafe and all.  So when I hear chatter about the Starbucks feel, I cringe because that is so 1999.   The new office environment combines the best of both Jack Welch and the dot com era.  Think of a virtually flat hierarchy for the organization with collaboration occurring at all levels.

A friend of mine and his close buddies have launched a successful Coworking space in Santa Cruz called Next Space (www.nextspace.us).  Wikipedia defines coworking as “the social gathering of a group of people, who are still working independently, but who share values, and who are interested in the synergy that can happen from working with talented people in the same space.”  To me this sounds a lot like the environment that already exists within a Keller Williams office.  So we have the cultural environment and now we need the physical environment.  (p.s. the culture was there at Next Space early and strong to the point that people were working on milk crates and doors on saw horses until the real furniture showed up… they couldn’t wait to be a part of it!).

This is much greater than a simple cyber cafe, being wi-fi and mobile, or going green.  This is an ENTIRE OFFICE that is built around the collaboration of people that believe “People have walked before us, so why reinvent the wheel.”  Space that not only supports masterminding, but encourages it at every turn.  A place that associates truly believe that a rising tide raises all ships.

Keep in mind, the next generation doesn’t buy a Prius because it is better for the environment.  They buy it because it is better for the environment AND is also more fuel efficient which saves them money.  Try selling a Prius if it only got 1 mile per gallon at $3.45 a gallon!  Smarter, not harder…

While all the ideas I have heard are great, most of them I have had for years (even in my own home).  So it’s not so much where is the workforce heading as much as where we already are.

After all the greatest point of creating a collaborative environment is not to make it easier for real estate agents to be more mobile, but to do that and create an environment that the truly believe their business is better because of where they work and who they surround themselves with.  Where are they getting fed, building relationships and growing their business?

In closing, what I really want to know is this…  How do you see a real estate office truly embracing the innovation that is occurring RIGHT NOW?  What gets you excited about that?  Let’s not simply talk about it, let’s be about it!  Let me know (good or bad) in the comments!

So you have probably seen more and more foursquare posts in your Facebook Feed…  So and So just became the mayor of such and such…

What the heck is foursquare?
Foursquare is a mobile application that is a cross between a friend-finder, a social city-guide, and a game that rewards you for doing interesting things. Foursquare lets you “check in” to a place when you’re there, tell friends where you are, and track the history of where you’ve been–and who you’ve been there with. Foursquare challenges you to explore your city in new and fun ways by earning points, winning mayorships, and unlocking badges and specials for trying new places and revisiting old favorites.

Is it difficult?
No, you simply need an email address and a mobile phone. foursquare does the rest! Based on your GPS location on your phone you are able to “check in” at neighborhood venues. After so many “check in’s” you can become Mayor of that venue.

Why would I do this?
Do you remember when everyone was saying “What’s the deal with/I don’t understand… Instant Messaging, Texting, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc?” And now Everyone is doing more than one of these daily! Think of it this way… Imagine that you own a business and EVERY TIME someone “checks in” they post “Patrick just checked in to (Your Business)” on Facebook and Twitter so ALL of their friends could see. So they are promoting your business for FREE to their circle of friends!

Why do you do this?
I am competitive and want to OWN my neighborhood! When anyone checks in anywhere I want them to see Patrick Woods is the Mayor. I am now perceived as the area expert!! Not to mention, when you and your friends are fighting over a few locations, you will actually re-route your drive home adding more time and mileage to check in at a space to avoid losing or regain your Mayorship!

Some tips…

• Watch for specials! Restaurants and coffee shops will post specials for their Mayors. Who doesn’t like free drinks or appetizers?
• Don’t check in while driving! I was going to San Francisco one day and crossing the Bay Bridge and saw that there were multiple locations that people had created and checked in at! I was on a bridge over the bay! Let’s all be safe out there on the road!
• If you want to have fun with your friends and get them addicted to foursquare, check in and become Mayor of their house!

Be prepared! You will battle to be the mayor of places and it will bring out all the best smack talking you can handle! You will duke it out over your office, home, favorite restaurant, etc.

That is foursquare in a nutshell.  This is obviously something that will evolve over time and we will keep you up to date on the do’s and don’ts of location based social networking.

Bottom line, if foursquare can launch in March of 2009 and hit 1.6 million users by June 2010 there is something to it!  I would love to hear your thoughts!!

Check out what Gary had to say about getting focused on the things that matter most to your business:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here are some additional highlights:

• Think BIG, start small. In order to achieve your goals, get to the essence of your professional craft and perfect it.
• Leads. Listings.Leverage. Until you get those right, everything else is a distraction.
• Agents are not in the business of real estate but in the business of lead generation.
• The key to success in this market requires you to ramp up your lead generation so that you take in 30 – 40 percent more listings!
  The models haven’t changed in the shift – only the tactics that you take to maintain those models to reach your goals.

Gary Keller, the author of “The Millionaire Real Estate Agent,” and co-author Jay Papasan, discuss how the Lead Generation Model applies to the market of 2009.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, the authors of “The Millionaire Real Estate Agent” discuss how the Economic Model applies to the market of 2009

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Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, the authors of “The Millionaire Real Estate Agent” discuss how the Budget Model applies to the market of 2009.  This is based on the results of Gary personally reviewing the P&L’s of over 100 of our Top Associates.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A way that you could meet people every day and automatically things would happen so that when these people thought of real estate, they thought of YOU!

We, at Keller Williams have always talk about the 12 Direct, 33 Touch and 8×8, but how many of us actually have one in place? I have worked hard to bring one of the best at implementation and training to our local office next week to show us how. Chris Alston will be here on April 9th from 9am to 5pm to teach us how to Systematize Our Lead Generation!  This is an all day class and it only costs $25! You will leave with a full Operation Manual and a working plan (Not a bunch of Theory!).

Click here to view the embedded video.

You do not want to miss this class!
RSVP with Kimberly at 916.283.7500 or fill out the form below.

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