Click here to read Gary’s letter, “Failure,” in PDF, or click the preview above to read it in his hand.

• The Big Idea: At his first Fed meeting as Chair, Kevin Warsh wants to get rid of the dot chart. We thought it would be fun to bring you the last one that we’ll see for the next 12 years, until the next appointment.

• Our Aha: This is a federal reserve that is in conflict with itself. With eight wanting to raise rates, eight wanting to keep it the same, and one wanting to cut. Which means, you shouldn’t expect to see a dramatic change to the interest rate environment in the near future. Keep educating your agents and clients that rates are below the 30-year historical average. It’s always the right time to buy real estate. Marry the house, date the rate!

• The Big Idea: As agents build referrals, previous clients, and experience, their income generally rises with it. It’s a flywheel. Every system you create that helps agents stay in the business longer increases the long-term value of your market center.

• How to Read This: For example, agents with 16+ years experience had a median gross income of $78,900 but most of them had an annual gross income between $100-149K.

• Our Aha: Familiarity breeds contempt. It’s easy to overlook an agent who's been in your marketplace for 10-15 years and assume they’re happy, hitting their goals, and comfortable with their wealth plan. But those are exactly the agents you want to be calling on because they’re the most productive and probably have the fewest working years left before the next phase of their life. Which means, they might be ripe for new coaching, new mentorship, and making the most out of the years they have left in the industry.

• The Big Aha: When asked what the biggest contributing factors are to a person’s identity, occupation came in 8th place.

• Our Aha: As business leaders, it's easy to see people through the lens of performance but that’s not how most people view themselves. That’s why the KPA, the CV process, Quantum Leap, and one-on-one coaching are core pieces in deepening relationships with agents. When we uncover somebody’s true self identity and can speak directly to the pieces of their lives that are most important to them, they move close to us emotionally and we’ve put ourselves in a position to help them maximize their potential and live their best life. This is the essence of living a people-development company.

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The Way of Excellence

by Brad Stulberg