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Archive for December, 2010

It’s TRUE …

It’s TRUE … adversity makes you stronger!

The last three years in real estate have been the most challenging I have experienced in my 27 years in the profession, as they have been for most of us I am sure. There have been many times over this period where I have asked myself: “what’s the point?”; “how are we going to get through?”; and “when is this going to end?”

What I have sometimes discovered in myself and others around me faced with similar challenges is a mental strength and perseverance that has rarely surfaced in our lives before.

Being of the ‘baby boomer’ generation things have been relatively easy for many of us in business over the last couple of decades or so, especially when we have listened to good advice, implemented proven business disciplines and strategies, taken some calculated risks, and had more of a ‘work to live attitude’ than the generations before us. Those of us who experienced and benefited from the property boom of a few years past had never had it so good and although we knew it wouldn’t last forever, probably didn’t plan and prepare for the inevitable as well as we should have and were not as mean and lean as we need to be now.

The resilient attitude and determination that many of us are now showing is something that we have seen often in individuals from the sports arena and our pioneering and war time past, and although we may not be in as much physical danger, many feel under as much emotional pressure as arose in those circumstances. Those of us who are battling through should be proud to pat ourselves on the back and take a bow, not in a vainglorious way but to remind ourselves that we have survived (so far!) and by doing so have been able to help others along the way, including family, team members, and clients by staying positive and keeping on track (most of the time!)

As always we should be thankful for that which we do have. Think of those worse off than ourselves and with what has happened to some Kiwi families and communities in recent times, especially Greymouth and Christchurch, it does add some reality to our own situations no matter how dire we think circumstances are.

I would like to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year
and in the words of Winston Churchill … “If you are going through hell, just keep on going!”

December 08 2010 | Being a Business Owner and Case Studies and Experiences and The State of the Market | 1 Comment »

OPEN for Business

Open Plan office

Here at Allens in Whangarei we have a large open plan sales office where every director, consultant and personal assistant has the same size desk area.

We have found this open-plan working environment has many great benefits including:

management are in constant contact with the team making it easier to pick up on the energy of the team and pump it up if necessary;
communication is freer, easier (and frequently fun), and there is much more of it;
it actually enhances productivity by promoting spontaneous brainstorming, greater sharing of expertise and experiences among team members – translating to better results for our customers;
as a result we are able to overcome the traditional culture of secrecy;
business owners and managers are more accessible to the team for sharing information and giving support, and are often considered more approachable;
it allows management by observation;
it promotes equality and breaks down hierarchies;
it strengthens the team and promotes camaraderie and respect for each other;
and importantly too for the bottom line, an open plan layout is more cost effective.