found themselves homeless.
But the lockdown presented new opportunity for those people, companies, and leaders willing to dig deeply into the challenges and find ways to progress, accelerate, and adapt. RE/MAX recognized that our business had taken on a life-essential urgency for some people. We had two choices: do nothing or devise new ways to address the roadblocks, take action, and overcome the problems.
We locked our physical doors and went virtual March 13, 2020. Our executive team's first virtual meetings were scary—all gloom and doom because we knew our cash would last less than a year. We also recognized that, as a public company, we had to maintain value for our shareholders and keep our franchisees’ companies solvent.
We resolved to refocus our leadership and solve the problems because hundreds of thousands of people were looking to us for solutions. Among the questions we faced:
How do we reopen for business when we can no longer follow our usual procedures?
How do we reconnect with our customers when their new mindset is “closed for business”?
How do we manage a public company's budget when cash flow stops?
The fear and stress facing our leadership team—and so many tens of thousands of other companies—turned into action as we explored our opportunities. After all, when faced with challenges, leaders create opportunities. We stepped up and provided answers for our company, our franchisees, our shareholders, and ourselves.
LEADERS LEAD
Leading is not only about making decisions and taking actions; it's also about creating positive motion—physical, emotional, and professional—in the lives of others.
E-CONNECTIONS
As the franchisor and holding company, we turned to virtual connections. We offered guidance and technical assistance, video tutorials and training, and step-by-step suggestions for how to address remote sales and marketing. Most importantly, though, we were present and ready to help.
Our franchisees quickly adapted with us because we were all aligned through our culture of a business that builds businesses—even in challenging times. Leveraging our great relationships, we headed into the storm together and pursued opportunities. We all moved quickly. Many of our franchisees and agents turned to the artificial intelligence (AI) data we provided to assess the marketplace. They then used virtual tours and video connections to work with clients, and all with COVID-safe protocols in mind.
Despite the complexities in what at the time was uncharted territory, we sought and embraced the opportunities and came away with a big win, helping plenty of people in the process. Despite advice from many to do so, RE/MAX didn't lay off anyone in 2020. In fact, we saw opportunities and acquired two new companies: Gadbery Group, a geospatial data provider, and Wemlo, a loan processor. The year 2020 was one of our company's best because we consciously chose to assess the situation, face the challenges, and take the necessary actions to solve the problems.
SPA FOR THE WIN
The formula for the win is simple. Whether a business involves real estate, sales, marketing, banking, negotiating, creating, or almost anything else, problems can be solved with SPA. That's an acronym for Stress, Planning, Action—the three steps to results. It works in your personal life, too.
Stress is created when a problem surfaces. It's an energy that, if harnessed, can be used for benefit or, if left to stew uncontrolled, ends up a detriment. It's a tension each of us creates within ourselves. To use the stress wisely takes planning to assess the problem and create solutions. And it takes action to carry out the plan to solve the problem.
Try approaching a problem with SPA. Follow through on every step, and you'll be closer to starting with a win every time. Fail to act, and your problems could consume your life.
TAMING THE BEAST—YOUR EMOTIONS
Long before I took the helm of RE/MAX, I was crippled by fear, unsure of what I wanted and willing to let opportunities sail past. Does this sound familiar? I allowed the excuses and the “I can't” to control my life. I graduated high school and the next day joined the Marines. I'm a college dropout—twice—with poor grades, too.
EXPERIENCE THE WINS
One day I realized that wins, or lack thereof, were up to me. I could stay lost in the herd, on life's treadmill, controlled by my fear and emotions—the Beast within (more on that later). Or I could make my own difference, learn to tame the Beast, and turn my experiences into wins.
That wake-up call happened when I was a deputy sheriff working primarily domestic violence cases. Even though I wasn't willing to admit it at the time, the negative energy swirling around me every day had started to take a toll. I was burning out on my job. One day a colleague asked if I was OK. That was my aha moment; I realized that I wasn't OK and that I needed to do something about my situation—take action (think SPA)—before the negativity consumed me.
When stress and negativity surround us, we start to believe it. The negativity can come from a job, relationships, or even the daily news. Too often people realize they're trapped in negativity and fail to take action; the negativity proves overwhelming and takes control of their lives. Often, it feels like it's easier to ignore what's happening and allow a situation to smolder rather than do something about it. Wrong! It's just as easy to take action to improve your life as it is to allow your life to decline. The hardest part, though, is deciding that you have had enough and want to switch to the course of positivity—to the mindset of “I can.”
LOOK UP, NOT DOWN
Relationships—business or personal—with yourself or others all matter. We need to deal with them, not ignore them, to find success in all aspects of our lives. Think of a relationship that's not working as a crack in a wall. With added pressure, that wall will eventually collapse.
The negativity and stress associated with the domestic violence cases I worked day in and day out had cracked my wall and threatened to collapse it. The problem wasn't the work. It was the attitude that I had allowed myself to develop. I had decided that because I was dealing with misery, I should be miserable, too. I was there to help others, not hurt myself. Fortunately my colleague noticed and said something. I just needed someone—my colleague—to wake me up to the reality. I needed to take action to make a change, and I did.
Soon after that realization, RE/MAX founder and friend Dave Liniger provided the wisdom I needed to move on: People need to be in an environment where they can be as successful as they want—where they look up instead of down.
I learned to redirect my fears, embrace “I can,” accept the challenges, be a leader of myself and others, and take action. I also learned that each of us has to take care of ourselves. Why? Because if you're stuck, you can't possibly help others get unstuck. Think about the safety briefing on an airplane, which reminds passengers before takeoff: “In the event of cabin depressurization, the oxygen masks will fall … place it over your nose and mouth and breathe normally … once you have secured your mask, you may help others around you.”
The deeper meaning is that in order to help others, each of us must help ourselves first. Too often people try to help others when, in reality, they need help themselves.
