Book Report: Mavericks At Work
Polly LaBarre & Bill Taylor, both editors of the business magazine Fast Company, have released a great business book entitled, Mavericks At Work, Why The Most Original Minds in Business Win.
The most recent crop of business books have been among the best I have seen in a long time and this one is no exception. Following a theme of the books I have reviewed on this blog thus far, Mavericks is about change and the people who are cutting against the grain to make it happen. Here's a quote from the book's blog:
Business as usual is bust. In industry after industry, the old guard is cutting back and losing ground. Meanwhile, organizations and entrepreneuers that were once dismissed as upstarts, as wildcardsas mavericksare making waves and growing fast. Theres a reason: In an age of hyper-competition and nonstop innovation, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for something truly original.The case studies in this book provide a great road map for becoming a Maverick in your own right. If you've followed this blog for very long, you know that I have been a champion of change in the real estate industry and I really believe that the timing is perfect for Mavericks to make their move. Many are already out of the gates and galloping at a good pace.
I would like to see what you think about who is shaking up the industry. Who do you think is the best Real Estate Maverick? Who do you think the winners will be in the changing landscape of the industry? Post a comment here and give us your vote. Cast it in the following format.
Best Individual Maverick & Why?
Best Company Maverick & Why?
I look forward to a lively discussion.
Technorati Tags: Mavericks At Work, Real Estate 2.0,Web 2.0
Guy Kawaski Has an Interview with Polly Labarre
posted by Michael Price at 9:14 AM
3 Comments:
I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately, although the words I use in my own mind are closer to "renegade" or "heretic." And the context is immense, at least to my way of thinking: The story of The West, in capitals, as against The East, is the story of Socrates, the man who chose to die rather than bend to the will of the mob. The Nazarene was the key popularizer of the tale, but if you look for it, you will find it reflected in every enduring story of The West.
Most fundamentally, The West is the heretic, the renegade, the maverick, the man or woman who stands -- "not high it may be but alone" -- for new truth, standing down all of received wisdom. This is why The West is so outrageously dynamic, where The East, broadly defined, celebrates and venerates that which is traditional and unchanging.
So who would I pick as the maverick individual and company bringing the most change to the real estate industry right now?
Glenn Kelman and Redfin.com.
My experience of the man has been overwhelmingly negative, and I don't care for the way the company operates: It foists its agency responsibilities onto listing agents, then publicly vilifies them if they object to this cowbird-like behavior.
But someone at Redfin.com -- or possibly some unknown maverick -- figured out that the contradiction of the listing agent compensating the buyer's agent could be exploited to market advantage, and this one innovation, in due course, will -- at a minimum -- divorce the two commissions from one another, resulting in a true buyer's agency at last. It may also serve to eliminate the proprietarian idea of the MLS, a serendipitous side-effect.
I don't think Redfin.com can survive as a business, at least not in its present form. Its head-count is huge for the volume it is doing. The proportional rebate system makes it impossible for the company to move down market, where the greater volume of transactions are to be found. And, in the long run, divorced from the listing agreement or not, buyer's agent's commission are going to drop to a rational level. The future belongs to actual business people, among whom few are to be found in the real estate business today.
Even so, my vote fot the mavericks of greatest contemoprary influence nt he real estate industry: Glenn Kelman and Redfin.com.
Greg Tracy of BlueRoof.Com
Why: His approach to providing the consumer with the kind of experience they deserve in buying or selling a home. Innovation is at work here and it may very well be one of the standards by which other business models are compared. I like Greg's blogging style and unapologetic approach to transparency in the industry.
Greg Swann of BloodHound Realty
Why: Greg is another "Maverick" that delivers on his promise of customer service. I've looked beyond Greg's blog and editorial articles in the Republic to see someone who has a skill set that is unique to the real industry. Real estate professionals of the future are going to need business chops, or at the very least, the ability to hire the right employees and service providers to make it happen;
Marketing, ( branding, pr, design, advertising, on line and off )
Applied Technology ( knowing the difference between applying technology and merely buying technology)
Customer Service ( making and sticking to commitments, going beyond the call of duty )
Human Resources ( recruiting, training, retention, compensation )
R & D ( nimble business models are going to be the wave for some time to come, my guess is that it is going to require different levels of branding within the same organizations )
Ethics & Transparency ( just agreeing to a code of ethics doesn't make someone ethical, given the last decade of corruption, consumers will gravitate to those who they can identify as having a honest, open approach to doing business, even it's the brand of honesty that Greg uses. It's not brutal honesty, it's tough love. )
There's a great deal more than this short list. My point is, Greg is the kind of business professional that has a good grasp on all of this and the 'nads to try something different with it. He will be the kind of Maverick that wins and like our other Greg, just might be someone by which the new standards are compared.
I could come up with many more, but I want to hear what the rest of the world has to say about it. Step up!
I am going to do what any good maverick would do in this situation, and go against the grain a little bit. While I agree with every name that has been submitted thus far, I think that maverick behavior can't really be attributed to any one person or company that easily.
The internet is what is making this possible. Consider this-- my posts on my site, and the way I conduct my real estate business, is inspired by the work of people all over the country. From Greg in Arizona, to another Greg in Utah, to Rudolph and Joseph in NYC, to Mike in Houston; everything that they do inspires me in everything that I do. I am sure that there are many others out there that share my opinion.
I know from reading their blogs, that all the people I mentioned are influenced by other people in the industry. It is one of the things that I love about the blogosphere. In it, there is perpetual discussion about the issues that impact our industry. Any company you can think of that may even be remotely considered "maverick" has already been discovered and discussed extensively in the blogosphere by people all over the country.
The historic figures that we tend to think of as "mavericks" were given the title because they were islands of innovation and original thought in an otherwise boring and unremarkable world. The things that they did and said changed the world and stood out because their ideas and innovations stood up for such a long time. Today, this isn't so easy. Any idea that comes along or innovation can only last a relatively short period before it is discovered, discussed, hashed out, and improved. Just look at the changes that have come to Zillow in its very short existence. It hasn't even been around for one year, and already there have been significant changes. These changes came about not because the public sat around and waited for the execs at Zillow to make changes, but because they were exposed to the site and expressed a desire for change and improvement. There is even a pretty good chance that Zillow could be gone and forgotten in a few years, This all took place at a dizzying speed that really can't be equaled in traditional big business.
I guess what I am trying to say is that in today's world, I see a collective maverick spirit operating in the real estate industry. To attribute it to just one person or one company is far too narrow. Generally, I am averse to the collective spirit, but I think that it is doing powerful things in the real estate industry.
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If you don't like my answer, than perhaps what you were looking for was this: Rich Barton & Lloyd Frink at Zillow.
I could also cast a vote for Al Gore. After all, he did invent the Internet, making this whole discussion possible, right?
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