Wow! Where did the last year go? We love to look back to celebrate the success of the past year but also to see how we can serve even better in 2016.
This morning we had our first Marketing Meeting of the year! We celebrated the success of Julia Holmes, as being the top seller of 2015 and had our friend from Waterstone Mortgage, Sue Botelho, come speak to us about purposefully planning for the next twelve months. And lastly, we had our 2016 State of the Company address by Rob.
We decided that we want to give you the opportunity to read our company address, as well. You deserve to know where we are going in 2016 and to best understand, we think it is important for you to be apart of where we have been, too.
Rob Brooks Realty 2016 State of the Company Address
What is Rob Brooks Realty? It isn't a profit and loss statement and it isn't a location. It's more than a concept, service or way of doing things. Rob Brooks Realty is our community of agents and the values we hold together. Our community is a family where everyone feels at home with the others. It is who we are and it is our greatest strength. We look out for and help each other and our clients. This summer, Jackie Houseman passed a business article to me titled "Love: The Ultimate Competitive Advantage." It seems clear to me that we share and give a charity/love other companies do not enjoy.
Today’s great companies have worked through difficult times and we have just had a difficult year. Our individual personal difficulties involving health, family or other things have weighed on us as we conducted our business in 2015, possibly affecting our diligence in acquiring more clients. Our sales languished. Jim Collins wrote a book titled, "Great by Choice" where he asserts all companies have difficult years, but what allowed some to survive and eventually rise head and shoulders above the competition is their adherence to a bedrock of good values with consistent, daily actions based upon those values. It’s true of individuals too.
In this society, changes are occurring evermore rapidly. What strengths will help us navigate future changes? Our bedrock values keep the ship on course. In addition, other company strengths are toughness built from 2015 difficulties, we’re debt free, we have a high capacity for business from physical resources and people, a strong online presence, great knowledge and a great reputation.
Recent personal experiences solidified my belief that neither the survival nor success of Rob Brooks Realty is more important than us consistently conducting ourselves with honesty, diligence, charity, & joy. The values we share are also more important than any one of us as individuals. The most important things in life are relationships: first with God and then others. If you get those two things right, everything else seems to fall into place. When Rob Brooks Realty started in 2008, I told God this was His company and He was the ultimate leader. 1 Peter 5:10-11 indicates He will take care of what is His: “May the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”