After two years of writing, I finally realize what’s missing from the ideal real estate brokerage I have been trying to document.
It was revealed to me Sunday night while in the theatre watching the Michael Jackson documentary This is it.
Throughout, what came across the screen was a man on an endless pursuit of perfection.
What separated Michael Jackson from other gifted artists was his inability to compromise. Ever. On anything. He chose the best dancers. Musicians. Set designers. Sound, lighting and special affects people. Directors. Producers. Choreographers. Singing coaches.
He sought out the best and made one request: Bring everything you have to the table.
Stripped down to basic talent, Michael had peers. He was a great dancer, songwriter, and singer but so were others of his era. What made him special was that endless pursuit, the drive to hold to his standards and attend to every entry point to his brand.
This might explain his strange physical manifestations – the mission to improve backfired there.
Every real estate brokerage could dance in Michael’s Penny Loafers. Their name could be in lights and their sales could be chart topping … if the drive toward perfection is there.
Are all of your agents the best? Do they bring everything they have to the table? Or have you sacrificed the pursuit for quantity?
What about your set designers and special effects people? You know, your Website vendor, marketing team, call center staff, trainers, etc. Are they the best there is? Do they bring everything they have to the table?
Have you chosen the best technology vendor or the cheapest? What new moves have they brought to your table lately?
I could watch Michael 24 hours a day. And revel in the distances he reached internally and externally to create the greatest show on earth. And how he motivated and inspired collaborators to dig deep too and bring it.
This is what drives great brands. And inspires loyalty.
As the credits ran, people wept. They said they miss Michael Jackson. I don’t doubt that. But I think what people really miss is witnessing the level of greatness to which he rose – and that which he brought out of others. People are drawn to that. They are encouraged by it. They buy into it as a way to find greatness in themselves.
If you think a real estate brokerage can make that happen, you might wanna be starting something.
Doing anything less is just more Real Estate Muzak.
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You could say I’m obsessed with the *idea* of something being more than its individual parts. MJ is this idea manifested in human form. No one element of his captivating presence is head and shoulders above the “next best”, but taken together, he deserves to be called The King. Despite whatever probable psychosis drove or allowed for this unyielding perfection, if this element were missing, he would be half the artist, if that.
Many in real estate claim to be the best. But best is lived, not simply told. Being the best hurts, and it’s often lonely. For those that truly are the best, it’s not a choice.
I am most likely wrong but I believe that Michael understood that part of his brand appeal was timelessness.
Would the world really buy into an aging man singing PYT or ABC, or Thriller? He did not believe so so he manipulated his features to create this timeless, ageless, genderless character.
Granted, that backfired to some extent. But I think the point hasn’t. It’s about what brands do to create timelessness. It’s how you pass your worth down from generation to generation.
No, Marc, I’d say you’ve shrunk him pretty well. So did South Park.
Marc,
I think there are a number of people who demand perfection from other people, but honestly lack the brilliance and gift that Jackson had.
I wasn’t a big fan, but you can’t ignore his talent.
I can demand all the perfection in the world, but if I’m not gifted to be a great Broker it’s not going to be enough.
IMHO
Matt,
First, everyone has a gift. The secret is finding it and honing it. It can be one simple thing like making everyone you deal with feel important. And then you surround yourself with other who bring their gifts – different gifts to the table. It can be done because its done all the time.
Your article personifies every great leader — an incredible drive to achieve excellence, and the ability to draw out a high level of excellence in others. MJ is certainly a good example, but I see this drive everywhere, from the President all the way down to successful small-business owners. Good analogy, great reminder, and inspired writing. Thank you for the mental boost!
[...] Turn off the Real Estate Muzak and demand perfection – I never thought I could learn anything from Michael Jackson that would help my real estate [...]
Marc,
There is no doubt that if you’re fully committed to the “Michael Jackson” business plan, great success will lie ahead.
But at what cost. Demanding perfection from the imperfect is a lonely, destructive and unsustainable path. How many would want to run a brokerage that achieves the highest levels of success..only to crash and burn in spectacular fashion? Actually, I’m sure there are many. Just understand what may lie ahead…Michael Jackson serves as a great example.
Doug
In others words, in your opinion, the quest to be great yields is unaffordable and results in death. Interesting. My advice, shoot for mediocrity then.
a ha! seeking perfection could be an endless pursuit! as you progress, so do your lofty goals. how do you know when you get there–when you reach x # of sales, when you’re #1 on main st., in town, in the county? where does it end?
In my mind, that pursuit never ends.
You’ll probably hear some say it’s not possible with this economy, with limited resources etc. etc. There are and will be road blocks, you just have to bust through them no matter what. The road blocks for Michael might have been different than they are to a real estate company but that didn’t make him say OK, I’ll just settle for this then.
On a similar note, we just got an e-mail yesterday from a transaction coordinator looking for a job and the title of the e-mail said “Are you looking for a good transaction coordinator” – no, we are looking for a great one! is what I thought.
No,
My opinion is that Michael Jackson is an example of unsustainable greatness. His highs were higher than anybody else, but he ultimately crashed and burned. The pursuit of sustained greatness requires promoting a culture of excellence and expecting that people take pride in their work, with a frequent accounting of your limits and limits of those who surround you.
Michael Jackson always demanded perfection, even from himself, when in reality that’s impossible. It’s a major flaw in any long term business and resulted in his undoing.
Several things Doug:
Perfection is never really achieved. It’s about the pursuit. That is what I wrote about. There will always be flaws. Always. Think about BMW – they never stand still. They pursue creating the ultimate driving machine year after year. No one at BMW is dying over that process and certainly no one there is distorting their physical appearance either. BMW is never perfect and anyone who owns their vehicles knows that. However, their pursuit of perfection is what they are about and what their customers buy into.
I am not asking brokers to kill themselves or spend gobs of money they don’t have. In fact, today, your pursuit of perfection comes at the most cost effective pricing ever given all the tools, apps, etc., on the market.
Start your pursuit with the simple things. Look at Virgin America. That’s what they did. They improve flying tenfold by attending to simple things. Seats. Lighting.
MJ is just a metaphor. To read into this post literally and assume that I expect every brokerage to surrender to 20 plastic surgeries is not what I meant.
The pursuit beings with a simple step. Like 3 simple things you could do to improve your business. Maybe it’s getting rid of a few agents that disrupt the office. Or replacing the receptionist who struggles with email. Or hiring an in house personal trainer. Or replacing that old website with free one from Word Press. Or redecorating the front area of your office with some new furniture from IKEA to modernize it. Or replacing your expensive leased phone system with Skype so your agents can video chat with clients. Or acquiring some market trends data and publishing a weekly market report that you post on the web for free. Or creating free wifi hotspots in neighborhoods so locals can access the web from places they frequent but don’t have web connection. I could go on and on.
It’s about the pursuit folks. It doesn’t have to kill ya.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Marc Davison, Greg Robertson, Ian Greenleigh, Robert Bob Watson, Amanda Wernick and others. Amanda Wernick said: RT @tweetmeme Turn off the Real Estate Muzak and demand perfection | 1000Watt Consulting http://bit.ly/jdvqX [...]
Marc,
Great blog today and consistent with the unique insights that you and Brian strive to provide to us. Although perfection in any endeavor, be it personal or business, may not be attainable, nonthless we should be open to it and continuously strive to attain it. When all is said and done, much of life comes down to simply jumping in and taking action without the presence of a clear and visible safety net below. If it doesn’t work out the way you thought it might, simply change your course or strategy, but again, just jump back in and keep jumping back in. I don’t believe the “jumping in” ever stops. For those who prefer to remain on the sidelines believing that their own “jump” may be too dangerous or uncomfortable, they will ultimately attain mediocrity in both their personal and professional endeavors. In music and dance, Michael Jackson continuously sought to attain perfection through his own creative expressions. Some might question his manner and methods but, in the end, he will be remembered for his unique artistic talents and contributions rather than as “that guy” who did the same thing as everyone else. What is there to gain in life or in business if we just do the same thing as everyone else has done and expect a different result? Comfort: Yes. Security: Maybe. Success: Never. Thanks again Marc. Jim
Pursuit of excellence or perfection is a great mindest for any company. Just because they may never achieve perfection, that does not excuse them from trying.
Jim Rohn says, “set goals not for the result, but rather the person you have to become in order to achieve them.” Like running a marathon, the actual achievement of the marathon is great, but all the training you must put in in order to run the marathon is where the true value lays.
Some people or business are always pushing for more knowledge, more success while others do not. 80/20 rule, whatever you want to call it, that’s life.
Marc,
I agree with you that’s its all about the pursuit. And great businesses never sit still. I only wanted to emphasize that understanding and catering to limitations is part of that pursuit. A successful business is both a long mental a physical journey. And one should be prepared to make compromises (which MJ wasn’t) along the way. Figuring out when to make those compromises…well, that what great leadership is all about.
Michael Jackson is an extreme example of both pursuit and not recognizing/excepting limitations. That’s why he’s such a great conversational piece. Great article, keep up the goodwork.
Doug
Great insights Doug. Points well taken. MJ went over the top and I realize I ran the risk of that being pointed out in the post. Glad you did.
In a way that is a metaphor of sorts too as we all die little deaths each day in our pursuits. Whether it’s in the extra hours we work, bending over backwards for clients, lunches we miss to get things done, etc.
There are prices to be paid for sure.
In reality, part of the greatness we all need to pursue in life is not just in business but it’s in attaining balance in life and strive for perfection in our personal lives as well so as to never go so far as MJ did.
Man that is just sad.
Marc,
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Also, you should know, I like to play Devil’s Advocate once in a while. I knew the greater point you were trying to make. And MJ really is such a fascinating story in every aspect that I just had to jump in.
Doug
Never been a fan of his, but there is good advice behind some of his internal drives. Striving to get closer to perfection each day is a very noble idea. -Tyler
Marc, at minimum this post was very inspiring. Keep up the good work.
Since you guys are the best and since your schedule is full, who is the next best person to be my uncompromising web wizard?
Aloha,
Keahi
Marc:
Great observation.
Normally, if I read an interesting post, I click through to the author’s web site just to check it out, see what kind of site they have put up for themselves and or their company.
It always amazes me what I can find on a lot of these sites of self-described “on-line RE experts.” Things like: incomplete pages, half baked ideas, broken links, etc., etc.
Talk about a lack of excellence.
When you hit a really well designed site, it normally follows that everything else behind it is in similar order!
Well written post. Will there be a follow up sometime soon?