Category Archives: Career

Coming back

Career, Life

Coming back from a loss, defeat or failure is one of the hardest things in life to do. In our personal life or our work life it is hard to come back from a setback like not being chosen, not being hired, losing an account, not making the sale, relationship break up, divorce, bad heath report and the list could go on for pages. In my simple way of thinking we really have three options when negative life events happen. Option one is to quit, option two is not care anymore and option three (my personal favorite) is to double down and try even harder the next time.

I was with a hotel development firm last week and he told me one of the greatest stories I have ever heard. They build and own hotels and he had this building contractor that kept calling him and coming by to see him. He brushed him seven times and the eight time he showed up at his office, he said ok, I must meet this guy. Long story short, they met, liked each other and developed 80 hotels together after that eight time he stopped by. What if the contractor had stopped at seven and quit trying? Well, we know the answer.

In 2008 and 2009, the economy was falling apart and I believe we got only six hotels closed that year. We lost a bunch of money and it seemed that every deal would get started good and then fall apart one after the other. I had one of my friends ask me, “Keith, how do you keep going forward when everything we do seems to fail.” I answered him “keep trying is the only thing I know to do because if I quit trying, we might as well close up shop and go home.” That friend kept trying and weathered the downturn just like we did and has done well in the business but that day when he came to me, if I had told him I was ready to quit, he would have gladly joined me in the unemployment line.

In the bible, one day Jesus said something that caused a big stir and half of his followers walked away from him. Jesus looked at his 12 disciples and said “If any of you want to quit too, you can leave now.” Ha.

In business, life and sports there are more examples of how perseverance and staying the course, helped people get through the tough times and enabled them to succeed. So, back to the options listed above. Do you quit, stop caring anymore or double down and persevere your way through? I don’t know about you, but I choose to keep trying. KT

Paradigm shift of a company

Career

A paradigm shift is best defined when you see a better way of doing the same thing.

One of the greatest examples of a paradigm shift in business was when Henry Ford developed the assembly line to produce automobiles. Many people think Henry Ford invented the automobile but that is not correct. When he started Ford in 1903 there were already 76 other car companies in operation.

At the time, car companies would build one car at a time. It would take 2-3 men working on one car about 12-13 hours to assemble a finished automobile. That is what all the companies were doing and hence the reason the cost of a car was so high. Henry Ford began experimenting with the assembly line concept early on but didn’t get the final idea in operation until 1913. He launched the assembly line concept in 1913 and within five years, one out of every two cars on the road was a Ford and by 1924 they rolled the 10- millionth Model T off the assembly line.

It is called a paradigm shift because someone saw a better way of doing the same thing much faster and with far less expense. By the early 20’s Ford was rolling a car off the line every 3 minutes. Compare that with completing one car every 12 -13 hours. That is the way all the manufactures were doing it and everyone just accepted that as the only way. Henry saw a better path forward and it changed the automobile world.

Over the years there have been too many paradigm shifts in business to list but the common thread they all have was when one person looked at what they were doing and saw a better way to do the same thing.

Whatever your business is, be alert to new ideas and new methods because that seems to be the central component in developing a company that will stand the test of time. KT

Old technology

Career

There is an amazing piece of technology that we often overlook. It is called the telephone. You may have heard of it and you may have even used it before. It allows you to hear another person speaking while they are miles and maybe even a continent away. It’s amazing really.

At our company, we sell hotels and my title is a salesman. Yesterday, I just pulled our database up and went to one market, Charlotte North Carolina and decided to spend the next hour making cold calls. I started calling people that do not know me and have probably never heard of me. Once again, I was amazed at how simple and meaningful a phone call is. In a world where we are told to text or email or better yet, go to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc. as the means to contact people, the little invention from 1875 stills works today. I spoke to people that I didn’t know and they told me about their company, their plans, their goals and how we may be able to help them. I would have never received that level of feedback on an email or through a website. Things like that only happen in person or a personal phone call. This ought to be taught in today’s business schools. Ha. We could call it, “Business 101.”

In 1875 Alexander Graham Bell told Watson, “here, stretch out this cable and let’s see if this thing works.” It did. Alexander Bell being a smart man, kept it quite until he received the patent for the phone eight months later. The first bi-directional call was made on March 10, 1876 and changed the world.

Ok, so the point is, a phone call is still better than all the new technology we have today. It makes you think in real time and the party on the other end hears and understands many things that go way beyond just the words spoken. Try it, it still works. Ha. KT

Greed

Career

I have seen some of the smartest business people make the most stupid decisions when it comes to money and their burning need to get just a little bit more. If I made a list of the top ten biggest hotel doozies I have seen, it would be tough to choose the best ones because there are so many. Maybe I will write a book someday. Ha

What most of them have in common are the spoken words “if it is worth that much now, just think what it could be worth in the future.” I am sure it doesn’t happen every time, but more times than not, when someone says that phrase, it turns out to be a bad decision.

Jack Ward was my mentor early in brokerage and is one of the finest men I have ever known. There was never a time he was too busy to talk to me. He would push the papers on his desk to the side and really focus on what I was asking him. Men like that make a lasting impression on people and the act of listening, is one of the most enduring traits a person can have. Jack said something one day that I have never forgotten. He said, “many times the best time to sell is when it is the hardest.” Meaning you may not get the highest price you wanted but the timing is right.

In sales, I have this simply philosophy I go by which coincides with how simple a guy I am. Be a seller when there are buyers. See, I told you it was simple. It means to be a serious seller when a buyer can accomplish two things. He can get a loan and he can see some upside. Every investment decision seems to hinge on those two things. When the seller waits until every drop of value is received, many times there are no takers or he waits too long and misses his chance.

Jack’s advice all those years ago, if followed, could go a long way to helping some people make better decisions. KT

Making your calling and election sure

Career, Life

Sometimes when you make a decision and it looks like it is not going as well as you envisioned, you need to hit the pause button and think it through before you turn back and make another decision.

In 2nd Peter 1:10 there is a passage of scripture that includes the following section. King James Version – “Brethren, be more diligent to make your calling and election sure. “Does that mean you can’t make mistakes and can’t change your mind? No. We are human and we make mistakes and God understands that and more importantly, he forgives us. His objective is to get us where he wants us to end up. It’s like a GPS if you miss a turn. It will recalculate to still get you to the same destination.

Sometimes though you just know in your heart that you need to make the best of a decision you have made. I believe that is what the bible verse is speaking about. In other words, you need to stay with the decision and make your election/decision sure. Sometimes even a marriage is toxic and unhealthy. My own parents divorced when me and my sister were young. It was the right decision for us kids as well as for my parents. God picked up the pieces and gave both my parents a new perspective and life that translated through to us kids in the form of a good childhood without family strife. Sure, it was a tough decision but it was the right one.

When I left a large public company to start my own brokerage firm, it was probably the most uncomfortable time in my professional career. Up to that point, I had always had other people alongside me to help in the business. The day I left, I packed up my personal stuff to start something new and my prayer on the way home was very simple. “show me your will and let your favor and anointing cover me and go before me in this decision and I will always give you the credit for it.” I can say without question that I have always given God the credit for our business because the truth is, on my own, I am just not smart enough. I guess you could say that once I made that decision, it was one of those choices that I knew in my heart that I would have to see it through to the end.

So, not ever decision you make means you must give your life, peace, joy and future to it. Even the bible says that sometimes a wise man changes his mind. That said, there are also decisions that we just know in our hearts that we need to stay with and see it through and in effect, make our election and decision sure. KT