Category Archives: Career

Remembering 911

Career, Family, Life

16 years ago, when 911 happened, I was driving to our office in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. That morning had been like most mornings, where our girls left for school, I got some coffee and settled into the one hour drive to the office. At the time, I was part of a small brokerage company with two very close friends called ThompsonCalhounFair. When I say small, I mean small as in the three of us plus one.

I remember parking in the garage and strolling as usual to the building and up the elevators to our little 1,000 sq. ft. office. I walked in and Mark was sitting in Al’s office and they looked like they had just lost their best friend. Mark ask “have you heard?” I said “heard what?” and he said “it’s bad, really bad.” I said “what are you talking about, I didn’t have the radio on coming to work” and he and Al proceeded to tell me about first airplane that hit the first tower and how the news media think it was a terrorist attack. Well, that got my attention.

We went across the street to the Marriott Courtyard where they had a TV so we could see what was going on. About 20 min into us watching the news, the cameras focused live on a second plane that was flying near the Trade Center and then we, along with most of America watched as it flew into the second Trade Center building. No one said anything because we all knew what it meant. We watched live coverage of people jumping from the tower which was 110 stories tall and my stomach was tied in knots. I don’t remember how much longer, but it wasn’t long, maybe 20-25min and we watched as the first tower collapsed to the ground and people were running for their life. Then a few min latter we watched as the second tower collapsed and I knew our world, as we knew it had just changed.

Not knowing the extent of the terrorist attack and where else it may happen, I jumped in my Chevy Tahoe fully prepared to hit four-wheel drive and basically do whatever it would take for me to get to my family. I made it my girls schools that were still operating and checked them out and made sure Elaine was home. Once I had my family together we watched the as the security of America and the world changed that day.

There are moments you can remember in exact detail about where you were and what you were doing. That was one of those moments for me and I will never forget it. On this day, September the 11th, 2017 the 16th anniversary of 911, let’s remember what America means and what it stands for and the good about who we are. Let not a very few small-minded journalists who write editorials for news outlets lead you to believe that America has lost its way. It hasn’t and we haven’t. We simply live in the best country on the face of the globe. KT

Direction versus intention

Career, Family, Life

The other day I heard a pastor speak on this topic and it rang true for me, so I wanted to give my take on the subject.

Direction versus intention is an often a misunderstood idea. Just because you say “I wanted to,” “I intended to,” I meant to,” go one direction in your life doesn’t really mean that much. It is really about the actual direction you are going. It’s like if you are in Atlanta and you want to go to Florida but your car is pointed north, it really doesn’t matter what you intended to do, rather it only matters the actual direction you are heading. Make sense?

I am a hotel broker and we sell hotels. Over the years, I have given a speech to other brokers more times than I can count. It is the same exact philosophy as the Florida example. It goes like this. Pick your financial objective for the year, divide the income by the average income per sale. Divide that by the number of deals you must have on the market and then divide that by the number of pitches you must make and you will know the number of annual calls you need to make in order to earn what you set out to earn. Then lastly, divide that annual number by 52 weeks and you have then solved the way to hit your financial objective. When you do this, you know the number of calls you need to make today. When you don’t make the calls today and tomorrow, you in effect are announcing now that you really didn’t intend to make your annual goal. You don’t have to wait six months. If you are honest with yourself, you know today what your true intentions were.

The point you ask? In sales, you can have all the intentions and desires you want, but if you are unwilling to make the calls today and tomorrow (point your car toward Florida) you will not meet your desired destination. I cannot tell you how many times I have brokers in my office in September unsure why they don’t have more on the books. When I review with them what they did earlier in the year, it becomes clear that they and they alone decided earlier in the year to be right where they are.

So, with all this explanation ask yourself, what is my true intentions for my family, finances, education, work, health and general life? Then listen not to what you SAY you want, rather look at the actual direction you are heading. KT

Being good at your job

Career, Life

You’ve got to be good at your job before you can enjoy the rest of your life. Think about this quote and see if it rings true or not. This is primarily a guy thing and may or may not necessarily be true for ladies. For a man, so much of who he is, is wrapped up in what he does. If you look at the happiest retired men, you will find a commonality that they were good at their job before they retired. It doesn’t matter what the job was but what does matter, is how they did it.

One of the happiest retired men I know is my next-door neighbor. He was the chief pilot for large fortune 500 company for 25 years and flew to over 167 countries in his career. Before that he was an Air Force Pilot back when they used to fly around with live weapons on board in case they were called into action. Think about what a stressful job that must have been. He is 84 buts looks 64 and is very engaged in life today and in my opinion, his happiness comes in large part because he was fulfilled in his job when he was working. I have friends that were in all manner of work from a garbage company, hotels, retail development to doctors. If asked, they would all tell you that one key to moving on to a happy life is being fulfilled and doing well in their work. As a contrast, I know one gentlemen that retired from his work having done as little as he could get by with and never really giving his best. He simply put in his time and retired but it left a big hole in him that was never filled. Therefore, his retirement years have not been happy and fulfilled because deep within himself, he knows he didn’t do his best.

If we think about it, we all know this is true because we all know someone who has moved from one job to another hoping the next job will be better. It is like the old saying “wherever I go, there I am.” We also all know people who cannot enjoy a vacation because they didn’t leave their work caught up and in order. The greatest vacations are when you work hard up to the vacation so that you can relieve your mind of work while you are on vacation.

I think as you age, it becomes more important to finish well. To know you gave it your best. As you read this blog, just know it is important to do your best and try as hard as you can. It also helps you handle your emotions when you don’t get the job, promotion or the sale if you know you did your best. The hardest working person I ever met was my father in-law. He owned a fence company and he worked and sold harder than anyone I ever knew. He loved to fish, travel and camp and I remember many times being with him on vacation or fishing and he worked as hard at enjoying those times as he did when he was at work. I believe the way he worked helped him enjoy time when he was away from work.

So, in summary, give work your best effort because it will help you be engaged and enjoy all the other times in your life. KT

When you know it’s time to retire

Career, Life

Yesterday, Elaine and I took our granddaughters to a matinee of the new Cars 3D movie. As with all Disney movies it was cute and the girls loved it. It is about a race car driver who seems to have lost his edge and doesn’t want to retire but may be forced to.

In the movie the driver asked one of the older race car drivers when he knew it was time to retire. The old driver said something that made me sit a little straighter in the seat. He said, “the youngsters will let you know.”

I thought about that and realized it is so true. I don’t care what your profession is, there are younger, smarter generations coming behind you that in many cases, can do a better job and relate better to the clients. Especially, if you are in sales, because many times the clients you are trying to sell to are also younger.

I think the magic is knowing and accepting when your influence has begun to drift and when you should move to the next great thing you want to do in your life. It is sad seeing an old leader who clearly no longer has a grasp on the business, but still demands he/she stay in charge. Many companies have failed to be relevant long term because of this one issue.

Don’t get me wrong. Many of today’s inventions come from late bloomers (older people) and many new companies are started by older people. With age generally comes a great deal of wisdom and perspective that younger folks don’t have yet. People under 30 don’t know what a financial downturn looks like (2008 & 2009) and how to prepare for it in advance. So, age does have its perks.

I own a small piece of a social media company and I am continually amazed at how little I understand about what they do. Ha. I go to their offices and see all these young, articulate, polished, educated, smart 20 and 30-year-olds. It is so much fun to see the younger generations work because they are so far ahead of where I was at their age. It simply amazes me.

So, the message. Hold on, but don’t hold on too long. Ha. KT

Swinging for the fence

Career

There are very few things in this life that gives you a sense of accomplishment like trying as hard as you can at something. It doesn’t matter what your line of work is. Simple trying your very best is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences you can have.

We used to go on this camping trip every year to Vogel State Park and the main event every evening was a softball game. There were two guys that were the real players while the rest of us just enjoyed the game. One was Billy Myers and the other was Andy Murdock. The field we played on was maybe 225 feet to the creek and the objective was to hit the ball over the creek because that was an automatic home run. I remember watching Andy bat one night and he swung so hard that he came out of his shoes. It was easily a home run but I also thought, what a great metaphor for selling. The idea of going into a sales pitch and swinging at the ball as hard as you can.

Selling is like being a preacher. The people listening to the sermon (or sale pitch) know if you have prepared or if you are just winging it. It also tells the people listening how much you respect them. If you prepare, it tells them you spent time getting ready because you respect them and you want their approval.

Over the years I have been in many sales pitches. Some I planned well for and others I just winged it. As with all sales, you get hired on some and not hired on others. As I look back over my career I can say with certainly that when I prepared at my best, my percentage of being hired was far greater. I find that even on the occasions where you prepared well and didn’t get hired, you left with the client’s respect and usually got the call the next time he was ready to sell something.

So, like the camping softball games at Vogel, swing the bat as hard as you can (prepare well) and when the ball does go over the creek, it is some of the most rewarding and fulfilling memories you can create. KT