Becoming a Top Performing Company as measured in the 2005 Brokerage Performance Report, is a long term proposition and achieved by design and planning. It does not just occur. Certain steps are considered and implemented by really great companies over time. Cultures change, people change, services improve and we hopefully create an environment that attracts other good people and customers. Abraham Lincoln once said; “If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree I would spend 6 sharpening my ax!” Perhaps there is a lesson here. The Top Performing Companies seem to think so. Great companies, be they large publicly traded ones like General Electric, Microsoft, Starbucks, Google or others as well as our own brokerage companies seem to exhibit some common characteristics.

First, these companies all have a vision of where they are headed and that vision is clearly communicated to all who are part of the company including the customers that have been served along the way. As in the book “Good to Great” by Jim Collins, you perpetuate the direction of the company by constantly describing where you are heading, when you are going to get there and what to expect along the way. Getting the right people on the bus is paramount to the execution of the vision since we can not do it alone.

In discussing how some of the brokerage companies achieved performance improvement over the past few years those contacted who had participated in the Brokerage Performance Report indicated that they had established a clear and vivid vision of what they wanted their company to look like and this had been well communicated to the agents and management as well as customer so that all were pulling in the same direction. This was not achieved overnight or in a year. One company shared part of their vision as being to increase their overall performance to 36/36. That is to say that they wanted their per person productivity to average 36 closed units per person by the end of the 36th month. This company has already increased performance to the mid 20’s from the mid-teens. They have clearly communicated this expectation to their managers and agents. They believe it can be accomplished and are working with their staff to make it happen. They have everyone going the right direction.

This same company has established recruiting and training systems where the vision is further communicated so that all who join the company know from the interview stage and system through training what the expectations of them are. Everyone is on the same bus and everyone knows where the bus is heading.

As we engage in the active process of recruiting are we doing so with a system? Are we consistent in our delivery of information and in seeking information from prospective new agents, whether newly licensed or experienced? Being consistent in the process through a system permits the act of accountability. If we have trained our managers on how to interview and recruit by using a specific system and being consistent in the delivery then we have created an environment in which we can hold them accountable for their actions…or in-actions. If there are 30 students in your History 101 class there are not 30 different programs for each. There is the same presentation and expectations for all and that is the basis on which grades are given. Shouldn’t we do the same thing in our business?

Just as the professor presented her expectations to the History class on the first day of school all 30 students were very clear as to how they would be graded, when term papers were due and exams given. This did not happen part way through the semester. By informing perspective agents what our expectations are on day one it makes our task of holding them accountable that much easier. If this is an integral part of the recruiting system then it makes the job easier in holding our managers accountable as well.

Whether or not I buy a tall latte at Starbucks in Los Angeles or Kansas City I walk in with certain expectations. I do not get disappointed because they use the same system and deliver it consistently. The same can be said for many other products and services and companies like McDonalds have been built around this premise. Good companies do not leave the delivery of their products and services to chance.

Take a look at the expectations created in your company vision. Are they clear and concise and well communicated? Have they become a consistent part of your training program and other systems such as marketing, transaction processing, advertising and even accounting? Managing and coaching toward these expectations can bring better results, raise the performance bar and keep everyone focused on the journey of the company.