Some weeks this blog writes itself. Something grabs my attention to the point that I can’t help but share it.
This was not one of those weeks. According to my friend Seth, there’s no such thing as writer's block. It’s real, but it doesn’t exist. There’s just good writing and bad writing, and we’re afraid of the latter. More specifically, afraid of what the world will say when it encounters our bad writing. This week the fear has been more acute than most.
Which is strange, because I’ve read, listened to and watched some really interesting stuff over the last seven days. Certainly enough to provoke thought, enquiry and debate.
The problem is, I have a problem. A really good problem. A (self inflicted) pressure problem.
Some very kind people have taken time out of their busy lives to let me know that they’re enjoying my blog. So now I can’t take a week off because I’m more afraid of losing traction than I am of my potentially bad writing.
So I guess I’m just going to have to keep banging the drum.
The majority of people have underwhelming experiences when selling their homes or buying new ones, and I want to make it better. Starting with the people I can serve by myself, but hopefully in time, a wider audience.
I believe that the market is waiting for better to show up, mostly because the baseline is so low. I want to be able to delight and amaze people. Preferably to the point where they feel compelled to tell their friends what a great experience they had.
I also want to be able to scale those feelings. I have met some incredible agents over the past twenty years. People who are passionate about what they do, about delivering great outcomes without fuss and fanfare.
What if we set out to build an estate agency that people actually wanted to engage with. After all, almost everyone needs a phone, but no one needs an iPhone. That doesn’t stop Apple evangelists queuing round the block to part with £1,000 for the latest one.
What if we built an estate agency that was incredibly customer centric and totally obsessed with the highest levels of accountability.
Where the people who worked in it were trained to be great listeners, and chosen for their ability to understand and empathise, rather than to chase short term sales goals.
Why not? I think people want better. People always want better. Especially when the status quo delivers the opposite of what it should.
Things I’ve been inspired by this week
I’ve changed the title of this section - to something which I feel is now more accurate. I wouldn’t be able to write most of these blogs without the inspiration of those who are creating amazing content and largely providing it for free.
This article in the Harvard Business Review about how the decline of the public corporation. It explains why its most important shareholders (retirement investors) and the most critical part of its workforce (knowledge workers), are ill-served by the current model
A book I’ve just finished reading about the entrepreneurial myth.
“The Entrepreneurial Model has less to do with what’s done in a business and more to do with how it’s done. The commodity isn’t what’s important—the way it’s delivered is”
This YouTube Video
“If it doesn’t contribute to the best and highest use of your time, or the best and highest version of yourself, don’t listen to it, don’t watch it and don’t touch it”
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