In Leading Change, by John P. Kotter, the author says “By any objective measure, the amount of significant, often traumatic, change in organizations has grown tremendously over the past two decades.” Further, Kotter’s opinion is that change will continue and in fact grow even stronger despite predictions to the contrary by others. I must admit I agree with Kotter and with the old adage, “The only thing constant in life is change.”  Our personal lives change constantly, not to mention the nation and the world at large.

I spent last week with the agents at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers in Atlanta, Georgia, a group who clearly embrace change.  A few observations about the agents led me to this conclusion:

• Anticipation – Their open demeanor demonstrated they were prepared and positioned for change.
• Excitement – Even before the announcement, the crowd of more than 2,000 agents were literally dancing in celebration of change.
• Vibe – The level of enthusiasm remained constant through the week.
• Responsiveness – They were clearly open to new ideas and anxious to incorporate them into their daily activities.

What is it that separates the resistors from the embracers when change comes along? I believe, in an organization, it is a combination of good leadership and attracting the right people – people who believe and share in your philosophies and vision.  My congratulations to Kevin Levent, President and CEO at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metrobrokers and to his amazing, adaptable team!

The media and blogosphere is all atwitter, literally, about the news, which is quite possibly the largest brand transition to date. And if it’s not, then it is certainly among the largest. We just couldn’t be more proud!

Georgia’s largest real estate broker, known for its ubiquitous mascot Metro Mike, the “living, breathing real estate sign” who attends parades and graces billboards throughout Greater Atlanta, adds 28 office locations and nearly 2,300 agents to our network.

The creative branding and entrepreneurial spirit behind Metro Brokers is embodied by its impressive leader Kevin Levent and is a perfect fit for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.

Metro Brokers shares our deep appreciation for the blending of technology and marketing to better serve an evolving real estate market. It exemplifies our concept of “Next Generation Brokerage” with its encouragement of telecommuting, smaller office sizes, digital promotion and individual growth.

Just as we are devoted to all that our iconic brand signifies, Metro Brokers also values its deep heritage. The first time I walked into one of their offices, I was struck by the pride in how they communicated and showcased their brand. From the video reel in the waiting room to the large room of beautifully designed material to the logo-etched glass tables, it was clear to me that this firm was vigilant to its brand promise.

When we launched the new Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate brand a mere 16 months ago, it was the vision of announcements just like this that kept us focused and true to our value proposition. Today we will take a breath and celebrate this accomplishment with Kevin and his team. Tomorrow we will continue our quest to partner with like minded brokerages and create what is truly the real estate brand of the future.

For more information about this real estate milestone, check out our press release here. And join the celebration remotely on our Flickr feed, or Facebook fan page and on Twitter.

The goal was to set a Guinness World Book record for the largest social mass media message distributed in a 24-hour period. And the goal was achieved!

The masterminds behind this mission were Tamara Knechtel from Everywhere, an Atlanta based social media company and CNN anchor Don Lemon. They came up with the idea over a casual conversation.

Don Lemon launched the concept at the Blog World/New Media Expo in Las Vegas on Friday. Attendees of the conference and people all over the Internet were asked to send Tweets, issue Facebook status updates and blog using #BeatCancer in their posts. And that’s exactly what they did.

EBay, PayPal and Miller Lite were major sponsors of the initiative and agreed to donate 1 cent for every Tweet, blog post or Facebook update during the 24-hour period. All money raised will be donated to non-profit cancer organizations. The social web jumped on board and over 208,000 mentions happened in a 24 hour period.

This is an amazing example of the power of social media. The ability to pull thousands of people together across the world with a single focus is inspiring.

There are many examples of that use the notion of 4 C’s of social media. #beatcancer demonstrates how social media can be used to :

• Connect. Every person involved felt an instant connection to one another and to the cause.
• Community. People not only at BlogWorld but literally all over the world instantly jumped on board to support.
• Conversation. The dialog extended beyond the new media realm into the traditional media sphere. With CNN featuring the event.
• Care. People engaged and cared about the outcome of this new media experiment and the positive impact it will have for those impacted by cancer.

The new media tools we all have access to can be used to make a difference. #beatcancer is a Guinness World Book record holding example of how new media has given us all an expaned playing field to use. Let’s not waste it.

No wonder a room full of designers sat nervously while Marissa Mayer gave her presentation at AIGA’s national conference in Atlanta last weekend.  Marissa is the guardian of Google’s home page. He presentation was on design. And the data the supports Google design decisions. But must data drive every decision? At what point does creativity and inspiration factor into the mix. Read more from Fast Company here

From SearchEngineLand.com 8 Tips for Getting Your Facebook Fan Page Found in Facebook Search.

Calculated Risk delves into the uncertainty of the housing market and attempts to provide a an outlook which at the end of the report provides us with a very uncertain outlook. They cleverly titled their post The Uncertain Housing Outlook. All kidding aside their overview is filled with good facts that provide any real estate pro good sound bytes and facts when presenting their outlook to buyers and sellers.

As Joel explains, in this post “Augmented Reality (AR) is definitely one of the hot new mobile technologies right now.” The possibilities for search and decision support for real estate are now expanding as a result. Brokers, smartphone technology is the next frontier for real estate. Set budget for some R&D here. This is a chance to ride the front of a very cool, new wave in technology and consumer engagement.

Not all newspapers are dead according to Eric Stegemann of Tribus Real Estate Group who discovered last week at Bar Camp Chicago, that some newspapers are changing the way they publish and are thriving among all age demographics.

Rhonda Duffy is disappointed in her fellow Atlanta listing agents and for good reason – they appear to be doing the least amount possible to market their listings – million dollar listings at that. For the price they earn to sell these these homes, Rhonda thinks they could be doing a better job. Once you see her point here on her ActiveRain blog, you’ll understand why.

When planning your Twitter strategy should you come across information like this… run for the hills. This is the very worst advice possible for real estate folks to follow.

Guy Kawasaki posted an interview with Lee Aase who manages syndication and social media for Mayo Clinic. Read as he explains the history of Mayo Clinic’s use of social media and how effective this effort has been.

Another reason this event was special was the attendees. People from all major brands and unaffiliated companies, big companies and small companies were all represented.  Some new to the industry, some long time veterans. Some tech power users, and many self-professed non tech people. Their one common driving force: how do I use various technology based tools to better serve my clients and operate my business?

Here are a few of the discussions from the day that I thought were interesting.

Blog-Website Hybrids

It seems the debate over blog versus website versus both may naturally take care of itself as vendors work to create and launch blog-website hybrids. These sites will give you the best of both worlds with only one domain to manage. You’ll have the ability to easily manage and update your blog content, but also be able to have listing search and more static content pages (like sellers and buyers info) often found on websites. This sounds like a win win for the practitioner and the consumer.

What tech tools should today’s real estate professional have?

• Smart phone
• Web cam
• Laptop
• Camera
• Video cam

What’s one of the biggest challenges facing brokers and company owners?

Defining, building and reinforcing a distinct company culture to attract and retain agents. Now that was an interesting discussion and deserves a whole other blog post!

3 Steps to Blogging

1. Read other blogs (inside and outside the industry).
2. Comment on blogs. Comments should be meaningful and add to the conversation. Don’t comment “nice post”.
3. Write your own blog posts.

Facebook

Be there. Create groups to easily manage the various contact points and conversations you have with your sphere of influence. Check out Reggie’s and NikNik’s  presentation, 10 Facebook Strategies Your Competitors Don’t Want You to Know.

Twitter

What can I say, just be a Twit!

Thanks again to everyone who organized and attended the event. We are already looking forward to next year!

(Photo courtesy of Brad Nix @ Flickr)

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