REAL ESTATE...AND OTHER THINGS OF VALUE: Merry Path of the American Dream

Real Estate...and Other Things of Value

with Yossi Feigenson

We’re all waiting for something. We’re looking and hoping for the signs. Has it been declared? As of late, the rumblings are beginning to get louder, more frequent, and are coming from better sources. Yes, indeed, it seems that the recession may be finally releasing us of its grips, of its shackles. We can now begin to feel more confident to get back to the way we used to live. We can actually go and spend money, free of guilt, (provided that there is some available) and continue on the merry path of the American dream. We are ready to put this nightmare behind us.

If you are paying close attention; and I really hope you are, you will notice I used a keyword (keyword being a very keyword these days). That magic word is “feel”. We want to feel that things are getting better. We don’t necessarily have any logical understanding or hard scientific and numerical data that supports this feeling.

Emotion driven world

We may not like to admit it, but many, or all of our decisions we make, and the way we view the world, are with our EMOTIONS. Of course, reasoning, intellect and common sense all play a role, and we wouldn’t function without these intellectual faculties, but, too often, the primary vehicle that leads us is emotion. Is it a wonder that for most of us when we buy or sell a stock we uncannily buy at the exact wrong time and subsequently sell at the precise time we should hold? If this doesn’t sound familiar, than there is a good chance you are like my good man, Warren Buffet, who is a fairly good investor; he buys low and sells high. There is, however, the last time I checked, only one Warren Buffet, and perhaps a smattering of students of the Warren Buffet system.

What does Warren Buffet know or posses that most of us don’t? Is he simply much smarter than everyone? Or has he mastered a particular skill and idea that is the most difficult and fleeting things to attain.

To gain some insight into why organically we are this way takes lots of hours of study of certain texts and the human psyche. Principally, the idea being that we are emotion driven race, and an emotion led universe. Sure, we posses intellect. We think, we speak, we make decisions, we have opinions, we like, dislike and choose one over another. But, the driving force behind much of what we do individually, and as a society are our emotional attributes.

Let’s look at our most recent 10 year boom and subsequent bust. In particular, in Real Estate: When the general trend is looking up, people will jump at any opportunity, often completely disregarding the inherent risks. While, when the trend is the other way, people will stay away even though the deal may be sound and ultimately extremely profitable. As the legendary John D. Rockefeller once said, "Buy when there is blood in the streets." This implies that you should buck the prevailing trends. It is uncanny how few posses the discipline to follow this rule. Those who do are the next generation of millionaires. It’s that simple.

Fear and insecurity

Fear has been the prevalent emotion of our current crisis. Even for those whose situation has not changed much, they are paralyzed by a certain sense of fear and trepidation. An entrepreneur is more afraid of going into a new endeavor, even though the more astute move would be to go into business in a downturn.

Manifestation

People who have the ability to rise above emotion, and strictly use intellect as their driving have always taken advantage of our emotions. We see this clearly in every downward cycle there are people who see past the current muck and are picking up assets at pennies on the dollar. Using intellect without too much emotion allows you to see beyond the current situation and see what can come out the other side.

The Good news

The good news is that just as we got into this mess we will get out of it with similar irrationalities. When people begin to have confidence again in their own situations they will begin to spend and the turnaround will really happen.

Wouldn’t it be nice to alter this cycle of us being led by our fears and emotions? We do have the smarts, we do have the understanding, but it will take quite a bit of exercise on our part to make decisions that are coming from our intellect.

How does one attain this type of power of the mind? The old phrase “mind over matter” means that in the face of any challenge the mind can overcome all obstacles, including the inclination of our own emotions and insecurities.

If business and sales are slow, and the overwhelming emotional fatigue has set in, we often feel sapped of our capacity to think and make sound business decisions. It is then imperative to identify it as such and take the steps to get the emotions out of it. The feeling of disillusionment will lead us to make decisions that will ultimately hurt our business.

Sounds impossible? It’s not. But, it takes effort and lots of grinding, gut checking and accountability. There is no easy, straightforward approach one can take. But there is so much information out there, and many professionals that can help with the process. But the first step comes from within us; as it always does.

For more information, please visit Yossi's TNNW Bio.

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REAL ESTATE...AND OTHER THINGS OF VALUE: Merry Path of the American Dream

KENSEL TRACY: Does Face to Face Networking Still Work in the Modern Era of Tweeting and Twittering?

By Kensel Tracy

A few weeks ago, this question was asked by a Canadian Business Coach at a recent event I attended in Ottawa. I was going on about the value of business referral clubs and how they can help small and medium sized businesses to build business through one to one referrals. This coach suggested that the business club was dead and that in the modern era all one needed to do was reach out through any of the local online networks and he or she could have all the contacts they wanted.

I posed that question to members of my Likened group a few weeks back only to get a barrage of answers that supported the question and a lot more that didn’t. Most of the respondents said that it was still important to have personal contact with customers or prospective customers in order to build that personal contact. Most felt that it was all right after the fact to contact people online but the initial contact should be in person.

At that point, I started researching business clubs in Canada. I came upon the usual suspects. The Chambers, Rotary, Kinsmen and Kinettes, BNI, BoB Clubs, and quite a few smaller lesser known local breakfast clubs. There were a number of online networking clubs mostly of regional nature and a number of business clubs that were part of other organizations. I realized that business referral or networking clubs are still alive, are well, and thriving in Canada.

There are also a large number of business networking websites, many which I have written about over the past year in this column, actually are growing and so are the lists of local meetings dedicated to the art of business and business networking. Based on my rough survey, I could say that in Canada the art of Face to Face networking is still a going and growing business. I can also say that in the era of tweets, Face book, Likened, Eecademy and number of other online sites, that both still have merit for promoting one’s business and making business contacts.

As the century unfolds, online networking will get bigger and more active and offline face to face networking will still be needed to build the relationship. It’s a much closer world today and as the online world continues to get stronger, the world will become even a smaller place. So in my mind, tweeting, and tweets are only the beginning of a good solid networking relationship. Its still up to two human beings regardless of where they live to find something in common, reach out, communicate and then see what happens.

Kensel Tracy is the Marketing Coach with the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. in Chelsea, Quebec and is the Presidents of Business over Breakfast (BoB Clubs) of North America

For more information, please visit Kensel's TNNW Bio.


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KARL SMITH: The Diversity Challenge: Good Business Relationships Are Possible

By Karl Smith

Good business relationships are all about how you relate to people. The diverse South African society requires particular people skills to build your business. People not only come with different personality types but from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds as well. They are individuals who despite their differences have many similarities. Business owners, employers and managers who can motivate individuals to focus on common interests amidst diversity, have the edge over others who lack this vital skill. In my opinion, the ability to put oneself in the shoes of others – whether they are new contacts, employers, colleagues etc – is one of the most crucial people skills to succeed in business particular and life in general. This skill is also known as “empathy”: the ability to identify with and understand the wants, needs, and viewpoints of those around you. In fact UNICEF, UNESCO and World Health Organisation identified “empathy” as one of the ten core life skills that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life. You are not borne with this skill: you acquire it, your nurture it and you work on it as long as you live - it remains a project under construction. You think about it every time before you speak or act. I have recently interviewed Wayne Poggenpoel, Chief Operating Officer -.Global Synergic to solicit his views on networking. Global Synergic comprises of a network of diverse independent associates and specialists. Needless to note, entrepreneurs or professionals who operate within a network of associates – whether informal or formal – are challenged by diverse needs and independent minds.

Question:What is your understanding of networking?
Answer: Building relationships

Question: What role does it play in your life?
Answer: Building friendship and surrounding myself with like minded persons

Question: Your firm consists of independent companies. How does it make decisions as most entrepreneurs like to do their on thing?
Answer: There are governance structures in place that reflects key responsibilities and decision making powers

Question: How do you manage the different relationships and what is your biggest challenge?
Answer: We manage it in the best interests of the organization. All decisions made are firstly in the interests of the company and then the individual. The biggest challenge is trying to align the interests of the company and those of the individuals.

Question: In bringing in new networks, which qualities are you looking for in an individual?
Answer: We all like to do business with those we trust and like. Key qualities I look for include honesty, integrity and trust

Question: Your group comes from diverse backgrounds. How do you manage the diverse interests?
Answer: We manage it in the best interests of the organization. All decisions made are firstly in the interests of the company and then the individual. Why? We are all different individuals and all have different perceptions and thoughts. Now consider which scenario would be easier to achieve consensus? The company which has one interest or the individuals who have many interests?

Question: You say you believe in a mindset of abundance. What is it and Why?
Answer: This world has an abundance of resources. There is enough for all of us. It is about changing our mindset with the belief that this world has something to offer us all. The challenge is when the greed mentality sets in i.e. the belief that I cannot give others as it will be detriment to my wellbeing. It is not the belief I am concerned with but the behavior it creates. Let us think about it, can a greed-like mentality creating a greed-like behavior ever be sustainable in long term? You decide.

Question: Your top tip for networking?
Answer: Be yourself. People like you as the person you are and not the person you want to be.

Wayne’s comment “we all like to do business with those we trust and like’ resonates with my philosophy in business networking and business relationship building. I am convinced that leaders, managers, entrepreneurs and business owners who understand this approach will be winners.

You can read more about Wayne’s business by visiting www.globalsynergex.co.za. Karl Smith is the author of “Beyond The Business Handshake: Dare To Build High-Trust Business Relationship”, South Africa’s Business Networking & Referral Coach, and the owner of Business Networking South Africa.

Visit www.businessnetworkingsouthafrica.co.za to see Karl in action, see what Karl’s clients says, book Karl to speak or to do in-company training, attend a public event, subscribe to his newsletter or to use the free networking resources.


For more information, please visit Karl's TNNW Bio.
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