Editor’s Note: After posting this article this morning, The KW Blog Team received the sad news that Stephen R. Covey had passed away. Our sincerest condolences to his son, Stephen M.R. Covey, his family, as well as his friends and avid followers. As you will read below Covey influenced Gary Keller, co-founder and chairman of Keller Williams Realty, as he began building the company in the 80’s. So as to prevent any confusion, we want to be sure our readers realize the interview below is with Stephen M.R. Covey, the son of Stephen R. Covey.
The KW Blog team is an avid reader of all the blog posts on KellerINK.com. As Gary Keller’s publishing arm, his books are very much a part of Keller Williams Realty’s history and much of our associates’ success rests on the models and systems presented in The Millionaire Real Estate Agent.
Last week, we were thrilled to find out that their latest blog post featured an interview between Gary, Stephen M.R. Covey and Greg Link, co-authors of Smart Trust. And we had to listen in!
Of course, the interview was an amazing opportunity to a get sneak peek ofSmart Trust and the conversations between Gary and Covey can definitely confirm it’s a phenomenal read with plenty of insights on running a smart business in today’s climate. What came as a welcome surprise was the little-known story of how Covey’s father’s teachings helped inspire Gary’s vision for his real estate franchise.
First published in 1989, Stephen R. Covey’s book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People was, as Gary says, “a road map to how my industry has been built.” Gary realized while reading The Seven Habits that the real estate industry began following a dependent model and then naturally moved to an independent one. And when Covey described the natural progression from an independent to an interdependent model, Gary realized there was a gap in the industry.
No real estate company was truly built around an interdependent model.
That was the logical destination for everyone, yet no one was there. So he set out to create a company based on the third option. And much that we now identify as Keller Williams Realty was born. Twenty-three years later, Keller Williams is still dedicated to the interdependent model.
Gary Keller discussing Keller Williams Realty's Agent-Centric Business Model during the company's early years.
We really enjoyed listening to this interview not just because it’s a fantastic opportunity to hear from Covey and Link on maximizing opportunity and minimizing risk in today’s unique business climate, but also because it’s a great lesson on the history of Keller Williams Realty.
Click here to listen to the interview. And be sure and share it on Facebook, Twitter and with your sphere!
No comments:
Post a Comment