Hopefully, you had the opportunity to read the blog that Dave highlighted earlier this week.  At the end of his posting, you may have noticed he referenced a “Part 2” to Bill Taylor’s original essay.  I found the follow-up article even more helpful than the original.  There is something about having to defend your ideas under hostile fire that causes the cream to rise to the top.    

Since digesting both articles amounts to a lot of reading, I thought it might be helpful to summarize a few of the main points and relate the specific ideas to the real estate industry.

1.   The “smart” take from the “strong.”  Traditionally, the strong take from the weak.  This is particularly true in the real estate industry.  If you’re fortunate enough to have a strong brand or even a multi-generational track record of success, you’ve probably been able to leverage that strength to defeat weak competitors and keep new opponents from gaining traction.  

Will this trend continue?  Not if real estate follows the pattern that has emerged in many other industries.  Bill puts it this way :

“… the great sweep of business and innovation has increased the power of the individual and the small team over the lumbering herd.”

Lumbering herds take notice.  There are some small, nimble teams and individuals who want what you have.

2.  Some companies believe in “stars” because they don’t believe in “systems.”  Bill references an article written by Malcom Gladwell in 2002 called The Talent Myth to make his point.

“The problem with this star-studded approach is the assumption that an organization's intelligence is simply a function of the intelligence of its employees.  [Some companies] believe in stars, because they don't believe in systems.  In a way, that's understandable, because our lives are so obviously enriched by individual brilliance.  Groups don't write great novels, and a committee didn't come up with the theory of relativity.

But companies work by different rules.  They don't just create; they execute and compete and coordinate the efforts of many different people, and the organizations that are most successful at that task are the ones where the system is the star."

With regard to real estate… Looking ahead, those companies that are able to make “the system the star” will have a distinct advantage over those which continue to depend upon the talent of individual contributors.

3.  Follow IBM’s example.  Just because a company is large and prominent, does not mean they’re destined for failure (or success).  IBM has lasted for more than 100 years because it has recreated itself as technology, culture, and business has changed again and again.

“It's worth noting that the debate over this post takes place during IBM's centennial celebration.  Now, I'm excited by the rise of Facebook, the IPO of LinkedIn, and all the latest successes from the startup world.  It's great stuff.  But for IBM to celebrate its 100th anniversary as a company, to remain, despite wave after wave of disruptive technological change, as a world-shaping force for solving big problems and making a big difference — that's truly something to admire.

IBM has stayed in the game for a century because it understands that groups are as important as individuals…  [As young IBM employees] report for duty, they get immersed in a system that emphasizes group cohesion over me-first individual achievement.  Great companies, great organizations of all kinds, are about how everyone works together as well as how each person does his or her work.  Winning [companies] are more than just a collection of talented individuals.”

Many of Tidemark’s clients are the most successful and prominent real estate companies in the country (some of these companies are even older than IBM).  And many of these companies are in the midst of a profound struggle to recreate themselves in the face of changing marketing conditions, new technologies, and high-energy competitors.

Don’t give up the fight to make this transition.  Become, once again, the IBM of your community…

Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.