You've done it again!
Dear Prospective New Member of our Keller Williams Family,
Letter from the CEO
J.D. Power and Associates has awarded Keller Williams associates the distinct honor of
"Highest Overall Satisfaction for Home Buyers Among National Full Service Real Estate Firms, Two Years in a Row!*" The time to incorporate this honor into your marketing, advertising and communications with your clients is NOW!
Tough times call for tough decisions. And it’s the decisions that we make when we are at a crossroads that tend to make the biggest difference and spark the greatest opportunity. That’s certainly been the case for Keller Williams Realty and we believe that it’s true for you as well. This is a company whose agents have what it takes to survive a downward shift in the market and emerge stronger than ever. Gary Keller, our chairman, founded Keller Williams Realty in Austin, Texas, 26 years ago during one of the most challenging real estate markets in our country’s history. Since that time, we’ve sharpened our commitment every year to providing our agents with the tools, the technology and the training to be the very best that they could be. Keller Williams Realty is committed to growth – the growth of our company and the growth of all of our agents. We are not about playing small in this company. We are about helping our agents to achieve their dreams. Big dreams. Gary Keller did not write The Reasonably Successful Real Estate Agent. He wrote The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, and that was just the beginning. More so than ever before, the real estate industry is taking notice of the Keller Williams Realty difference. We’re now the third largest real estate company in the United States, and throughout 2009, more than 100 agents chose to join forces with us every single business day. That growth is not due to a compelling marketing campaign or a new initiative driven by executives in Austin, Texas. It’s a direct result of agents and team leaders in their local markets who are committed to extending the Keller Williams opportunity to their colleagues. In this company, success is something that we share. It’s built into our profit share model, as well as our culture. We couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities that 2010 holds for our agents. We have the training, the talent and everything that it takes to win. All that’s missing is you. Yours in opportunity,
This is a company whose agents have what it takes to survive a downward shift in the market and emerge stronger than ever.
Mark Willis CEO, Keller Williams Realty
All use of Licensed J.D. Power and Associates Claims and Awards must adhere to very specific guidelines that can be accessed from myKW. Go to (http://mykw.kw.com) and click on the marketing tab to review the guidelines in full and to download images of the award. *Keller Williams Realty received the highest numerical score among full service real estate firms for home buyers in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2008-2009 Home Buyer/Seller StudySM. 2009 Study based on 3,138 total evaluations measuring 7 firms and measures opinions of individuals who bought a home between March 2008 and April 2009. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed April-June 2009.Your experiences may vary. outfront 2 Special Edition Keller Williams Realty
Special Edition OutFront is a publication of Keller Williams Realty, Inc. 807 Las Cimas Parkway, Suite 200 Austin, Texas 78746 (512) 327-3070 phone (512) 328-1433 Keller fax Williams Realty
Marketing and Communications Director: Ellen Marks Editor: Lisa Wahlgren (outfront@kw.com) Marketing and Communications Coordinator: Laura Price Copy Editor: Jeff Ryder Design: Michael Balistreri | Jeanine Donofrio Contributors: Celesta Brown | Jill Dwyer | Jennifer LeClaire | Elizabeth Millard | Shelley Seale Special Edition
OutFront is published by Keller Williams Realty, Inc. The entire document of OutFront is copyright© 2009 by Keller Williams Realty, Inc. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means including electronic retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the publisher. Editorial or advertising does not constitute advice but is considered informative. Copyright© 2009 Keller Williams Realty, Inc. outfront 3 All rights reserved.
Excerpted from the March/April 2009 issue of OutFront
Growth Trajectory
A Different kind of Real Estate Company STILL ATTRACTING THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS
This special, new-agent edition includes articles excerpted from recent issues that encapsulate the Keller Williams Realty difference – growth, training and coaching, culture, profit share, and a 26-year tradition of putting agents first.
Built to Last: Solid Systems, abundant blessings fuel growth trajectory Excerpted from the Nov./Dec. 2008 issue of OutFront
Keller Williams Realty started as a grand experiment launched out of my house in Austin, Texas in 1983. It was built on my belief that the best way to run a real estate company was to partner with agents and put their career development as our biggest priority. I believed then, as I still do today, that when the company builds the people then the people build the company. I have always believed that no one succeeds alone, and that the quickest path to success is through and with another person, not around them. And so even from the start, I focused my energy on helping others to succeed. Our company grew over time because we surrounded ourselves with others who also shared this philosophy. Over the past 26 years, we’ve done a lot of things right as a company, and we’ve also lived through our share of course corrections. But when we look at the big picture, my best explanation for our success as a team and as individuals is to say that we have been incredibly blessed. How else could we explain the gift of crossing paths and then getting into business with Mo Anderson back in the early 1990s, and then Mark Willis and Mary Tennant – or for that matter every one of you? Mo is an extraordinary woman who we brought on to serve as the head of our company as CEO. Keller Williams
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Realty would not be what it is today had it not been for Mo. Her practicality, wisdom and emotional connectivity to the values of this company have inspired so many of us to be our best in business and in life – serving as role models to lift up our teams and our market centers, building great careers and doing things that matter. As Mo moved to focusing on continuing to strengthen our culture, Mark Willis and Mary Tennant stepped up to further the strong leadership and support that has always been at the heart of our company. Coming from their experiences as top agents and incredible team leaders, they have both advanced our causes and our culture. And they have recruited and nurtured a strong team at our international office who are pushing us toward even higher goals. This has been an incredibly challenging time for our economy and our industry, but I don’t believe that any of us were put on this earth to skate through with certainty. We have come together to build careers worth having, businesses worth owning, lives worth living and legacies worth leaving. Our work is not done and we know it. We are a company that was built to last – for all of the right reasons – and as we travel this road together we will emerge individually and collectively stronger than ever before. kw
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Mark Willis and Mo Anderson after the historic announcement.
Photo by: Michael Balistreri
OutFront magazine is Keller Williams Realty’s semi-monthly publication designed to support our agents with news and features that cover success strategies, business-building ideas, coaching breakthroughs, technology updates and upcoming events.
LTY EST A E R KELLER WILLIAMS D-LARUG.S. IR E IS NOW THE THNY IN TH
REAL ESTATE COMPA
Emphasizing during his keynote Keller Williams Realty's total active agent count declined by address at Family Reunion last month that “Life is 10 about 7 percent. “Comparatively, Keller Williams did more percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react than 30 percent better than NAR.” to it,” Clint Swindall may as well have been setting forth the Citing the 2008 REAL Trends 500 report, Willis added, theme of the entire event – or for that matter, summarizing “Keller Williams was the only real estate franchise that how Keller Williams associates have responded to a seismic experienced a positive growth in the total number of sides, shift in the real estate market. the total number of offices and the agent count per office. Indeed, back when the real estate market started to Every other franchise went backward. Between 2003 and shift, Keller Williams Realty stood as the fifth-largest real 2007 Keller Williams increased its U.S. market share by estate company in the United States. By January of 2007, more than 161 percent, while only one other network Keller Williams Realty officially claimed the No. 4 spot. gained, and their increase was less than 20 percent.” Last month, during Family Reunion 2009, Mark Willis, Comparing Keller Williams Realty to the 10 largest CEO, brought nearly 7,000 cheering attendees to their feet independent firms in the country over the last five years, with the announcement that Willis enthusiastically noted that Keller Williams Realty has now “Keller Williams grew by 65 percent KELLER WILLIA MS HA S SHIFTED! climbed to the third-largest more in associates per office, 61 The To p- r an ked Real Es tate F r anc his es by A gent C oun t real estate company in the percent more in transactions per RA NK C OM PA NY 2 008 2 007 % United States. associate and 32 percent more in sales Sharing her story of per office.” #1 Coldwell Banker 101,170 109,167 -7.3 personal adversity in 2008, Mo “This is your money, your #2 Century 21 95,390 105,461 -9.5 Anderson, vice chairman of production, and it thrills us,” Keller Williams Realty, opened he said. #3 Keller Williams 72,794 78,441 -7.2 the State of the Company From the very outset, the shift #4 RE/MAX 69,108 85,737 -19.4 Address with a testimony to the in the real estate market has been #5 Prudential 62,000 68,000 -8.8 fact that every problem has a viewed within Keller Williams Realty purpose. And the problem of the as an opportunity, and never has that shift in the real estate market has been more apparent than it is right further crystallized both the “purpose and the promise for now. “The promise of the shift for our market centers who Keller Williams Realty,” Willis emphasized. nail the model, and grow in this market, is greater than in “While we cannot escape the trends of the industry, any other market, because this is when the best agents and we have definitely outperformed it,” Willis said, noting brokers gain market share,” Willis emphasized. that compared to the National Association of REALTORS®, Now is the time to “gather ourselves, get focused, which lost 140,000 of its members, or a decline of 10.5 follow a plan of action and charge.” kw percent between December of 2007 and December of 2008, Keller Williams Realty
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Mega Migration Excerpted from the Sept./Oct. 2009 issue of OutFront
Robert Grunnah Austin, Texas Ashley Wilson Raleigh, N.C.
Isabel Stephenson Jupiter, Fla. Kathleen Bucher Austin , Texas
David and Sally Hansen Madison East, Wis. Eric Pruitt Palm Beach, Fla.
RALEIGH’S RISING STAR Ashley Wilson, a prominent player in the Raleigh, N.C., real estate community, joined Keller Williams Realty in May. She has posted $76 million in sales over the past three years, won the MAME Award for Top Producer in 2007 and 2008, and was recognized with Coldwell Banker’s National Sales Team of the Year Silver Award. And she’s only been in the business for six years. Wilson got her start selling houses in the Triangle region. It didn’t take her long to get the industry’s attention. She’s been named one of REALTOR® Magazine’s 30 Under 30, she’s built relationships with 25 homebuilders, and she’s sold 200 homes in six years. Deciding that the time was right to start building her business, rather than the business of the company she worked for, Wilson observes, “At Keller Williams, it’s about the people. I want to build my team. I want to help build the wealth of others. I believe in the Keller Williams philosophy. That’s why I made the move.” PROACTIVE IN PALM BEACH Eric Pruitt was the No. 1 agent for RE/ MAX in Palm Beach County, Fla., before he joined the Keller Williams Realty Palm Beaches Market Center in July of 2009. Although Palm Beach County is one of the hardest hit real estate markets in the country, Pruitt is taking a proactive approach to selling real estate by specializing in "highly motivated sellers." In the midst of the downturn, he remains at the top of his game. “I believe in win-win or no deal,” Pruitt says. “So Keller Williams’ commission structure and business model were attractive to me, but it was more than the money. It was the culture and the professionalism of the agents.” Pruitt is raising the bar higher than ever before, and has set new goals for listings, sales and revenues. He points out that the support he’s found at Keller Williams Realty is preparing him to double or triple his million-dollar annual commissions.
Keller Williams value proposition is resonating with top producers like never before. A bright light is shining on Keller Williams Realty, as mega agents throughout North America re-evaluate their options in a tight market. The word is out about the education, the support and business model that has helped make Keller Williams Realty the third-largest real estate company in the United States. As a result, market centers are growing, operating principals are putting together merger deals to roll in neighboring brokerages, and the momentum is building. 6
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“THE WHOLE PACKAGE” Isabel Stephenson’s RE/MAX office was closing and she had a decision to make. In July, she opted to join forces with Keller Williams Realty – the real estate company that’s dominating the Jupiter residential real estate market. Her decision followed 18 months of reflection. The 12-year real estate veteran wanted the training and support Keller Williams Realty offered to help her rebuild her business in a down economy. “This company has the whole package: the commission structure, the support system for agents and the brand recognition in the local market.
Keller Williams Realty
ENTREPRENEURIAL EDGE STILL SHARP During his four-year real estate career, Robert Grunnah quickly became a force in the Austin, Texas, real estate market. He founded Castle Hill Investments to specialize in the sale of investment properties and sold close to $70 million at the height of the market in 2006. In August, he joined forces with the Austin-Southwest market center, where he knows he can remain an entrepreneur, while taking advantage of industry-leading training opportunities. “More experienced agents are now looking at Keller Williams Realty as a viable business model,” says Grunnah, who closed $21 million in 2008. “I can see the tide turning. Mega agents are recognizing the value proposition. INROADS INTO MILWAUKEE A Milwaukee suburb, that’s approximately 90 minutes from Madison, the Brookfield market has barely heard of Keller Williams Realty. That’s all soon to change. The mega agent, husband-wife team of David and Sally Hansen began putting their 30 years of experience to work for Keller Williams Realty this summer. Having been aligned with one of the largest independent brokerages in Madison, Wisc., they signed on with Keller Williams Realty on July 4, a day they now refer to as Independence Day in more ways than one. “We believe in education and training, so Keller Williams Realty was very attractive to us from an operational perspective,” he adds. “This company also focuses more on the agents rather than the brokerage, and they have a much sounder approach to growing. The business model just makes sense.” LUXURY ALIGNMENT Kathleen Bucher has been a major player in the Austin real estate market for nearly two decades. She first hung her license with RE/MAX and then with Coldwell Banker before transferring to the Austin - Southwest market center in August to capitalize on the city’s luxury housing market. A member of the Elite 25, who consistently sells more than $20 million a year, Bucher concedes, “for an agent who does as much business as I do, transitioning to a new company can be complicated. I always have properties under contract. I always carry a high inventory of listings and I always have closings." Nevertheless, she determined that Keller Williams Realty was a move worth making, and she took the leap. “Keller Williams is agent-driven,” Bucher says, “and the luxury division really enticed me because I’ve been growing that part of my business. The opportunity to be a part of such a strong luxury program was a big plus.” All told, she’s wondering why she didn’t make the move two years ago. kw
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TIDE TURNING
P RO F I T S H A R E
Talent surge sweeps North America
Photo by: Sarah Kerver
FRIENDSHIPS FUEL GROWTH STRATEGY
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Avis Wukasch
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“Like everything else, it all comes down to relationships,” says Avis Wukasch, team leader of the Round Rock (Texas) market center. Her market center’s recent acquisition of an outlying suburban office of Moreland Properties, which is based in Austin, Texas, stands as a compelling testimony to the power of integrity and friendships as a
"ALL THE ELEMENTS FOR SUCCESS ARE ALREADY IN PLACE." When Phil Limon joined Keller Williams Realty's Downey-Pico market center in May, he didn’t come alone. 42 agents came with him. A veteran of the business and a broker since 1995, Limon had seen the market’s ups and downs before, but none so challenging as this one. It was time to rethink how he was Phil Limon going to do business. Limon realized that adaptability is crucial in a shifted market. So as someone who had made a name for himself in the greater Los Angeles area and had racked up numerous awards, he was committed to doing what was best for his agents. Affiliating with Keller Williams Realty was a way to stay healthy in a softening market. Attracted by the company's staying power in the midst of the downturn, Limon was impressed most of all by the Keller Williams model and supportive culture. “The company’s agent-first philosophy is what sets it apart no matter how the market is doing,” he says. “This is a place where all the elements for success are already in place.” kw
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Jamie Purvis
David Fogg
Courtney Yates
Photo by: Ben Arnold
Photo by: Titus Bartos
In March of 2009, when agents at the Realty Executives Longwood, Fla., office gathered for their annual awards ceremony, the owners explained that in a shifted market, there Jay Crow Denise LeHeup are changes that real estate agents need to make in order to stay competitive. Having spent the past several months in discussions with market center leaders from the Keller Williams Realty Orlando North Market Center, they had determined that a change in franchise ownership would be in the agent’s best interests. An office of notoriously high achievers, the Realty Executives Longwood office had received the award for being No.1 in their region for so long that Realty Executives had retired them from the competition. The 44 real estate agents who held their licenses there had an average of eight years of experience in real estate. As Jay Crow, market center investor, and Denise LeHeup, the soon-to-be operating principal, stepped up to the podium, the agents listened intently to what the company had to offer and they began to weigh their options. Most decided to join forces. “Overnight, more than 200 Realty Executives listings were converted to Keller Williams listings, and the message went out to the market that Keller Williams is in a growth mode,” Crow says. “But what’s most exciting about this,” LeHeup emphasizes, “is the new talent that we now get to be in business with.”
Photo by: Mark Blinch
Photos by: Scott Wheeler
TO THE ORLANDO MARKET
foundation for growth. The deal was not on the table until Wukasch’s friend and colleague, who had been managing the Moreland Properties office in Georgetown, suffered a stroke. Wukasch visited her friend in the hospital many times, with no thought or discussion of acquiring the office. Having known Wukasch for many years, Emily Moreland contacted Wukasch concerning an acquisition of Moreland Properties’ Georgetown office. One phone call between two well-respected leaders in the Austin-area real estate market was all that it took to set the deal in motion that created a Georgetown, Texas, business center for Keller Williams Realty. “There’s been a wonderful excitement about bringing together our two great organizations,” Wukasch says. “I’ve been watching it with joy and amazement. It’s a living example of what I tell our agents: If you go around negative, you attract negativity. If you go around positive, positive things happen.”
Photo by: Ron Murray
A POWERFUL MESSAGE
Photo by: Sarah Kerver
Excerpted from the May/June and Sept./Oct 2009 issues of OutFront
David Kupfer
Building wealth while spreading the word Excerpted from the July/August 2009 issue of OutFront
Talent follows talent. At Keller Williams Realty, every time a talented associate opens the doors to Keller Williams Realty for another promising professional, they become stakeholders in the market center’s profitability and growth. In 2008, 22,000 Keller Williams associates received profit share income. Here are the stories of four of them. On June 10, 2009, the day that the SHIFT 2: Overdrive tour came to Toronto, Gary Keller addressed a crowd of 900 agents, and Jamie Purvis, associate with the Toronto Centre market center, added the 17th person to his profit share tree. His profit share earnings for the month amounted to $1,481.63. And he’s just getting started. “We build relationships, invite agents to need-based training and follow - up with them through the year.” Often, Purvis observes, when they are ready to make the switch to Keller Williams Realty, they proactively pick up the phone and call him. For many years, the market was racing along with a momentum that swept everyone up in its fast-moving current. Now that the market has shifted, it’s clear to see agents who aren’t performing as well as they could be if they were with a company that supported them, says David Fogg, associate with the Burbank (Calif.) market center. Fogg says that even in this market, his own business is flourishing. Every time that he or a member of The Fogg Team of REALTORS® is asked how they are doing it, the answer is always the same: “Everything I’m doing, I’ve been trained to do at Keller Williams Realty.” Colleagues in the market can’t help but want to learn more. With a profit share tree that numbers 90 associates, Fogg’s approach appears to be working. He continues to build the infrastructure for his profit share tree to grow on its own, but he says that he seldom leads recruiting conversations with talk about profit. Fogg came to Keller Williams Realty because of the training and culture, and that is what draws in new recruits, he emphasizes, but he’s quick to add, “Profit sharing is a great piece of a fantastic pie!”
Keller Williams Realty
PAYING IT FORWARD Courtney Yates, associate with the Nashville-Murfreesboro market center, agrees that it’s education and training that sets Keller Williams Realty apart and sets its associates up to be successful – and she’s living proof. Her team has skyrocketed to No. 1 in the Murfreesboro marketplace, No. 2 in the Greater Nashville market, and No. 5 in all of Tennessee. Knowing the difference that Keller Williams Realty can make in a person’s life, she’s passionate about helping others to grow and succeed and has a profit share tree that is now 58 associates strong. What goes around comes around, and Courtney is investing in others the way she says that others invested in her. She regularly gives away copies of SHIFT, and hosts lunches during which she encourages the exchange of productive ideas and freely shares her own businessbuilding strategies. The turbulent market has led to an environment in which agents are far more receptive to moving their businesses, Yates says. MEGA MISSION “Now is a great time to join Keller Williams Realty” says David Kupfer, associate with the Sonoran Living-Phoenix market center. Offices are closing and agents are looking for a change. With 240 associates in his tree, and another 184 in his wife Nikki’s tree, he says that the two plan to someday live off of their profit share income. Their profit share earnings since they joined Keller Williams Realty in 1999 exceeded $128,876. “Ten years ago, we didn’t know what we didn’t know,” he says, explaining that the company’s events, classes and hands-on training have made a world of difference. kw
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ugh o r h t Breaking ca! i r e m A h ort across N
Keller Williams captures attention of Yale, Stanford MBAs Culture’s impact on strategy
NO "TRYING," JUST "DOING"
Fast Track To The Top
A nine-year veteran of the real estate business, Gary Budek had a solid track record as a top producer – until this year when he describes his production as “dismal.” “I was letting the market get to me and getting entrenched in all the negative talk.” But halfway through the Gary Budek year, he left RE/MAX, signed on with the Spring Hill (Fla.) market center, and enrolled in the BOLD program. That changed everything. During the eight weeks that he was in BOLD, he took 14 listings and closed 21 buyer transactions, quadrupling his production from the first part of the year. I realized that my mind hadn’t been in the game and I needed to take a stand and get back to being the agent that I knew I was. “It’s like they say in BOLD, ‘There’s no trying, just doing.’ We can overthink this business, and when we just do it, it’s amazing. It works.” So much so, that Budek has signed up to take the program again!
Tim Heyl graduated from Texas A&M University last May with a degree in finance and a real estate license that he earned on the side during his last semester. Turning down a solid job offer with a steady income, he signed on with the Austin Southwest market center in June, and on July 2, he enrolled in BOLD. Tim Heyl Over the course of the eight-week BOLD program, he took 10 listings and closed three contracts. His most recent listing was for a $2.99 million property. “If it hadn’t been for BOLD, there’s no way that I would have gone after such an expensive property,” he says. But armed with BOLD scripts and a BOLD mindset, he fearlessly picked up the phone and got an appointment. “I didn’t address my age; I just explained how ambitious, persistent and hard working I am.” Even though Heyl had been in real estate for just a few weeks prior to BOLD, he’s very clear on the difference it’s had on his business. “I got one listing before BOLD, but I felt like it was a matter of luck. “Now I realize that it’s a matter of picking up the phone and doing things that are uncomfortable and doing them all the time – the things that other people don’t want to do. I know that if I haven’t talked with 25 people a day about real estate, that I haven’t done my job. BOLD has made me realize that real estate is as predictable as you make it. Successful agents choose to make it predictable at a high level.” Based on the momentum that Heyl has experienced during his first four months in real estate, he says he’s on track to exceed $200,000 within his first year in the business. “I knew after college that I didn’t want to settle for a salary of $60,000. I wanted a job where the harder I worked, the more money I’d make.” Looks like he’s found it.
BOLD FACTS: Ro
und 1
A total of 599 AGENTS signed on for the first round of BOLD this su mmer, which was taught at 11 locations throughout North America . Collectively, th ey closed 5,582 transactions in seven weeks .
BOLD FACTS: Ro
und 2
1,680 agents si gned on at 22 locations. Projected transa ctions: 21,000!
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Excerpted from the Sept/October 2009 issue of OutFront
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Keller Williams Realty
Excerpted from the July/August 2007 issue of OutFront
Imagine a classroom of 45 Yale School of Management MBA students divided down the middle in a hot debate about whether Keller Williams Realty’s overarching value of God, Family then Business helps or hurts the company. Imagine Mo Anderson, Keller Williams Realty’s vice chairman, sitting in the back of the room, taking it all in. The story of how Keller Williams Realty came to be a part of the MBA curriculums for both the Yale School of Management and the Stanford Graduate School of Business began less than a year ago when Brian Tayan, research associate with the case writing office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, expressed an interest in writing a case study about Keller Williams Realty. Eager to participate in an endeavor that would take Keller Williams’ cultural and economic models to the halls of higher education, Anderson issued one caveat: Tayan would need to attend Launch Boot Camp. He did so and was quickly taken aback by the “openness and enthusiasm among team leaders, operating principals and agents. They were curious and completely forthcoming,” Tayan says. Following Launch, he spoke to Keller Williams’ executive management team, where he encountered the same spirit of generosity and cooperation. “I was truly impressed with the quality of the people and the organization,” Tayan says. The most striking discovery, he points out, is the degree to which “the culture and the economic models work in conjunction with each other. The culture does not exist for its own sake.” TEACHING TOOL Upon returning to Stanford, Tayan completed the case study, in conjunction with James N. Baron, Ph.D., who has researched extensively the issue of how a company’s culture complements its strategy.
Keller Williams Realty
Explaining that case studies are fundamentally developed as teaching materials, Tayan notes that the Keller Williams case study sets forth for students the economic and cultural models that have led to the company’s success. It is slated as part of Stanford’s core MBA curriculum for 2007-08, and made its way to the Yale School of Management this year following Dr. Baron’s acceptance of a professor of management position there. RAPT ATTENTION Anderson accepted Dr. Baron’s invitation to attend the class in which he presented the case study. She says she listened attentively up to the point that she was asked to come to the front of the class to answer questions. “It was clear that the students had really studied the material and were very intrigued about the systems and models that have made our company so successful,” she says. Dr. Baron noted that students found Anderson’s perspective to be a refreshing departure from the formulaic leadership style that they normally encounter. “Having never taken a business class, it was with great pride that I stood before a class of MBA students at the Yale School of Management,” Mo says. “As I did so, I thought about our associates and was filled with gratitude for everyone whose integrity and hard work had enabled me to have this experience.” “This case study provides a pivotal lesson for MBA students on the important role that culture can play in strategy,” Tayan says. “A company’s day-to-day practices need to stand by the values that it professes. “For Keller Williams’ associates, the case study represents a validation for the way the company is proceeding. It should be a source of pride to be a part of a company that is doing so many things right,” Tayan emphasizes. kw
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MO OF RE TH CO AN MM 15 UN 0,00 ITY 0 H SER OU VIC RS E!
R E D A L L OV E R N O RT H A M E R I C A On May 14, 2009, during one of the biggest events ever undertaken by a real estate company, Keller Williams associates across the United States and Canada set a standard of charity, love and commitment in their communities during the inaugural RED Day, which stands for Renew, Energize and Donate. Recognizing her leadership in guiding the culture of Keller Williams Realty, RED Day was held in honor of Mo Anderson’s 72nd birthday. Market centers took to the streets, and the trails, the playgrounds, the food banks, the shelter, the hospitals and so much more! To see more photos from across North America, or to upload your own, visit (http://photobucket.com/kwredday2009)!
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