Editor’s Notice: As SUCCESS celebrates 125 years as {a magazine}, we take the time to mirror and honor the historical past of the publication and its timeless rules.
We additionally look to rejoice those that will stroll with us into the long run and all the guarantees it holds.
On this particular Q&A, SUCCESS Tales podcast host Madison Pieper sits down with Glenn Sanford, SUCCESS CEO, to listen to from the serial entrepreneur about what it means to be a part of such a storied model, and what readers can anticipate in years to return.
You’ll additionally hear from Sanford on the underrated energy of consistency, and the way his stage of unbridled dedication to the following proper step was essential to his success.
This Q&A has been edited for readability and house concerns. To view the interview in its entirety, be part of our social community, The SUCCESS Neighborhood.
Madison Pieper: You’re the CEO of eXp World Holdings, the CEO of Virbela and the CEO of SUCCESS—with the extent of consideration it requires to run your varied enterprise ventures, what does consistency appear like for you?
Glenn Sanford: Consistency permits individuals round you to grasp the way you present up and the way you use, and that makes it simpler for individuals to interact with you as a frontrunner, as an entrepreneur, in a means that’s mutually productive. One of many massive methods to do this is simply being per what you do, how accessible you’re, how individuals join with you, the messages you share. That creates a recurring theme that permits individuals to place you in a field, however it may be an excellent field in that sense.
If I’m the chief, I take a look at how persons are responding: What’s the web promoter rating round regardless of the services or products is? How are we regrouping? Quite a lot of occasions organizations will use a quarterly cadence to regroup. We’ll make the commitments at first of the quarter to work on issues, however towards the tip of the quarter, there’s a bent to get complacent. And so in enterprise, creating a daily cadence—quarterly, weekly—that individuals can belief helps arrange for the following dash.
MP: Adaptability is essential in enterprise. How do consistency and flexibility complement one another?
GS: Adaptability tends to be a factor it’s worthwhile to take a look at on a reasonably common foundation. You may name it innovation: Are you innovating, or are you standing nonetheless? What are your massive aspirational objectives? And are you really shifting towards them? Adaptability is basically to measure how far off beam you’re at some interval.
You could evaluate quarterly and go, “Hey, this was our purpose right here. We ended up over right here. What do we have to do to right?” That’s the place you adapt the plan and the place you develop into agile. It’s about recognizing that not all selections are good selections, and it’s a part of the fail-forward course of that finally will get your services or products to realize market share, achieve acceptance, and resolve the difficulty you could have at hand.
So adaptability is basically simply ensuring that what you’re doing nonetheless is smart, in accordance with the unique plan, or deciding that the plan really must be adjusted. And you’ll adapt to fulfill your objectives, however you can even adapt your objectives.
MP: How do you discover motivation between objectives—once you’ve reached a purpose and there’s one more one within the pipeline.
GS: I believe loads of entrepreneurs battle with that in-between stage. I discover myself in the identical mode, which is, Wow, I’ve simply achieved one thing I’ve by no means thought was achievable. I might simply coast now for the remainder of my life.
Coasting doesn’t serve anyone, and it doesn’t serve our larger objective, however that doesn’t imply you may’t coast on occasion—we name them holidays. Some individuals use sabbaticals, the place you may cling issues up for now to go work on your self so you may come again and do it once more.
The thought is that, finally, you need to carry on determining methods to problem your self and to make a much bigger impression. Making a much bigger impression additionally carries extra danger—reputational danger, monetary danger—and I believe that’s one of many the reason why coasting is so fascinating to individuals as soon as they’ve made it. They sit and contemplate, Effectively, ought to I simply play the protected sport now? Or ought to I’m going for it once more?
For me, it’s one thing that I work on, as a result of on occasion, I’ll sit there and assume, I’ve hit objectives I didn’t ever assume I’d hit, after which, What needs to be my subsequent purpose?
MP: That’s nice for the massive, North Star objectives, however what about smaller objectives? How do you follow purpose setting in your on a regular basis life?
GS: It relies on the way you outline these smaller objectives. I believe loads of occasions, in the event you’re actually working in your larger objectives, you get the smaller objectives by default.
One of many advantages of pondering larger is that in the event you do this, you may take into consideration all of the issues that may come together with it. Perhaps you need to run a 5K and also you’re not a runner. Effectively, possibly you practice to run a half marathon. You’re going to have to have the ability to run a 5K to be able to run a half marathon, so that you begin to consider, what’s the gamification you are able to do on your self to robotically create the end result you’re in search of by merely taking part in a much bigger sport?
MP: Shoot for the celebs, land on the moon.
GS: Precisely.
MP: That mentioned, do you consider in setting sensible objectives or do you assume it’s OK to dream as an entrepreneur on occasion?
GS: You must consider you may really obtain the objectives you set, as a result of in the event you don’t, then sooner or later you’re going to go, Why the heck am I even making an attempt? The entire concept of excellent purpose setting is to set them simply out of attain however not out of sight—that means that in the event you can see them, you will get there.
The flip facet of it’s, in the event you don’t consider you are able to do it, however you’re within the house, then develop into a pupil of no matter enterprise or business or topic you’re desirous about till you discover that factor that actually sparks an curiosity for you.
MP: Do entrepreneurs ever graduate from being college students?
GS: I believe by definition, entrepreneurs are all the time making an attempt one thing new, whether or not that’s creating a brand new class of enterprise or launching a brand new services or products. Definitely, you might be an entrepreneur and be pulling collectively an entire bunch of franchises, too, fascinated with tips on how to set up these from a administration perspective. However there’s a elementary studying that’s occurring on a regular basis.
For me, that’s in all probability been one among my robust fits. I’ve actually taken to listening to books, studying, making an attempt to be round different profitable individuals as one thing I’m actively engaged in, and it labored. I’ve been capable of finding issues I can incorporate into the enterprise that would really take us to the following stage sooner. As an entrepreneur, you need to be centered on inner course of enhancements.
You additionally should concentrate on tips on how to articulate your services or products to {the marketplace} in a means that permits you to set your self aside. What’s your really distinctive promoting proposition? Quite a lot of occasions you don’t determine it out except you research different individuals who have come earlier than you and who’ve give you distinctive services and products and distinctive methods of doing issues.
Studying is one thing you simply have to repeatedly do. After which from there, you’re going to cross that data onto the following technology of leaders, or the individuals you’re influencing to assist them stage up. I’ve discovered that entrepreneurs are two issues: They’re frequently studying, however they’re additionally frequently implementing.
MP: There’s entrepreneurs, after which there’s serial entrepreneurs corresponding to you. How do you keep constant methods and practices all through every of your companies after they all have such completely different objectives?
GS: eXp Realty is 70,000-plus brokers and brokers in 18 plus international locations, and it’s the fastest-growing actual property firm within the historical past of residential actual property. I actually understood that I did each operate in that enterprise. Then we purchased different corporations like Virbela and SUCCESS, and what I’ve discovered is there’s completely different working kinds in every enterprise. Each enterprise has its personal nuances and its personal historical past, so we’ve to determine tips on how to take the issues that work for us in a single firm and work it into one other firm—whether or not it’s, how will we set up? How will we retool? How will we create a cadence round completely different stuff? It’s not an in a single day factor.
After which the query actually is what finally are we making an attempt to attain in these companies? I believe eXp has a singular enterprise in that we actually answered a necessity for actual property professionals. I believe on the Virbela entrance, we’ve solved for, how do you run giant organizations utilizing a digital world for enterprise platform? After which SUCCESS, how do we expect larger? After which how will we get individuals all in on the following iteration? I believe that’s the factor that I hold coming again to, is how will we create one other massive furry audacious purpose for various corporations with wealthy histories after they come into our ecosystem?
MP: Talking of SUCCESS, it is a actually massive 12 months for the journal: its one hundred and twenty fifth anniversary. What does it imply so that you can be part of that legacy?
GS: It’s very surreal. I’ve been studying SUCCESS for the reason that ’80s. I’ve picked it up and subscribed to it at completely different occasions in my life. Studying about entrepreneurs—about what they tried, what labored, what didn’t work—that was the factor that all the time obtained me fascinated with one other concept. That’s the purpose: I ought to be capable of choose up the journal, thumb by way of it and discover two or three various things I can implement into my life, into my enterprise, into the best way that I work together with individuals, and that may take me to the following stage.
That’s what SUCCESS has accomplished for me so many occasions over time. It has added to my means to assume in a means that helped me create an organization that’s now a multibillion-dollar enterprise. So it’s actually an honor to be on the duvet, and it’s a privilege to be in a job the place I’m ready so as to add some affect on the journal for a time period.
MP: What does the way forward for SUCCESS appear like for you?
GS: One of many issues we acknowledged once we purchased SUCCESS was that this was a model that wanted to broaden. We’ve obtained {a magazine}, we’ve obtained digital, and we’ve obtained programs, however we noticed the chance to introduce issues like SUCCESS Teaching and SUCCESS Audio system Bureau, too. So if anyone is in search of an individual to assist them stage up their pondering of their group, we are able to do this. We’ve additionally obtained a coworking idea—SUCCESS Area—the place you’re in a position to carry SUCCESS into your local people and share it with different individuals such as you who wish to go to the following stage.
MP: Because the CEO and canopy of SUCCESS, what would you like our readers to be taught probably the most from you?
GS: When you can consider it, you may obtain it. I believe that’s actually what it comes all the way down to. You take a look at Elon Musk—he believed that he might construct the electrical automobile, that’s why he invested in and constructed up Tesla. He did the identical factor with SpaceX. You take a look at Jeff Bezos—he believed that he was going to have the ability to benefit from a development in e-commerce on the web. I believe what you may see from all of the individuals who have been there, is that this: All of them, at one time limit, thought they may do one thing now. They thought they may do one thing that loads of different individuals earlier than them had not been in a position to do efficiently. However they believed it.
There’s a distinction between believing you are able to do it and believing you’ll do it. I used to be in my mid-30s once I first began to actually consider in my means to perform my objectives. By that point, I knew sufficient about web lead technology, I understood actual property, I had an excellent mentor in that enterprise. I believed that I would achieve success, versus believing I might achieve success. That was the time limit when issues actually turned for me: I used to be committing to success, and on daily basis since then, I’ve been working constantly on being the success I knew I’d be.
This text initially appeared within the March/April 2022 Difficulty of SUCCESS journal. Photographs by Christopher Patey.
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