Principles: What we live by at JohnHart Real Estate

Our company’s founding principles are the bedrock on which we make good choices and gain a competitive edge. Our principles are statements of what we stand for and believe. It’s no longer enough to just have values that we add to our handbook or include on our website. We need to live by a set of rules and ensure they are ingrained in our DNA in order for us to believe them.

Personal Behaviors... Creating a culture of adults

• Act like an owner/partner

  • ...and you will eventually be one.
  • Spend the firm’s money as if it were your own.
  • Don’t trade your time or talent for compensation.
  • Live with passion, positivity, and excitement every day without exception.
  • Be determined to better your best every day.
  • Develop trusting relationships across all departments, not just yours.
  • Avoid concentrating solely on getting the job done. Work on developing an interest in how the business functions.
  • Create an entrepreneurial spirit by keeping your heart and mind fully engaged in your work.
  • Hold yourself and others accountable. Don’t be afraid to tell the truth.
  • Don’t sacrifice long term value for short term success.
  • “That’s not my job” is never an option.
  • Scale the unscalable.
  • Break the impossible into possible parts and tackle them one piece at a time.

• Honesty is 100% the best policy

  • Anything on your mind should be addressed.
  • Never ever say anything about anyone that can’t be said to their face.
  • Being open and honest doesn’t mean you’re not loyal to the firm.
  • Zero tolerance for anyone who is dishonest.
  • You can’t be heard if you don’t speak.
  • Identify what you don’t know instead of focusing on the things you do know.

• Mistakes are tolerated, not learning from them and repeating them is not

  • Own the mistakes you make… Don’t dwell on them.
  • The most productive approach is to admit the mistake, learn from it, and move on with resolve not to repeat it.
  • Don’t make excuses… Improve.
  • Success demands working towards perfection.
  • Punishing yourself for mistakes (especially repeatedly) is counterproductive. Avoid this at all costs.
  • Stop concentrating on how you look and keep your focus on the goal you’re trying to achieve.
  • Don’t worry about who gets credit for the wins and losses, and pay attention to your responsibilities.
  • Always reflect. Effective people are reflective people.
  • Audit your weaknesses early and often. Identify them by writing them down and working on them. Help others identify them as well.

• Success gets in the way of future success

  • Don’t lose your edge by thinking that because you succeeded today you will succeed tomorrow.
  • Be humble. You’re very important but recognize that the world will function without you.
  • Success is not permanent and failure is not fatal.
  • Always be learning. Even if you think you know it, listen to what others have to say.
  • Don’t argue with someone who might be right. Listen intently and respond thoughtfully.
  • Practice being silent. There’s more wisdom in a measured, intelligent response than a quick one.
  • Success is a lousy teacher.
  • Allow your critics to drive you.
  • Question the status quo.

• Hiring the right person doesn’t always equal hiring the most qualified

  • Look beyond the resume.
  • Don’t hire for their current job, hire for their next one.
  • Hire people you would share a meal with.
  • Your stomach is more intelligent than your head. Trust it.
  • Enthusiasm, passion, ambition, and the right attitude are non-negotiables.
  • Curiosity, insight, innovation, and determination are hallmarks of potential.
  • We only hire to retire.
  • The best job of their life requires constant, gentle pressure.

• Manage your team effectively and come from contribution

  • Maintain good communication… No harm in not knowing. But not asking is too often a catastrophe.
  • The customer might not always be right, but we make a living from the customer and need to ensure we understand their needs and our responsibilities.
  • Customer service training is an everyday thing.
  • Don’t just give up. If you see something wrong, address it and make sure it never happens again.
  • Teach them to fish. Saying you will just do it yourself shows weakness. The more you teach the more important things you will do.
  • Don’t jeopardize the integrity of the firm because you’re uncomfortable with confrontation. If you’re certain, stick to your guns.
  • Being a good leader means being decisive.
  • If you expect your staff to commit to their work, you need to do the same.
  • If someone on your team is not doing a good job, look at yourself first. Find the mistake in training rather than the employee’s ability.
  • Hold people accountable and expect them to return the favor.
  • Be clear and assign tasks. Set deadlines but be open to change.
  • Run your team like a conveyor belt runs in a machine.
  • Start every morning by communicating your expectations with your team.
    • End the day reviewing wins and losses.
  • Keep score & evaluate constantly.
  • Don’t tolerate mediocrity.
  • If you feel someone on your team is a bad fit, fire them. Much worse to keep someone who does not belong.

• Be proud of what we are doing

  • Help us become a company you are proud to add to your resume.
  • WOW has to be constant.
  • Be the envy of our industry.
  • If you expect others to love your work, you have to love your work first.
  • Extraordinary results require extraordinary efforts.
  • Come to work every day looking to make a difference.
  • A feeling of accomplishment comes from your efforts, rather than the efforts of others.
  • Don’t ever worry about your position or title, worry about doing the work and the rest will take care of itself.
  • Know you can accomplish a lot more if you don’t care who gets credit.
  • The only person you’re trying to impress is yourself.
  • Approach every day with the same mindset: don’t rest until one person has benefited from your existence.

• Purpose driven

  • Identify what gets you up in the morning and motivates you.
  • Connect people to their purpose.
  • Don’t rely on natural ability, work towards exceptional skills.
  • Confidence in knowing we’re looking to get you one step closer to your purpose.
  • The work must have meaning and make a difference.
  • Tap into your power and help us transform an industry that hasn’t seen change since the beginning.

• Be obsessed

  • ...with doing one more every day.
  • ...with our clients’ success.
  • ...with our agents’ overall experience.
  • ...with being happy.
  • ...with success.
  • ...with tomorrow.
  • ...with excellence.
  • ...with purpose.
  • ...with you.

• Think beyond today

  • Deliver results.
  • Innovation is not just the responsibility of one person at the company.
  • Real innovation is not in anyone’s job description, it’s the responsibility of us all, including our customers.
  • Listen to what’s missing. Tell someone about it and let’s build it together.
  • All hands on deck are required for true innovation to occur, to become a company that will be around beyond tomorrow.

• Do more with less

  • Be smart and proactive.
  • A strategic sorting of priorities is a required practice.
  • If everything is a priority, nothing is.
  • Fake work is not real work. Being busy doesn’t mean you’re productive.
  • Hard work can still get you on the road to nowhere.

• The 80/20 principle

  • Identify what your 20% is and tackle it first.
  • Segregate your list into “must do” and “should do.” Your day does not end until your must dos are completed.
  • Evaluate your list daily. Focus on the important tasks that are going to give you the biggest results first.
  • 20% of your customers will give you 80% of your revenue. Identify your 20%.
  • Identify if the 80% of your customers that give you 20% of your results have the potential to move into the 20%.

• Understand that everyone is different and you need to adapt

  • What’s important to you is not important to them.
  • Everyone has different values.
  • Everyone has different principles.
  • Everyone has different skill sets.
  • Everyone has different abilities.
  • Figure out who they are so you know exactly what to expect from them.

• Responsiveness

  • Be the first one to answer the question.
  • If it’s broken, fix it.
  • Answering sooner is better than answering later.
  • A problem never goes away, it just becomes larger.
  • If you feel something or someone is not being treated fairly, it is your responsibility to speak up.
  • You are not responsible for what happens to you, but you are responsible for how you respond.

• Set a goal. Then push yourself past it.

  • Read. Learn. Progress.
  • Smile, breathe, and execute. The S.M.A.R.T (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time- bound) system was used to define your goals.
  • The people responsible need to know about your goal. Don’t assume they know. Communicate.
  • Break it up.
  • Commit to reviewing them every single day and plan to talk to someone about them once a day.
  • Think for yourself. Act for yourself. Discover what you’re capable of.
  • Be action and result oriented. Always review the day before ending the day.
  • Free your mind… By writing everything down.
  • You have 1440 minutes every day. Break it up.

• Hear every side of the story

  • Don’t jump at the opportunity to make up your mind too early.
  • Don’t generalize. Address the problem by addressing the person creating the problem.
  • Commit to a supportive work environment. Every single person that works for the company needs to be confident they can exceed their highest potential.
  • Try to say yes to everything and everyone. If you have to say no, explain why and make sure the person you’re saying no to understands your reason.

• Learn, refine, repeat and learn some more

  • Be open to feedback. You don’t need to agree or disagree, you just need to hear it.
  • Don’t keep your mistakes a secret. Share. Chances are someone is about to make the same mistake you just made.

• Life is simple, but we insist on making it complicated

  • Simple living, high thinking.
  • Always ask what it would look like if you were forced to keep it simple.
  • Stop meaning what you don’t say. Communicate clearly.
  • Waiting to do things the minute before it’s due is a very complicated life to live.
  • Drama and gossip in life we can always live without. Listen to your mother.
  • Blaming others for issues only complicates things. Own it or it will own you.
  • Patience, more than anything else, defines your day.
    • Be mindful of why you feel the need to rush.
    • Practice waiting for things.
    • Become comfortable with the uncomfortable.
    • Practice meditation. Daily breathing exercises should be part of your regular routine.
    • Start the day by writing down three things you’re most grateful for.
  • Never respond with negativity. Change your unhelpful bitterness into determination.
  • 90/10 rule when it comes to problems. Focus 90% of your energy on the solution and only 10% on the problem.
  • Run your own race and never compare yourself to anyone else. Your chapter three today is a lot different than their chapter nine yesterday.

• We’re in the service business

  • Every single department is the customer service department.
  • Speak with a smile on your face even when you’re on the phone.
  • One agent, one customer, and one home at a time.
  • Deliver exceptional service every day, not just on your good days.

• Empathy for everything and everyone

  • Spend time trying to understand context.
  • Stereotypes or common sense won’t get you anywhere.
  • Don’t judge the person you’re dealing with without walking a mile in their shoes.
  • Everything good we do is because of good people.