The Insider: Issue 037
Hey. This week, we’re thinking about the state of work, inspirational founder stories and the greatest piece of content marketing of all time. Get at it!
Something Different
A little something different in this space this week...
As you know, things are getting weird in the real estate industry. But among the swirling strangeness it is the hovering presence of the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission that may be the most consequential.
Some stuff is likely to come down this year. Maybe it will turn out to be on the mild side (e.g., ending the Realtor membership requirement for many MLSs), and maybe it will be industry-changing (blowing up cooperation and compensation).
We don’t know.
But we do know that it’s a good idea to start thinking ahead about possible futures. To do that, we’re going to look around.
Because, think about it: the business of selling homes exists all over the world, and that business is done in different ways than we do it here. There is no MLS outside of North America. In Australia, homes are sold in live auctions to mostly unrepresented buyers. Exclusively listings generally aren’t a thing across Europe.
And yet life, and the business of housing, goes on.
It seems like a good idea, then, staring into the face of significant change here in the U.S., to look at how it’s done elsewhere.
With that in mind, we are excited to launch Season 2 of the Inside podcast, Other Ways.
In each 15-minute episode, we will be talking to a real estate professional around the world, and asking them three simple questions:
How does a house get sold in your market?
How does a house get bought in your market?
How do real estate professionals get paid?
Simple. Revealing. And provocative of thoughts about our own future, and how we might want, or need, to do things differently.
Episode 1 launches this week.
As always, we welcome your feedback: [email protected].
Have You Heard About This?
Make It Work
“Our tendency to work too much is neither arbitrary nor sinister: it’s a side effect of the haphazard nature in which we allow our efforts to unfold.” - Cal Newport
“Work, work, work, work, work.” - Rihanna
You’ve probably heard that everyone is burnt out. Apparently, two years of office work conducted nearly nonstop via Zoom has a whole lot of people swirling in late-night existential sweats. But what is the answer, really? No one really quits working, even when they quit their job. They simply move from one set of burnout circumstances to another. What we have here is a societal problem. Cal Newport, a Georgetown computer science professor and author of many books, including “Deep Work,” takes us on an eye-opening journey through what causes modern burnout and what may help us fix it in his New Yorker article on “slow productivity.” Warning: there’s no easy path forward. But it’s nice to know there’s a larger systemic and cultural issue at play here, not just our own inability to control our time.
What's Inside (The Community)
What you may have missed in the Inside Community this week:
A conversation about the term “Sold Over Listing.”
Lessons our members have learned in the past year.
Core values, QR codes, and Superbowl ads.
The Inside Community is your space to start conversations with other members and avail yourself of the collective braintrust.
Inspiration Point
An Amuse-Bouche For the Road
The Michelin Guide is quite possibly the most successful, longest running piece of content marketing in history. Started in 1904 by the French tire company, Michelin, the name has since become synonymous with elite restaurants. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The loss or gain of a star can have dramatic effects on the success of a restaurant. If you don’t know the story of how the Michelin Guide made a tire company the world’s fine dining authority, here’s a great primer. So next time you’re sitting down to drum up a content marketing plan, don’t be afraid to think outside the home maintenance listicles. In fact, we insist.
Fuel For Thought
In 2014, Facebook bought the messaging app WhatsApp for $19 billion. It might surprise and inspire you to know WhatsApp’s founder was a poverty-stricken immigrant who grew up in the most challenging of circumstances. He’s talked a lot about how his upbringing under communist U.S.S.R. fueled his passion for private communication. Read about Jan Koum’s inspirational rise to success. These are the types of stories that fuel an “anything’s possible” drive to keep building.
Quote of the week
“Creativity is the last unfair advantage we're legally allowed to take over our competitors”
— Bill Bernbach
