The Value of Honesty

I just read a story on Yahoo! that completely blew my mind. Brian Davis, a relative new-comer on the PGA tour was in a play-off round with Jim Furyk (a monster player) lined up for his first tour victory of his career. He was hitting the ball out of some weeds and grazed a stray weed on his backswing, a violation of the rules that carries a 2 stroke penalty.

I know many of you are rolling your eyes saying....blah blah blah, golf. But please read on.

The penalty was only confirmed when the officials replayed the television coverage, in slow motion. So big deal right??? The big deal is, no one noticed.....except Davis himself, who called the penalty. The 2 strokes sealed his fate on his first victory of his career on the PGA tour and I'm sure Furyk was excited. The cost of his mistake??? $1 million. That's right, a cool mil seperate first from second place so Brian Davis' honesty was a million dollar penalty.

Golf is in trouble right now. Tiger hasn't really been the ambassador he was and that's a whole deal for other blogs. However, I find the same type of cynicism in the real estate business with consumers. Many reports are cited that have Realtors placing just above lawyers and used car sales men (however, people still use lawyers and drive used cars so that's encouraging). But in business, at least in my business, I don't focus on cost, or how my commission is a percentage point higher than everyone else in my market. I focus on Value.

Brian Davis is a valuable assett to golf right now and if sponsor don't jump all over this, my faith in the decency of American Values will take another hit. It's this kind of honesty, integrity above all other things that make Davis such an amazing person. Give a million dollars for your character??? Absolutely! This Brit should be taken into the homes of every American, his sponsors should be praised and patronized repeatedly. We are flooded with dishonesty all around us.

My value, I will not lie to my customers or clients, no matter how bad the news is. I will not discuss private matters about my customers or clients. I will not jeopordize my integrity or that of my clients in search of a commission. I work hard for my commission, I do twice as many open houses, I write more e-mails than anyone in my market, make more phone calls. I cherish my reputation as a trustworthy individual and feel that's my biggest asset, bigger than all my sales experience and my technique.

Cheers to you Brian Davis, I thank you for your honesty and I plead with your sponsors to take advantage of this remarkable man.

Keep moving it, forward, today, tomorrow, always!

School Days, Golden Rule Days

In a quest to become the best I can be at this game called Real Estate, I recently began taking a class called CREATE 21. We spoke in this evenings class about blogging and it turns out I am the only one currently with a blog. I encourage others to get them and to write little tid-bits from time to time. For example, did you know that home prices have risen in Massachusetts??? That's great news. Did you also know that lending institutions have begun trying to chase down consumers who have already negotiated short sales to collect the difference? Something to be aware of.

Blogging in Real Estate establishes you as a professional. It also makes you a credible and valuable tool when people are looking for more information. People blog these days and it's important in any business to be where your clients are.