More Golden Rule, less smoke and mirrors. If we could get that idea through our society, it would be great. My goal is a bit less ambitious though. I would just like to get that idea through to those that I deal with on a professional basis every day. I’m not throwing stones at everyone involved in the real estate industry, indeed over the years I have picked out a group of professionals that I choose to work with because I can trust them. I cull the ones that I can’t pretty quickly…and so do other professionals in the industry, I might add. However, people come and go from our industry, as do buyers and sellers. I guess my folly is the belief that everyone would like to stay in business long-term, and therefore will do what is right. I have made a conscious decision to trust first in all of my life’s relationships, and business is no different. If you don’t choose to trust first, then you end up being one of those people that no one trusts. Jaded if you will. I guess that’s the reason I feel blindsided by misdeeds and untruths that people are involved in. Why shouldn’t we have an industry where people trust and are trustworthy? I understand that all news is not good, but just because it isn’t does not give you the right to hide it, spin it, ignore it, or flat-out lie about it. Rest assured that it will come out at some time. Maybe you bargain that you will be long-gone before it does, and maybe you are right. How does that help you when you lay your head down on your pillow at night? Facing a problem head-on may not be the most comfortable thing, and it might even make the deal go sour. However if you do that, then you will not be the one who is responsible for the hurt feelings, lawsuits, and other injurious occurrences. You may have to deal with some of those things, yes…but not because you are at fault. That’s a whole different position to work on a problem from. It’s a position of strength and certainty. You needn’t hide anything that you have done, or try to remember your version of how it happened, or invent a scenario that puts you in a better light.
This is not the popular way to climb today’s ladder of “success”. Most people want to short-cut the tried and true method of honest dealing. In society as a whole people will claw at you, climb over you, and knock you off the ladder just to better their position. Often this is done with total disregard for the downstream consequences for themselves and their victims. Often these same people are the first ones to cry out as victims themselves. I would argue that ill-gotten “success” is not success at all though. It’s willful defeat with a tainted sugar-coating that will eventually melt away. Step back and take a look at your business practices. Would you like to be treated the way that you treat others? Would you trust yourself if you were involved in a transaction with someone just like you? If you did not answer yes to both of those questions, please accept my gracious request that you find another line of work, or seriously change your business practices before we all catch up to your game. More Golden Rule, less smoke and mirrors.
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I’m a little puzzled Mr. King….maybe even a lot puzzled!!! You initiate your article by stating that you don’t mean to lump your professional peers all in one bad basket, yet your proceed to do just that in my opinion. Maybe its you who should be more careful in those you choose to deal with.
Frankly, I find the professional participants in our undustry, generally and genuinely honest, fair, and knowledgeable, across the board. Of course there are some bad apples, true in every line of work. Your goal to get “the message” across to those with whom you deal, is probably working….I just hope you don’t offend many of them in the process. Jim Thompson, Coldwell Banker Lake Oconee GA
Thanks for your comments Jim. One of the major problems we have in our society today is everyone being so caught up in being politically correct that we think it is wrong to offend anyone, for any reason. While I am not a proponent of being offensive for it’s own sake, sometimes it is warranted. Again, I will state that my policy is always to trust first. As I have grown as a Christian, husband, father, and businessman I have learned that right and wrong really is a black and white issue…there are no shades of gray. An action or thought is either 100% right, or it’s wrong. I know that’s not a popular idea in today’s society either, but popularity has absolutely nothing to do with correctness…And, just as you have stated, I do find a majority of the people that I work with to be generally honest and professional.
Robert, thank you good sir for your concern for professional ethics. It is always good to be mutually encouraged to be blamelessly above reproach in our lives and business. However,even then we may be victimized by the dishonest. Let us not fret about these people. They almost always self destruct. Their reputation does follow them,and they find themselves without any respect from others or joy in life.
Fearing God and keeping his commandments and binding truth around our lives makes for good and happy business, good reputation and has eternal rewards as well.This is success for the ages to come and for eternity. thanks Robert. Dan Wolf
Thanks for your comments, Dan. Well put.