A Holistic business is one that serves ourselves and our families, enriches the lives of our team members, and even has the capacity to give back to our communities.
Dave has built a number of businesses since his 20s. One thing was always the same, though - no matter what the business was. He ended up a slave to them. It wasn’t healthy.
The best analogy that Dave could give is an iceberg. 10% of the mass is on top - that’s what you see. Under the surface is the remaining 90% of the mass. These are the things that you never see. In Dave’s businesses, he focused all his energy on the things that people could see. All his measurables and attention was on sales and GCI.
The things we want to measure are usually the things that boost our ego. What we measure is what we focus on, and what we focus on is what we expand. If we focus on sales, and just the little piece of the iceberg on top, you end up with a lopsided, top-heavy business without a foundation.
Between 1998 and 2000, Dave focused on the top of the iceberg. He focused on what everyone could see. When you focus on the things that don’t matter, you start to lose sight of the things that do.
After a college experience that was incredibly cathartic for Dave, he graduated with honors with an economics degree and started a real estate company in 2003. Now with a different group of people to impress instead of his college friends, Dave adopted the standards of other adults.
When you’re focused on the outward appearance of success, you start to prioritize the things that make you appear successful. For Dave, that was busy-ness. Constantly being occupied by work, looking like you don’t have time for things, and essentially ‘grinding’ your way to the top was what would win the approval of adults.
Only after a failed relationship did Dave realize that he had once again focused too much on things that didn’t matter, and in doing so he had lost sight of the things that did.
As Dave’s real estate business grew, he started seeing competitor’s signs going up and was disappointed to see that his competition surpassed him. His worth was tied up in his market share.
Through the next 2 parts of this podcast series, I want you to pay attention to how Dave’s life shifted as he took the role of an agent and transitioned into his role as an owner. Where do you see yourself in his story?
Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 - and if you haven’t already listened to the episode, check it out here - you won’t want to miss it.
