Everybody Wins: The Story and Lessons Behind RE/MAX by Phil Harkins;Keith Hollihan

Author:Phil Harkins;Keith Hollihan
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2008-05-04T05:40:00+00:00

Figure 5.1 Theory of Unavoidable Consequences

Liniger was serious. Hachenberger had an oversized coin in his pocket that had been given to him by his great aunt after a trip to Las Vegas. He had carried it with him for good luck every day of his life since he was 12 years old. He took out the coin and handed it to Liniger. Liniger flipped it in the air and caught it on the back of his hand, covering it with his palm. "Let's make sure we understand this again," he said. "If I win, I don't have to pay you. If you win, I do have to pay you. But we have a deal either way." The owner said yes. "Okay, call it." The owner called heads. Liniger didn't even look at it and said, "Every man deserves a good piece of tail." And he uncovered his hand. Tails was the call. The new regional owners of the man's old territory would name their company "Tails Incorporated."

In Florida, Hachenberger was still part of the RE/MAX family, but he saw Denver from a distance now. As RE/MAX International took off and really began to grow, he and Glenda were part of that growth from a different angle, building up their own region beyond anyone's expectations. They had sold everything they owned to make the move to Florida, started over from scratch, and opened a small RE/MAX office above a TV repair shop. All the experience and knowledge they had gained working for RE/MAX International, all those years in the trenches, paid off. They began to build the system and make it grow. Within 20 years, Don and Glenda Hachenberger would have 195 offices with over 5,300 agents doing $19 billion in business. Their success story would be matched and surpassed by others like Sid Syvertson and Steve Haselton in California and Frank Polzler and Walter Schneider in North America and Europe.

RE/MAX achieved its incredible growth despite the fact that it should never have survived at all. There were too many obstacles, sharp turns, and sudden drops for anyone to reasonably expect that the small firm would last, let alone prosper. But the tenacity with which it overcame adversity, strategic mistakes, a lack of resources, personal tragedy, and unlikely odds makes the lessons for those launching their own great ventures all the more powerful. In the RE/MAX experience, if you stick to the dream and stay together, eventually you will win. There will be huge hardships along the way, struggles that you cannot even imagine. When you meet those obstacles, you need to believe in the dream and look out for one another, no matter what comes your way. If you give in, give up, or sell out, you will never know what you might have become. By endurance, you conquer.

• When your dream is threatened, establish a new goal around the dream for your team to refocus on and rally. Relentlessly focusing on an interim objective will provide your team with a sense of purpose and mission.

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