At the Prudential Real Estate Affiliates (PREA) National Sales Convention held March 29-31, one of the keynote speakers, Geoffrey Colvin (Senior Editor-at-large for Fortune Magazine) presented a compelling talk on our economic recovery, how we got here and how we are going to get out of it.
As he was speaking, the thought that came to me was...What if everyone could stop focusing on the next "great depression" but rather see "The Great Opportunity". What have you been focusing on in the past months? Are you open to the opportunities in the market? Are you making the appropriate adjustments in your business plan and daily tactics?
The key points of Colvin's speech that resonated with me included:
- The two main areas to watch and track are:
- Consumer behavior. Colvin explained that this recession showed a distinct "opposite behavior" by consumers compared to previous recessions. Specifically, this time around, the consumer trend leading up to the economic downturn has been increased spending and decreased savings rates.
- The price of risk (tracking the gap between junk bond rates and low-yield instruments)
- This has been historically the longest recession but not the deepest.
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Three things that have to happen to drive the economic recovery:
- Employment rate must increase
- Credit markets have to start working again
- Home prices have to stabilize. Colvin also relayed his belief that "small business owners especially us (Realtors)" were vital to the economic recovery. Housing is after all at the center of this situation
- What the leading companies are doing differently during this down turn and recovery:
- Investing in their core
- Protecting their most valued assets (their people)
- Communicating like crazy (with optimism, the victories and sucesses)
- Creating new solutions for new problems
This last point is "the golden nugget." Are you actively creating new solutions for new issues? What is your "Great Opportunity" and what action steps are you taking to make it your new reality?
