You have missed the digital revolution. It’s over. If you
didn’t get on the ride by now, it’s too late as it already took off.
When I was 10, I had a great idea I wanted to invent. A battery operated desk fan I could use in
school. (My school didn't have AC at the time!)
I told my father the idea and even made a prototype of my
idea. Students in my 5th
grade class bought it from me for $2. A lot of money in 1980 and to a 10 year
old!
But - My father told me then that anything worth inventing
had already been invented. He said, “There
are no more inventions left," and told me not to waste my time.
To this day, I remember the moment he said this to me. Where I was sitting in our car, and where we
were driving. That 5 second statement
has resonated with me for a lifetime. Later that exact product was sold nationally - but not by
me… Maybe it was my 5th grade
teacher!
Today, I have a 10 and 12 year old. How would they feel and react if I told
them not to use technology? Told them it
was too late for them to learn? They
can’t use it to communicate with their friends via email or text messages. [Picture of kids on abacus and/or rope
phone] Facebook and social media. Cannot use it to research that school project
or type their homework paper. All
because they MISSED THE RIDE…
The reality is many people create excuses to not take
advantage of the technology resources we have.
-
I’m too old
-
I’m too busy
-
It will change tomorrow anyway
You cannot compete today if you do not use technology. You’ve heard this, and many of you know this,
but let’s explore this further.
I entered the commercial real estate business in 1991. 22 years ago when I started my company I
needed a phone and fax machine.
If I didn’t have a fax machine, I would be out of
business! I faxed contracts to my
clients and other brokers. I even sent
out fax blasts to prospects.
It was an exciting day when I upgraded from that thermal fax
machine – you know, the ones where it curled up page after page on the floor
and eventually the text faded from the paper. I upgraded my technology to a LASER fax
machine.
Faxing was great! I
didn’t have to type up a formal letter on the typewriter and mail the contract
or overnight it with FedEX for $10.
Instead, I could hand write a cover letter throw it on the fax, dial the
number and off it went.
We have evolved and continue to evolve.
It’s an exciting time for us in Commercial Real Estate, as
technology has made communication and collaboration much faster, more
efficient, and less expensive.
Contrary to popular opinion, after teaching technology around North America
for the last 5 years, I have discovered that we do not have a generational
technology gap. I’ve taught 20
year olds that have not embraced technology and 80 year olds that have mastered technology, blogs and social media.Our Generational Divide is Collaboration. Today’s youth have been surrounded with information – for FREE. They share their knowledge readily and collaborate with their peers and competition in order to achieve their goals, whether that goal is a class paper or to close a $20 million commercial deal.
Our older generation, my age and above, have been taught
that information is money. Knowing that
property is listed when someone else doesn’t know – gaining information and
keeping it confidential. That is ingrained
into our daily business. The younger generation doesn't understand why would we not share our knowledge and
information to collaborate with others in order to close the deal even faster or grow our
business?
But the younger generation typically doesn't comment on this "collaboration gap". They just walk away confused of our actions
but keeping their comments to themselves.
Maybe they can’t say something - BUT I CAN! To inform you it’s time to share your knowledge and collaborate
with that information. You will be
shockingly surprised on how your information will manifest into something
significant and maybe even life changing if you collaborate and share it –
freely and openly.
I challenge all of you to continue to evolve with technology
– read short blogs, take classes, and buy the cool gadgets. Learn them, use them, invent new uses for
them! I’m here to say that
THERE ARE INVENTIONS LEFT TO BE
INVENTED!
That’s the easy part.
I also challenge you to collaborate.
Collaborate with your team and learn from the 20-somethings on how they
share information. This will be
difficult as you are retraining your behavior. If necessary – REINVENT
yourself.
Information will make you
wise, but sharing information makes you the
EXPERT and a LEADER! Todd A. Kuhlmann, CCIM
