Adaptability is the new competitive advantage, building a community around your business, developing a positive workplace culture and using AI to grow your business without growing your costs, were just some of the main themes to come from Elite Retreat 2023.
Set in beautiful Bali at The Mulia resort, almost 200 Elite Retreat delegates walked away challenged, inspired and motivated to make change in their businesses, not just when it comes to AI, but what it takes to change their mindset, motivation and attitude towards the future.
We will be bringing you loads of great Elite Retreat 2023 content over the coming weeks, but for now, these are four tips we couldn’t wait to share.
Future Crunch – AQ is the new competitive advantage
Future Crunch’s Tane Hunter and Rhea Mercado kicked Elite Retreat off with an inspiring presentation that delved into the history of change and artificial technology.
The pair said irrespective of what industry people work in, employers were increasingly looking for those not just with emotional intelligence (EQ) but a high adaptability quotient.
Tane said to be successful, retreat delegates would need to prepare for the ‘knowns’ as well as the ‘unknowns’.
“Employers are looking for people who can flexibly shift, and do many things quite well rather than one thing perfectly,” he said.
But, thankfully, humans are “wired” for this, according to Tane.
He said our brains and hands are “way better than AI” and our intelligence was “evolutionary”, which is why we are different to not just who we were last year, but last month and last week.
“Our ability to adapt allows us to change.”
Rhea said AQ – the ability to determine what is relevant, unlearn obsolete knowledge and flourish in an environment of fast and frequent change – was “the new competitive advantage”.
“Your AQ doesn’t depend on age or experience… it’s all about attitude,” she said.
“AQ is a mindset you can choose and change.”
Tim Duggan – Build a moat around your business
Tim Duggan’s keynote presentation on Cult Status: How to build a business people adore had Elite Retreat delegates talking well after Tim stepped off stage.
The author of a book of the same name, as well as Killer Thinking: How to turn good ideals into brilliant ones, Tim revealed the seven steps delegates need to turn everyone around them into lifelong advocates for their business and what they do.
He emphasised the goal was to create a community of raving fans that would naturally and organically promote your and your business to others.
“Community is one of the best moats to build around your business, as a way of protecting your business,” Tim said.
He said the first step in doing that was to create an impact statement, which is something all of the successful businesses he studied when writing Cult Status did.
“Before they talk about a fancy name, the thing they thought about first is, ‘What actual impact can I have’?” Tim said.
“What the hell does all of this mean?”
Tim said an impact statement should be just as important as a mission statement, but businesses often didn’t have one.
“A mission statement is something everyone should have,” he said.
“It explains what you do, but what it doesn’t explain is the impact you will have when you do that.”
He said a good impact statement included a mission statement, a connector, a goal and why you wanted to achieve that goal.
For example:
“Help people discover and refine the impact they want to have (mission statement), so that (connector) 500 people a month (goal) are more motivated, fulfilled and clear on how they can contribute to the world (the why).
“You need to think impact first,” Tim said.
Mark Carter – Tap into emotional value
International speaker, trainer and coach, Mark Carter had delegates on the edge of their seats as he examined the five elements of value – Tangible Value, Emotional Value, Service Value, Relationship Value and Personal Value.
But it was when telling the quirky story of a tour guide that forgot his research and script that Mark really made an impact on delegates.
Mark said the tour guide, James, didn’t panic, but instead had the tourists put on blindfolds before taking them to the Eiffel Tower.
When they were standing in front of the tower, the tour guide had them remove their blindfolds and it was this moment, staring at the iconic landmark, that created the biggest sense of being ‘in Paris’ throughout the whole tour.
How did an error lead to creating such a memorable experience for tour guests?
Mark said it all came down to Emotional Value, creating a sense of excitement and making the tourists feel special.
He said agents can use the same philosophy with their prospects and clients too.
“How can you create the feeling that they are being ‘upgraded’ in their dealings with you?” Mark asked.
“Tap into that emotional value – story, senses, personal and unique.
“Then add a touch of creativity for that extra wow.”
Hannah Gill – take care when letting people go
In her session on creating a culture playbook, The Property Collective’s Hannah Gill examined the best way to let a team member go or move on.
She stressed that how someone departed an agency could have a significant impact on team morale, productivity and future success.
Hannah said even in situations where a relationship with an employee ended on less than positive terms, leaders should try and make the exit process as smooth as possible as opposed to “marching an employee out the door”.
“Other employees see that,” Hannah said.
“Then they’re scared to speak up about anything difficult.”
Hannah also revealed a story about a time a PM came to her seeking a change to her role and, while Hannah fought the employee’s case with management, the end result was a ‘no’.
So, Hannah helped the team member leave the agency on a positive note to gain job satisfaction elsewhere.
A few years later, the ‘perfect role’ the team member had been seeking came up at her old agency and she returned – a fact Hannah said would not have happened had the team member departed on bad terms.
- Feeling a bit of FOMO and wishing you’d gone to Elite Retreat 2023? Well, don’t miss out in 2024, when we head to Hamilton Island in August. Find out more and secure your spot here.
