Oct. 18, 2007 - Generation AE

I've spent the better part of an hour staring at this blank page, wondering how to coalesce my thoughts on paper after the last few months of major change in my personal and professional life.

Perhaps the best way to do this is to start with my personal change. I've been the manager of a real estate association for the past 29.5 years, and at the end of September, I retired from that position. It wasn't easy-I love my job and the people I work for, but it was time to move on. I'd planned this, researched it, and was looking into every option available to me. I'd also completed a year of personal coaching and I'd finished some coaching training programs as well. And finally, I'd managed to complete some major home maintenance programs-painting, new windows, repairs. I'd given the Directors plenty of notice and they had begun the process of hiring for the AE position. I'd even scheduled in a hip replacement surgery so the physical part of me would be up and running in good order.

I was well positioned to begin thinking about "new"-new life, new body parts, new job. And as I geared up my consulting and training presentations, I was thinking about the tremendous reinvention that is going on in the real estate industry-new business models, new economic conditions, new membership profile. I dedicated a part of my consultant slide presentation to the dichotomy in the Realtor membership, The Geezers and the Geeks. And just last month I did a presentation for an AE seminar on the skills the AE needs to build association community within the emerging demographic of younger members.

As I thought about those trends, and began talking about them to my peers and to Realtor association leadership, I could see the clear distinctions between the generations of member needs and leadership styles, and I began to identify tools and techniques which successful association managers might need to have. And while I was thinking about these things, along came Realtor AEs Ryan and Stephanie and a letter which said, they were "working to compile a list of the Generation X & Y (21-35-something) Realtor Association Executives for a new group called "Generation AE." This group will not only be an opportunity for young Association Executives to network, but also to share experiences and ideas and learn together how the future of the Realtor Association is changing with generational influences in leadership, membership, and programs."

The letter further explained, "Generation X&Y Association Executives may find themselves in a maze of confusion in relating to their membership and leadership in subjects such as Technology, Community Outreach, and giving Realtor Associations a new perspective the future of Real Estate, MLS and the Realtor Association structure. "

Wow! I fired off a letter to them, volunteering my support. Not in my wildest dreams would I qualify as a member (see "joint replacement" and "retirement" as mentioned above), but I sure want to know more about what's happening. The group itself ("Generation AE") is a good example of how the younger Realtor members tend to behave in a group setting. First, they clearly identify an issue. Secondly, they ask the question, "How can we fix the problem?" And third, they take the initiative to begin the solution process.

What they have no patience with is 'paying their dues' for the sake tradition, sacrificing personal values for that tradition, and spending time in activities which do not contribute to their personal 'quality of life'. This means is that the Ryans and Stephanies of the world are not going to wait until they 'grow into a leadership position' to try and fix a problem. They are not going to spend a lot of time and energy waiting for the established decision-makers to catch up. And they are going to seek solutions through action initiatives which include anyone who can assist them in their goal.

"What do these people (the Generation AE group) want?" groused an AE friend of mine. "I have wisdom and experience to offer. Are they just throwing that overboard?"

"No," I answer. "I think what they want is application. They want to better accomplish the goals we all have, but in a new setting with new techniques."

Let's take 'participation' as an example. The very first Realtor meeting I attended almost 30 years ago had as its underlying theme "Our members won't participate. Only 20% come to our General Membership Meetings." Today I talked to an AE on the phone, and she said "Our members won't participate. We need to have 50 people at the annual meeting and only 25 are registered."

The issue seems the same: members don't participate. How do I know? Because they don't come to meetings.

But I maintain that the issue isn't the same-it's vastly different. Why? Because thirty years ago, 'showing up' was how everyone judged participation. As Realtors we formed local associations to be 30 miles apart so people could get to local meetings. We formed state associations with intricate geographical representation so that everyone was heard from. And we held three national association meetings a year in fun places with lots of adjunct social activities so that we could entice member s to show up for mini-vacations. We based the success of the meeting not on what was accomplished, but on how many people were there to be counted.

In today's world, people don't 'show up.' They don't show up to shop, attend meetings, go on home tours, or vote. However, in the world of the Internet, participation is not dead. On-line retail operations know that purchasing a product is more than buying the thing-it's a social network experience as well. You go to the online store and the fun begins: you can look at the options, know if they are in stock, read what others have said about the product you're considering, even read about the options people selected if they didn't buy the exact product you are looking at. And once you own the product, you have a social responsibility to rate it, explain your satisfaction level, and even post additional photos if you wish.

In addition, you as a consumer become known to the retailer. You will someday get a message like "Didn't your prescription just run out?", or "Isn't it time to change the oil in your auto? " If you are Ryan or Stephanie, you rely on these commercial networks to support you, and you consider it your obligation to do your share-to warn others about chintzy products or dirty hotel rooms or high-priced gas. In other words, as a Generation person your sense of social responsibility hasn't changed or, if it has changed, it's deepened.

Ryan and Stephanie understand these concepts, and they want to learn how to apply them to the world of association management. They want to challenge the idea that participation is judged by the number of faces in the room or that the exclusive use of an MLS is to buy and sell property. They want to build association community in new ways, using new technologies to deliver products and services. They want to learn marketing lessons from e-Bay and Amazon and L.L. Bean, customer service from Disney, and product innovation from Google.

I remember serving on the NAR Strategic Planning Committee when Richard Mendenhall suggested we needed to learn to "Think Outside the Box" (a new phrase back then), and he took us to see Cirque du Soleil the evening before we began our committee work. We saw "O" and I learned that sometimes things are not black and white, that you can't always tell water from air, and that 'eau' is indeed the essence of life. I also learned that the splendor of the performance is only a small part of its magic-there are 70 suited divers under the water helping performers appear and disappear at exactly the right second, and that there is vast and intricate technology involved in creating such a stunning show.

And I say to Ryan and Stephanie, "Go for it!" The Generation AE can bring us the richness, vision and energy our Realtor association needs at a time when we very badly need it.