The following is a true story. The names were not changed and only the mistakes were innocent.
Not too many years ago I took a month off and traveled to India (for those new to the real estate profession, there was actually a time one could take a long vacation and still be successful). India was not so much a destination of choice as it was obligation: I was married at the time and my wife’s family is from there. In any case, I found myself in India.
It is common for foreigners traveling in India to become sick the first week (the malady even has a name: New Delhi belly). When I began feeling better I wanted to go for a run. From the tenth floor window of our hotel room I looked down upon a large, undeveloped space bounded on all sides by city streets – roughly the equivalent of a city block. I guesstimated a lap to be just short of a half mile and headed down to get in an hour’s worth of exercise. Seemed simple enough from the tenth floor. Strange thing though: once on the ground the loop was not nearly as obvious and that third left turn just never appeared. I was quickly lost:
Lesson 1: No matter how great or simple or brilliant your marketing plan, things can and will go wrong.
I decided that I would keep going, counting on the innate, natural sense of direction all males possess… (I’ll pause for a moment while the women stop laughing). Two and half hours later I decided I was really lost. Nothing looked familiar and I was no longer even in town. It was also at this point that I stopped and took a good hard look at my situation: “I am lost, I don’t speak the language, I don’t have any ID with me and I’m not carrying any money. Hmmm, this is not good.” I decided to enlist some help; I was pretty much all-in after running for over two hours and imagined everyone back at the hotel worried sick. Plus, there was the ‘spectacle’. You have to imagine me – 6’1, 240 lbs, dressed in a t-shirt and black Lycra running shorts – kind of towering over all these locals who couldn’t for the life of them understand why anyone would need to run in order to stay in shape. Their daily lives of manual labor provided all the exercise they needed. To say I was being stared at would be an understatement of massive proportions:
Lesson 2: When things go wrong, don’t panic or lose your head. Evaluate the situation and create a Plan Of Action.
The first thing I did was look for a policeman… There are surprisingly few policemen in the countryside of India. Then I looked for some type of taxi… There are even fewer cabs than there are policemen. Next I looked for a phone. Now you have to understand that in India they don’t have phone booths, they have these little rooms (like a small storefront) with a couple of phones and one or two employees who usually speak some English. I found one! In I marched, relieved, large and in charge. “I need to call my hotel. May I see a phone book please?” Blank looks. Apparently, the few policemen to be found in the countryside are sitting in the even rarer cabs and reading the only phone books in existence. “Alright, no problem” I said. “What is your number for information?” Now the blank looks became blank stares. “Ah” I thought to myself “there’s that comforting stare I grew accustomed to outside.” I went back out and looked for another answer. As if by miracle, it appeared right in front of me: a rickshaw:
Lesson 3: When your marketing isn’t working, don’t be afraid to try new ideas. Evaluate and adapt as you go until you find a plan that will accomplish your goals.
The rickshaw driver knew my hotel and agreed to pedal me there. He got lost himself a couple times, but eventually things began to look familiar. Not long after that we were cruising down the main street (the one I had miscalculated so badly some three hours previously) and within sight of the hotel. I knew everyone in my family and a good portion of the hotel staff would be in full panic mode by now. I suspected quite a few of them would be out in front of the hotel, standing on the steps keeping a watchful eye for me. I stopped the rickshaw driver and asked him a favor. A minute later we arrived at the hotel. As I imagined, all of my family and most of the staff were outside, pacing and peering into the distance. When they recognized us, the double takes were priceless: after all, how often in India do you see a big, white American pedaling a tiny bike and pulling a Rickshaw with the driver relaxing inside? The laughs went a long way toward breaking the tension and worry over my absence:
Lesson 4: Keep a sense of humor and be willing to laugh at yourself too.
The moral of the story is this: real estate is an ever changing business where marketing is the solution… and the problem. Have an open mind, don’t lose focus of the ultimate goal and make time to laugh (if you can make others laugh too, all the better).
Oh, and if you ever go to India, leave your running shoes at home.
Jeff Brown says:
Fun Friday afternoon read with a few lessons to boot. You’ve come through again.
April 10, 2009 — 2:31 pm
Dan Connolly says:
Lesson 5, even when your crying and they are all laughing AT you, there are still lessons to learn.
Picture this, Mexico, 1979….I was on a trip to Mexico to visit a friend in Cuernavaca (I drove from San Antonio). My car was being repaired and I was waiting for a bus back to the friend’s house. Each bus would pull up and everyone on the sidewalk would crowd in and fill it up. I was too shy to get in the crowd and push into the bus at first. After about 4 or 5 buses went by, I realized that I had to push in or I was walking home.
On the next bus, I pushed in at the back of the crowd and was the last one standing on the bottom step at the door. The bus (Greyhound style) pulled away from the curb. Everyone was yelling something at me in Spanish which I didn’t understand at all. The bus picked up speed and they kept yelling.
Suddenly the doors slammed shut throwing me out onto the street going about 30 miles an hour. Everyone on the bus howled with laughter. I was picking gravel out of my elbows, butt and back for the rest of the trip.
Lesson: When the next bus came by I shoved in first!
April 10, 2009 — 10:06 pm