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Sara’s Top Takeaways from ICNY 2020

Unreasonable Hospitality

At CEO Connect, the team brought in Will Guidara, Hospitality Guru who founded the Nomad and Eleven Madison Park on the basis of wanting to do “cool” things in his industry. He believes that the service industry is a noble industry, and created a culture of what he calls “Unreasonable Hospitality” which is how he and his team find unique ways to go above for an experience beyond the plate. He treats hospitality with the human in mind, knowing that people want to feel seen and heard. This quote from Maya Angelou really dictates how he approaches service -- “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”


Photo credit: AJ Canaria, Inside Real Estate

This couldn’t be truer as it relates to the real estate industry. Right?! Another thing he said that stuck with me was that vulnerability creates connection. Because when we can be vulnerable and honest with people, that creates trust and connection. What’s more important than that?


Leslie, Debra, and Sara ran into some of our wonderful supporters at CEO Connect: Tanya Reu-Narvaez, Sherry Chris, Bernice Ross, and Jackie Soto!




Wake Up

The Newsday reporters have done some phenomenal work and gave us all a powerful wakeup call. I could have listened to them all day but one takeaway for me was this industry has the power to make a difference. We have the power to change communities. We have the power to call out negative behavior. We have the power to treat people with dignity, respect and equity, regardless of color or background or gender or sexual orientation. Period.



Give Me the Ball


Abby Wambach was such a highlight. Her message was about stepping into our power - our power to make a difference in the lives of our clients or our power to lead teams or companies. It was when she saw Michelle Akers scream on the field “Give. ME. The. Effing. BALL!” that she saw someone really step into power. That moment began a lifelong journey to step into her own power. Either from the field or from the bench.


She shared so many nuggets but one that stood out especially strongly for me was how she has never made ONE goal without the help of her teammates. It made me think about how we are doing WomanUP!®️. We are leaning on the backs of so many women who have blazed the trail before us and so many who are working hard every day. And we are leaning on the tremendous support from so many men in the industry. We are not doing it alone. #wolfpack




Put Down the Phone

Tami Bonnell was magnificent on stage talking about how to win the next 10 years - She shared that her company’s success is built on “human potential” and shared how there are only three ways to fail - 1. Lack of knowledge. 2. Negative habit patterns. 3. Distraction. She reminded us that we need to eliminate as many distractions and keep your phone out of your bedroom. She closed out the discussion with a focus on women -- I loved how she gave a shout out to WomanUP!®️. But also as we look into the future she shared that there will be a power shift over the next decade in terms of who holds the purse strings.


Not only are women in business rising UP!, there will also be a demographic shift from 2020 to 2030 so keep an eye on that trend. #WomanUP!



Cover image photo credit: AJ Canaria, Inside Real Estate

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