Recap of 2020 Team Book Club Books

For years, our team has engaged in a weekly book discussion. We read about 20-30 pages a week and then share our ah ha’s, lessons learned, and things we found interesting. Mostly our books have to do with personal growth, honing our negotiation skills, learning how to be a better agent through service and communication, and growing our real estate business and investing knowledge. In 2020 we read the following books and I’ve included some our ah ha’s below. 

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Melissa: This book taught me that small habits build big habits. By doing small changes at a time you can have profound results!

Chris: Incremental increases are important. Don’t start your habit at level Z. Start at A. For example, I want to do a leg workout each day, I should start with ten minutes versus 30 and work my way up to 30 minutes. 

Ryan: I agree with Melissa and Chris. I was able to build a daily meditation habit by first starting with ten minutes a day and then move into twenty minutes, sometimes several times a day. I took the pressure off this habit by starting my meditation right after waking up and sitting in my bed. This book helped me understand that you should add a habit to a habit you already have in place!

Objections by Jeb Blount

Chris: Asking questions and trying to understand the core of the objection, because what people say might not be what they are really feeling. Being a better listener and asking better questions helps you help people at a higher level. 

Ryan: This book taught me that objections are not No’s or rejection, they are actually a person's way of telling you a problem or their lack of understanding. If you just give up and not take the time to listen and ask better questions, you miss out on the opportunity to truly help someone. 

Color of Law by Richard Rothstein

Melissa: I had no idea any of this happened, it was helpful to be educated about redlining and to have the awareness around fair housing and be even more mindful about this issue. One place I see this coming up a lot in our work is that we see that a lot of buyers are very concerned about schools and schools have a large impact on where people buy. So as agents we cannot speak to schools at all, but can only provide resources so that we are not part of steering people to or away from certain areas.  

Chris: So much to say about this one. It a great history lesson as to how we got to where are today, in regards to racial segregation. I think about this book a lot and the loss of the opportunity for BIPOC through house history has damaged and set back and harmed their earning potential, wealth, type of housing. The biggest takeaway from this book is how significant of an effect it has had on where people are living. You hear it all the time, very rarely, regardless of race, do you move into a different income bracket than your parents, typically you are in the same percentage as your parents were - if you were historically denied opportunities, then your family for generations will be stuck at that same level, which is shameful. 

Ryan: The Color of Law was definitely the most influential book for all of us. We were able to participate in a book discussion with St. Anselm College’s Center for Ethics in Business and Governance at Saint Anselm College around this book which was extremely helpful to process with a group because this book has opened all of our eyes to a history that has been ignored, suppressed and hidden from most people in order to keep racial inequities in place. We were all at times angry, upset and enraged. If you are looking to understand racial inequalities and the untold history of housing and lending in the United States, please read this book! 

12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran

Melissa: it's important to chunk down your goals into shorter periods of time to achieve more. 

Chris: This book really clarified accountability and what it means to take personal ownership over your actions and inactions. It explained that most people think of accountability as a consequence but it’s actually a choice.

The 7 Powers of Questions by Dorothy Leeds

Melissa: This book taught me that it’s so important to ask empowering questions and be more engaged with my clients. You can do this by deep listening and asking better questions. 

Chris: This book had a very similar message as Objections, the better questions yourself and who you are serving, the better you can help yourself and your clients at a higher level. This was a helpful book for self-discovery and taking the time to cultivate the skill around asking more empowering questions. 

Ryan: I appreciated the deep dive into the impact questions have on our relationships with ourselves and others. One of the greatest takeaways from this book was that as a team we began to focus on learning how to ask better questions of ourselves and our clients.