"Under-Promise, Over-Deliver." Those were the words used in an interview in the New York Observer a decade ago when Leonard Steinberg joined as the first President of a young start-up called 'Urban Compass'. Today, simply named COMPASS, known by millions around the US and globe. Thankfully, we can all look back and say - to a certain extent - "Mission Accomplished!"
A decade ago, there was a vision of the future of what professional real estate advisory and brokerage could be and after a decade of really, really hard work and dedication by tens of thousands of people, I think we can all agree that what we have achieved at Compass is indeed historic. No, we are far from any 'finish line' (there is none). There is so much opportunity for improvement and growth over the coming decades. Gauging whether one has delivered is only possible looking in the rearview mirror. Looking back over a decade puts things into context, so here are some checkpoints:
1. We truly delivered on the promise of technology. Our tech platform and support are leading the entire industry. There were no single 'revolutions' in the technology as many had pined for, but the daily grind of evolutionary building and improvement by the spectacular tech teams has truly delivered a substantive, meaningful infrastructure unlike any other. Multiple evolutionary steps deliver revolutionary results. Agents who have joined Compass recently are in awe, and as importantly, those who returned said they missed it terribly and it has since improved.
2. While high tech has always been an integral part of our DNA, equally important has been the high touch component. The culture of our people everywhere keeps strengthening. Great people make great companies. The collaborative, kind nature of all is a reflection of our leader, Robert Reffkin, as well as all the other managers and staff whose caring and support set the tone for all.
3. Selling over ONE TRILLION dollars in a decade is remarkable on any standards. It's historically significant. It has neer been done before, anywhere, globally. While I don't like rankings and ratings, we cannot under-estimate this measure of success.
4. The brand awareness of Compass globally is quite phenomenal, especially in light of it being a brand that is not even 10 years old. Not only do millions around the US and globe know the brand, as important is that those invested in markets - the wealthiest audience, most likely to buy and sell real estate - have brand awareness fueled by us being a publicly traded company. The greatest compliment to our branding has to be the volume of 'inspiration' it has provided others to copy us, some more blatantly than others.
5. Looking back at all the 'big moves' we made, especially the least popular, difficult ones, we can now see they were the correct moves. Moving Fast is in our DNA and on so many fronts we have been first to do the uncomfortable things that others have followed.
No-one succeeds alone. And the next decades promise to be even better: as we all know, outstanding infrastructure and foundations allow you to build BIG!
