Real Estate Unscripted

David Caveness: The Leadership Secret That Built a Billion-Dollar Brokerage

• Darryl Davis • Season 1 • Episode 11

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0:00 | 1:14:03

Some leaders build businesses. Others build something that lasts.

In this episode of Real Estate Unscripted™, Darryl Davis and Julie Escobar sit down with David Caveness, a 50+ year real estate veteran who helped grow a brokerage from 6 offices to over 30—without losing its culture along the way.  

Together, they break down:

  • Why leadership is never about one person
  • The difference between managing people and actually leading them
  • The “3 Cs” that build lasting companies: Connection, Commitment, and Community
  • Why most agents get distracted—and how to stay focused on what works

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by changes in the industry or unsure where to focus, this episode will bring you back to the fundamentals that actually grow your business.

SPEAKER_00

Some leaders build long careers, others build lasting cultures. David Cavanis has spent more than 50 years in the real estate industry with a career spanning education, national franchise leadership, and brokerage growth. Along the way, he's helped shape one of the most respected independent real estate companies in the country. But what makes this conversation stand out isn't just the longevity, it's the perspective.

SPEAKER_02

And then that to me it's leadership is a team. Leadership team for the team is not an individual.

SPEAKER_00

David brings a rare kind of clarity to leadership, one rooted in patience, discipline, and a deep understanding that no great company is built by one person alone. He speaks candidly about the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people, creating opportunities for others to grow, and building something that lasts beyond any single individual.

SPEAKER_02

It's not a single person. See, I don't think leadership is a single person. Name a leader and then look at the people that they surrounded themselves with.

SPEAKER_00

And why those fundamentals still matter even as the industry continues to evolve. There's wisdom here, there's humility, and a steady, grounded perspective that only comes from decades of experience. Let's dive into today's episode.

SPEAKER_01

Welcome everyone to today's session, Real Estate Unscripted Podcast with none other than David Cavanan. Welcome, sir. We're very excited to have you.

SPEAKER_03

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01

And on that note, uh, Daryl.

SPEAKER_03

Thanks, Jules. Nam. I'm gonna also just give a couple other suggestions getting so um write your questions as the conversation's happening. So if you don't have that window open right now, why don't you go find where the QA is and open it so that way you're prepared. Also, we have a mixture of leadership on this call, and we've also got um agents on the call. I always say this um for the agents because I get I want you guys to uh get the most out of this. Um as agents, I always believe that you guys are businesses within the business. And so therefore, I want you to listen to the conversation through being a business owner and how can you adapt the principles and ideas that we're gonna reveal here during this conversation to your business. With that said, David, I am so glad that you're here. Um I want to shout some accolades so people can appreciate who is sitting on this call with me. Um David has uh been in the business for over 50 years. His uh career spans education, national franchise leadership, brokerage management, and CEO, chairman of Carpenter's Realties Indiana's largest independently owned residential. No, not any.

SPEAKER_02

See, Darrell, you've got to the truth is important. We're the seven. No, we're we're getting our ass kicked by the number one firm there, which we will not mention them. Okay, but but we're always on there, we we work at night, we're we're always looking for some competitive advantage against them. All right.

SPEAKER_03

Well, I appreciate the correction, uh, David. I I would say please continue to do that, but I know with you I don't have to uh tell you that. Um the um he he grew he grew carpenter from six office and 120 agents. They're all I've got to stop you again.

SPEAKER_02

Um I didn't. Daryl, I didn't. We've got a whole team of people. Which if it was just me, we'd still be in we'd be in four offices.

SPEAKER_03

I'm sorry, David. I'll I'll get better at this one day. Um well on while he was sitting in the office drinking coffee, his team grew it to 120, 685 agents, 32 offices, one point some billion dollars. Four billion dollars is 34 offices. 34 offices. Okay. David, is there anything else you just want to say about who the hell you are? Because I know I'm just gonna screw this up. He's known for his brick and mortar commitment. Um so okay, good. I have to keep checking everywhere I say now to make sure that I'm getting it right. He yeah, he had had there's an equity ownership model in the company and uh which helped him basically take over the company. He took full advantage of that model, and uh, he's a passionate community leader, and in his free time, he'll be at the comedy shop in Indiana. Uh with that said, David, is there anything you'd like to add to the accolades that I I just tried to give you?

SPEAKER_02

Uh no.

SPEAKER_03

Okay, good. This is gonna be, is that all you got there, David? Is this gonna be yes and no questions? Okay. So, David, I I heard that your your your your dad was a dentist in West Texas. Um, and you at 16 years old, you wanted to be a real estate broker. Um so I'm just curious, like uh touring ranch land with brokers, what was it about the world uh of real estate that grabbed you?

SPEAKER_02

Daryl, I mean, you got to imagine. I mean, I grew up with a house full of brothers and and uh went to an all-boys prep school. Uh, I'm 16 years old, you know, and I'm just I'm so shy, I can't even watch myself brushing my teeth in the mirror, you know what I mean? And so uh I think my dad was worried about me. Um, and so uh and he he just loved ranching. He was a dentist, but he loved ranching. So, and he loved looking at land. So on weekends and in his Wednesday off, he would go with uh land brokers and look at ranches, uh actually around Dallas uh at that time. And um, and he'd take me along. He'd say, Get in the car, look, we're gonna go, we're gonna go meet somebody, something. And we'd we'd go out, and I remember uh uh, you know, you'd introduce her to the broker and you get in their truck and you're out driving around looking at land. And my dad would say, What do you think of this piece? Turn to me and say, What do you think of this piece? And I knew it was a lot of money, you know, and and uh he'd say, What do you think of this piece? And uh I say, Well, I I don't like it nearly as much as the one we looked at last weekend. And of course we weren't with that broker last weekend because my dad, you know, he would use several landmen and and this guy'd look around and I'd say, I like that one better. He'd say, Wow. And then so he would, and then and then occasionally, not very often, because too expensive, he'd end up buying a piece of land that, and then he'd say, 'Well, I bought that one because uh David thought it was the better.' Wow, a 16-year-old kid, think about that. And you know your dad is spending in those days, you know, hundreds of thousands. Um, and you'd think, Oh my goodness, you know, uh maybe I'm good at this. And I'm it's this is the truth. And it happened, you know, month after month after month. Pretty soon I thought, you know, I'm apparently I'm really good at this. Maybe this is what I should do. Get in the real estate business and be a real estate broker. And I wasn't even sure what that was, really. You drive around and show people nice pieces of land and they pay you a lot of money.

SPEAKER_03

Now I've got to ask you, uh, because just hearing that story, uh, which I didn't know, uh it sounds like you you're you had a really strong relationship with your dad.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, scared to death.

SPEAKER_03

Were you?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. I mean he never raised a hand on me or anything like that, but I mean I was he was, you know, he was he was probably five, eight, and I thought he was seven, ten, you know, and just a just a typical kid and his dad.

SPEAKER_03

What would you say um uh it was the one thing that maybe he instilled in you or that you learned from him to make you the the person that you became as as a as an adult?

SPEAKER_02

Oh um I I don't know. Um he uh patience. He was a very all these boys, you know, and he was married to my mother, so he had to be extremely patient, man. And uh uh just the ability to be uh patient and keep it, you know, keep it all in, never let it out. Um, you know, that's what I learned.

SPEAKER_03

All right, that's very cool. Um now you spent years in real estate education um before you ran the brokerage. So um first with uh uh Iowa Association, then Better Homes and Gardens. How did that foundation of teaching shape your leadership uh approach?

SPEAKER_02

Oh, I don't know about the leadership, but shaping. Um, you know, I had an undergraduate degree at the University of Denver. Did you mention that? Uh no, sorry, I missed that one. In real estate construction management. Um and you know, you spend a gazillion dollars and you learn a little bit. Um what I learned was uh in the education business, I was um first director of education for the Montana Realtors Education Foundation, which was not in your bio there, and then uh Iowa Association, and then for Better Homes and Gardens National franchise. And uh uh I've never listened or sold a home. Never, never. And and so uh what I uh but I was with the greatest uh trainers, Daryl Davis was one of our uh trainers and educators in the industry uh for for a couple of decades. And it was it was and over and over, so repetition through is the key to learning. I mean, I learned every aspect of real estate brokerage, appraisal, farm, investment, all of these topics, because I would literally sit in the audience or at the back of the room for a whole week hearing the same spiel over and over and over, month after month, year after year. And so you some of it, you know, gets through, and you uh you end up uh learning this stuff. And it's uh uh and then you end up using it or spewing it, and people think you know it. And you do know it because you've been sitting in the c in the class for uh years. It's it was it was a it was the best background for real estate education, you know, because I wasn't and I wasn't even paying for it. I was getting paid to sit there. It's great stuff. Great stuff.

SPEAKER_03

Now, if you like so you know what I've learned about leadership is that there's a difference uh between managing people and and leading people, and um which with leading them, there's like that inspiration and and finding their strengths and nurturing that. So, which I would say you lead people, you don't manage people. So in case you missed it, that's a compliment.

SPEAKER_02

No, I understand I I can I can't manage uh Michelle Smith, who's executive assistant there at Carpenter. I mean, she managed me for 20 20 years. I mean, literally every day. You know, here's your coffee, here's what you're gonna do today, here's how you're gonna do it. You know, here are the seven calls you gotta make. You know, and and uh so manage uh management and leadership are uh absolutely separate things. You can you can hire managers, you can train managers, uh I believe. Uh leadership is uh leadership is a little different.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, tell me and tell me, uh David, in your opinion, what how would you define um leadership versus management?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, leadership um isn't I say and I don't know, you know I don't know, and I know I don't know. Leadership isn't about one person, you know. Winston Churchill, great leader during the, you know, uh it wasn't just him. I mean, shoot, he was smoking, drinking, and and maybe chasing the ladies. I don't know. Um uh it's not a single person. See, I don't think leadership is a single person. Uh name a leader and then look at the people that they surrounded themselves with. Uh, I think that's that's the challenge. Uh who are you gonna put who are you gonna put in your in your group? Um uh it's I don't think it's one person. I think uh it's about it's about who you're connecting with, who's in your group, who's your connection, um, the level of commitment the leader the leader has, and how they can project that and inject that maybe into the people that are around them. And then and then the the people that the I'll call it community that they surround themselves with. And then that uh to me, it's leadership is a team, leadership team. You've heard that it's a team, it's not an individual. You got to have somebody on point, you got to have somebody who's in charge. Uh, so you know, you know, brush your teeth, take care, comb your hair, put your suit on, tighten your tie, look good. Uh uh, but it's it's the people you put around.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And without them, they're out there, no leader, no leader lasts.

SPEAKER_03

That's that's truly brilliant. Truly brilliant. I knew I would get one moment of brilliance out of you. I don't know about the rest of the call, but we we grab.

SPEAKER_02

We've only been in 15 minutes. You're gonna get five, six, eight, eight.

SPEAKER_03

You think so? Yeah, well, all right. Well, I'm game. I'm game, isn't it? We've got it already. All right, good. Well, whatever you you got in that cup of coffee, it's working. Oh right. When you really so um walk us through the strategy. So when you built it to the 30 plus uh offices, 34 today. Okay, all right. Um walk us through the strategy, and you brought it from six to one twenty, at least your team did. The team, yes, the team did. Um thank you very much. I'm getting learning. You're learning. Thank goodness, David. Um, so walk us through the strategic think behind the growth. Was there a master plan? Did you build it one decision at a time? Was there a vision or was uh a bigger vision, smaller vision? Like, how did you do that?

SPEAKER_02

Well, it wasn't me. Um is you how did your team do it? Yeah, no, well, but Tom Prahl, Tom Prahl, and Tom passed his last year, God bless him. Uh, Tom uh had a vision. He had the vision. He surrounded himself with us. I'm one of the minions that he surrounded himself with, um, and he had a vision. And he started off as a sole operator and just built this. And I remember him, he joined the Better Homes and Gardens franchise, the previous Better Homes and Gardens franchise, uh, in 1981, I think it was. I get confused sometimes with age. Um, and so Tom Tom had this vision of 54 real estate offices in central Indiana. At the time, he had six, I think, five or six. And and he sold Better Homes and Gardens on this master plan where he's gonna build this giant residential real estate brokerage firm. Okay, and um uh uh Better Homes and Gardens bought it. And then so they took his check and he bought the territory and he began expanding uh and and growing one branch at a time. Identify a leader, identify a manager, a leader for a prospective branch in an area. He did all the math. I mean, he'd do the population and all this stuff. Here's enough houses, sales to support a branch, and then he would identify the manager and create a location, low budget. I mean, it was pretty pretty basic going in, and he'd set a goal for the manager. If you get listing inventory to a certain level and sales to a certain level, I will buy a piece of land and build a building, brand new building, new furniture, new everything, and and and you're the manager for the rest of your life. It's interesting. When Tom Prawl hired somebody, he would hire them for the rest of their life. And they would he would create the opportunity for them to grow in that position all the way to being president of the company or chairman of the board or whatever in the company. Uh no family members were allowed to be an employee of the company. It was very interesting. Uh now his daughter ended up being an outstanding sales agent, broker for us for years, uh, but not in ownership and not in management. It's just a great, it's a great thing. And and just do the next one, the next one, the next one, the next one. And he'd identify a location. I've got to find a manager, find a manager. Manager would then hire brand new agents, train them up.

SPEAKER_03

And uh yeah, I think I read that in in the in my research that that was more of the model instead of getting experience, correct me if I'm wrong, getting experience agent, you preferred or he preferred with the hiring somebody brand new. Is that accurate?

SPEAKER_02

That was his that was his philosophy. Uh, and of course, if you work for Tom, uh, it was your philosophy. Uh, if it worked for Tom, it was you you did not want to disappoint. That leadership is such an interesting thing. Um you you Tom, you were you knew he was brilliant. Uh no one was more passionate about it. Total commitment, total commitment. And he wanted you to do the best you could do, and he wanted you and your family to prosper. I mean, it was all about you personally and your, you know, are you are you doing the right thing? Are you family and all of these kinds of things? It he went well beyond just the business with all of us. Uh, it was about you, your health, your family, your financial, personal financial Daryl. You bought, and this is part of philosophy or the culture that's still in Carpenter. Um, you buy a new car, you're in the management team at Carpenter, and you buy a new car, you're gonna hear about it. Oh, you're gonna hear about it. I hope Ted Bidding, who's who's our chief sales officer, is listening. Uh, Ted uh got a nice position, you know, he's in a great position in our company, but he was moving up from knucklehead to sales agent to assistant manager to manager to regional manager, owner. I mean, all these people in our company that own the company all started down here and just worked their way up. I remember he got a nice kick and I think it was big distribution bonus or something. And uh he bought a I think was it a uh BMW? Okay, and uh uh and then it was just this silence in the company. What the uh and then Ted, can I talk to you for a minute? And you know, Ted gets an earful. Basically, you don't do that. You're gonna buy a used car, you're gonna buy a nice car, it's gonna be used. You let everybody know it's used. And you bought it after it's depreciated. I mean, that whole philosophy of uh understatement and fiscal fiscal discipline and respect. Uh capital stays where it's uh capital goes where it's welcomed, it stays where it's true uh well treated. You know, it's like a money's like a person, it'll stay there if it's well treated and taken care of. Um you abuse it, you abuse capital and it's gonna leave and you're gonna be broke. And uh that was part of Tom. I mean, that's this and the and that's leadership where somebody can infuse these principles and stuff into a culture, build a culture. That's leadership. It's not follow me, everybody. No, it's that doesn't work very long.

SPEAKER_03

This is brilliant. This is brilliant, brilliant, brilliant stuff, David. It truly is. Thank you so much. Um, tell me about the the ownership model. How because uh that's something else uh I I wasn't clear on. I didn't know um uh doing the research. Can you explain that? Because that's pretty interesting.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's it's interesting. Understand this is a guy, most broke most brokers. You you know, you've seen this over and over for for years and years. I've seen it for 50 years. Somebody starts off, they're a good salesman, they come, uh they they open a real estate office, they start getting people pretty soon, they got multiple branches, and they build this thing, and then they bring their kids in. Oh my god, you know, they bring their kids in, they bring their grandkids in, God bless them. Um, and and they're developing a family, actually, probably in a lot of cases destroying their family by bringing them into the business. And and uh in the end, they breed the brains out of the family and the Companies go out of business or they get merged or something, they're gone. Most of them. There's rare exceptions, as you know. Um, Tom created an organization where he said, I want the people that help me build this. I want them to benefit from it, and I want their children to benefit from it. Not in employment, but in the financial benefits. Okay. And so he uh basically said, We have no children employed here. My kids, your kids, no, ever, now, no. Okay. And so that's part of just to avoid that, avoid all that kind of conflict and the feelings it brings among other people on your team, your leadership team, about you know, favoritism and things like that, politics, all that kind of stuff. Uh, he didn't like, he wouldn't allow it. I mean, there's no, there's no second guessing at Carpenter, there's no, there's no uh back, but there's all the politics of a big company don't exist there. You think, oh, you're being naive. No, no, they don't. And so he he's he began, he said, here's we got 100,000 shares, and over time, and he created a formula for valuation, very formal, very legal. Okay, and then over time, you are given the opportunity for selected individuals, marketing director, relocation director, counting director, or certified, or the uh uh uh chief financial officer, you know, all the key departments, those people in our company are eligible to purchase shares. Okay, they participate in the profit of distribution of profits, which can be in a small business, a successful year, can be very exciting. Uh, some years it's you know, you're just crying yourself to sleep every night, but you know, a lot of years it's great. And so, and it had a formula price, so nobody was favoritism or anything like that. And it was by the by the position, not the individual. Interesting. Position, not the individual. Okay, put you, you're my marketing director, Darcy. Darcy has the opportunity to buy shares, and the the leadership, the senior person, determines how many shares and kind of balances it for the future. And over time, I mean, I was, you know, read the regional manager and stuff, and over time I, you know, I didn't know any better. So I'm buying shares when I could, and then uh uh, and so what happens is over time somebody has more shares. I mean, literally, you think this is crazy. I'm sitting there adding up doing the math, you know, doing math, and I go, I I got a lot of shares in this country. You know, so I went, I literally went from regional manager to general sales manager, and then general manager, vice president, and president because my shares were going up. How can you say, well, just because of shares? No, because the shares were allocated based on your overall performance. Yeah. And so the whole thing goes, I'm I'm taking longer than you want. Bottom line is it's brilliant. I didn't do this. Tom created it. I sat there while he was doing it, and he'd say, What do you think? And I go, Yes, sir. Yeah, I really like your ideas. And so over time, uh, and I ended up, that's how I became the president of the company. Um, and that's how, and and now Julianne Jensen, who started out as part-time sales agent, carpenter hires part-time agent, part-time sales. She wanted to make $5,000 so she could take her family on vacation once a year. That is my witness. And now she's president of the company. And so she starts off, and then you know, great agent, uh, manager, regional manager, uh, partner, of course, at regional level, and then and then uh president of the company. Um, Ryan Carroll, uh, who's our chief operating officer, another great example. I mean, these people have been with us 20 plus years. Ryan pushing 30 years, CFO 46 years or certified. These are all owners in the company. Now, I would assume they're not going anywhere.

SPEAKER_03

Well, I was just gonna say, I'm assuming, other than just the financial benefit of that, that there's there's a real ownership emotionally, mentally, and a commitment to the company and the growth and the integrity of it and the culture, all of that. It helps keep it tight.

SPEAKER_02

And and and you said uh the commitment, you use the word commitment. I'm gonna give you three words connections. These people at Carpenter, and I'm I'm bragging on the company because I'm a little further away from it now. Uh, these people are connected. We're not, they don't socialize a lot together, they don't go out and party and go over to each other's house for dinner. That's not our culture. I mean, occasionally, but not not uh, but they're connected, they are emotionally and financially, they're in the boat together. And the and and that financial commitment, the tenure, uh, which you just don't find in the business outside of family, it's commitment. The word you used was commitment. And then the whole that that small group of eight, nine people, and then the branch managers, another may call it a group of 50 or 60 people, 70 people, uh, and then the whole company, it's a community. It's not just, you know, it it's it becomes a connection, commitment, community. Those are the three king pens build that you can build a comp build a uh company around, I think.

SPEAKER_03

That's brilliant. I I that's gonna be an article right there, those the three C's. I love, love, love that. I will say when you're sharing that too, um, Ted and and Julian came up to me at leading RE I think it was after my session, but there was like I get a lot of the brokers that come up to me and blah blah blah. Uh but there was something about Ted and Julian, the way they came to me was like there was an intentionality, a commitment to their speaking. It was just, it was very powerful, like uh, you know, I'm getting a little woo-woo here, but there was there was something intentional in their speaking with me. It wasn't casual, it's like Daryl, it's great, we want to talk about something, but just uh just an observation. That's what kicked in for me when you were sharing. Um yeah, so all right, let me see. Leadership. Um I've got to ask you actually right now, the the this is not in the questions I was gonna ask you, so I'm gonna put you on the spot. Um, but it was a question that got uh sent in advance. And um I not the politics of it, the the the 50 years that you've got under your belt, what's happening to the industry right now with the private listings, the coming soon, the CCP? You and I had a brief conversation a few years ago about it. But what what's your take on this, David?

SPEAKER_02

Oh, it's all uh it's all the same. Okay. Now let me say this. This won't say you um uh I've been I've been laughing at the real estate industry because I lie, I've uh it's I found that uh laughing, you know this, you know this about me. I'd rather laugh. I mean, if I go to a funeral, it's hard for me because I'm the guy laughing. I'm I'm I'm telling I'm telling jokes. At your funeral, we're gonna talk about you. And the good, the bad, and the ugly about Daryl.

SPEAKER_03

See, Julie, make sure that David gets an invite to my funeral, please.

SPEAKER_02

I'll be I'll be doing the I mean uh you you know we're uh uh let's laugh rather than cry. Yeah, yes, sir. Here's what's so funny about this in this crazy brokerage. Can you imagine people paying us all that money for driving around and showing them some pretty houses and and filling out blanks and contracts, and then we hand it to somebody else and they do all the magic. Uh just amazing. What a great way to make a living. Um, and that these people pay you all the money. Hadn't changed. 50 years hasn't changed. What do you mean? Uh still drive people around cars. Now, the beauty of our industry is uh God, the places like Zillow and things like that, so it's wonderful. These people, we used to have to find the house for them in the book. Remember the book? I remember the book, sir. Yes. Black and white, we had to find the house for them. Oh, work, work, work, work. Now they find the house, call us and say, can you show that house to me now before someone else buys it? Unbelievable. Oh, oh, well, I'm busy. I'm at the getting my hair cut or I'm getting my car washed. I can be, you know, unbelievable. And so uh we still so we still show people houses and you know, showing open the door, can't get the lockbox open. Oh my god, you know, oh it's so hard, the combination. Um, you know, an opening doors, this is a closet, this is a bathroom. Uh, and and we have yard signs. I don't know, Daryl, uh new technology, yard sign. Phone number. Uh, we used to have pagers, then we went to the bag phone, and then the the walkie-talkie phone, and then, but now we have the little phone. So that's technology's changed a lot. The internet makes it just easier for everyone. Uh so but has it fundamentally changed? Do we still fill out forms? Oh, we fill them out now and we sign electronically, just easier. Same thing. We do the same thing. But do you think like do you think like so everybody, but but Daryl, my point is the question you asked about the new technology and the changes in the industry. There's these are little tiny changes, little things. These aren't big earth shaped earth. I I mean, I don't think people have been worried about the impact of technology for 50 years. Yeah, they've been worried about this for 50 years.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Well, you know, laws and RESPA. See, Daryl, when you were still in diapers, RESPA came a RESPA was going to put our industry out of business. I remember, as Director of Education Montana Realtors Education Foundation, we ran workshops across the state of Montana about RESPA and people, I mean, they were wringing their hands, we're going out of business. The federal government is putting us out of business. RESPA.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Yep. Well, I remember too when it when when when there was a conversation going from the books to the internet, you know, I think it was at an R meeting. That was the sky was falling. Brokers didn't mind it going on the internet. They wanted to keep it in-house, right?

SPEAKER_02

Oh, you know, how do we how do we protect it? Um, you know, what if somebody, what if they dialed up and and they could get all this information? Kind of like Zillow, where they've got everything. They've got information. I don't know if you know this, Daryl. They've got information on houses that are not for sale. Oh my God. Okay, let's keep going.

SPEAKER_03

Well, do you have any thoughts about the whole, you know, private listing thing, which a lot of the big brokerages?

SPEAKER_02

No, no, no. I mean, uh, you know, where if you need something to worry about, worry about your kids. If you need something to worry about, worry about the weather tomorrow. Uh I mean, guys, that's that's uh Okay. You're you're you're counting pennies there. Okay. That that will work itself out one way or the other. Don't worry about your competitors, you know, cheating or whatever you want to call it. Uh uh go hire an agent and help develop them into a good broker um and uh have them and their families prosper, then uh it'll be okay. Got it.

SPEAKER_03

Now, as far as your agents in the company, uh, if I'm not mistaken, they they're there you don't have a large tur turnover like a lot of brokers seem to challenge be challenged with.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, um we have tenure. And we financially reward tenure. I won't go into the details, but it's a fabulous system. It's kind of complex okay and sometimes hard to explain to a uh to an a new agents. They just, you know, can can I can I be a broker at your company? Yes. Uh I mean we're traditional companies. Our our our splits are very traditional. Um, and some, you know, do we lose agents? Yes. Do we lose productive agents? Yes, occasionally. Uh um, but not compared to other brokerage firms. I mean revolving, you know, jump, jump, jump. Uh we have it, but we don't have it to the degree. Um what would you attribute that to? I think it's the it I think it is. We hire new agents, bring them into the business, introduce them to real estate, uh, uh, invest a tremendous amount of time, effort, money into build the foundation for their career. We have smaller offices, we don't have mega offices. So their manager is a mentor. Uh, we have formal training continuously. I mean, nobody offers more ongoing training than we do on everything. Uh, Gina Kulp is our training director. Oh my god, the world's best. I thought Amy Ingler was the world's best, and then Gina, uh, you know, homegrown. I think she started with us as a sales agent at 19. God's my witness. I mean, I remember her, she had twin boys, she had her first daughter that's what she was pushing, she had a little girl, and then twin boys in the in the carrier in the hallways of our West office. And she could, she looked like she was 13 years old. And you're thinking, oh my goodness, it's a it's just unbelievable, unbelievable. And uh, and through the now she's a partner in the company, owns shares in the company, uh, training director, so she's uh a partner, just fad just fabulous, you know, knows the business, and she's so connected with our people. Uh, and the training that she offers is phenomenal, phenomenal. And that's what we do. New agent, bring them up, get them up, and train them the carpenter way. And then over time, they'll we still have agents that are not successful. Can't you you create an opportunity, but if they're not, if if it's not right for them, if you know there's a lot of hard work. Looks looks easy. It's a lot of hard work. I make fun of it, but it's a lot of hard work.

SPEAKER_03

When when uh so some of the the growth you had was acquisitions, but I I don't think that is the main way that you grew. It's it's it's a it's a combo platform. Okay. How do you decide when it's uh acquisition in this area is bet is better or vice versa?

SPEAKER_02

Most of our acquisitions uh have been because if you look at Indiana, picture a rectangle kind of on its end. Indianapolis is in the middle in all the interstates, crossroads of America is our little buzzword. Um, and we're in 15 counties surrounding uh Indianapolis. And you get out further, we're out in the cornfields of Indiana. Okay, so you have counties and you have a county seat, they call it county seat, town, little little town towns, and those are you know, they're their own little community. And so we want to be there, and we can really, you know, and we scare them when we come to their their community. So we buy an existing, we find a broker who still wants to be, who's still you know, not retiring. We want the broker and all of their and we buy their business. If they have a building, we'll buy their building. We'll put them in as managers, we've and we show them you're going to make more money managing your business with us because we're going to take the accounting, the you know, all of the supports is all centralized at here. I mean, you a roll of toilet paper doesn't come from Walmart down the street, it comes from our central supply, you know, copy paper, copiers, every everything that goes into the office, furniture, everything comes from a central location. It's really cool, and it's all the same. Uh, and so we hire you, Daryl. Uh, we're gonna buy your company, we're gonna pay you for your company, and then you're gonna work for us the rest of your career.

SPEAKER_03

Now make more money. Now, so third so 34 offices, and during the growth, especially with COVID, with uh you know, people going virtual. So, but you guys didn't correct me if I'm wrong, that you didn't shut down offices, like you didn't go virtual. So, what's is that a nature of the market, the size of the the the land, or is it a company decision?

SPEAKER_02

Cultural no, it's a it's a it's a company decision. I remember uh you know talking about the leadership um uh uh when COVID came about. Uh I mean we we we uh our senior team, management team, we were in Las Vegas at the leading real estate companies of the world. You mentioned it earlier. That was when their national international conference was. We were there when it was all unfolding. Right. Oh my goodness. By the time we got back, I mean, literally, we weren't even sure we could fly. We were thinking rent a car and you know, six people in a you know, two doors a day driving back to India. We we were scared. So we got back, they and the government shut everything down.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_02

And so I'm in my dining room, and technologically, your uh your staff knows that you know I can't even get on a on a Zoom meeting. Uh and so the first thing we did is set up our systems and communicate with our people. Uh, first of all, our staff. We had no idea how long, but our company financially, I'm not bragging about it, but kind of am. Uh we keep so much cash that we have we haven't borrowed a dollar in 35, 40 years. We we just keep this pool of cash and and it's you know just money market. I mean, it's stupid, it's smart people call it stupid. We we just sleep better at night. And the money's sitting there, and we first thing we said to every employee at Carpenter, relax. Continue to do the job the best you can with the circumstances, very fluid. Uh, but your job is secure, even though every branch is shut down. You got you got an admins in the branch, uh, your job is secure until we run out of money and we can go about about five or six years, you know. And if the COVID goes on five or six years, you may lose your job.

SPEAKER_03

But uh, if it went on that long, we'd have bigger problems than just that's right.

SPEAKER_02

But we basically said we're prepared to invest our capital uh all the way down uh to preserve the network that we had built. We're not as you know, we own most of our buildings anyway. Um and so uh the communication went out, and and and it's just amazing at every level, people are at home. There's they're still doing accounting, they're still all this stuff is still getting done. The admins in the branches were still doing their job. From our tech guy, George Christin Lulu. Now that's a that's a last name. We'll just call him George. Uh George Greek. George, uh George immediately, you don't want to tell people what to do. They already know what to do, and they're fully empowered to do it. He said, if you don't have a computer or a Wi-Fi at home that you can do your job, I'll bring it to your house and hook it up for you. And he literally did, because we're out in the boonies, and he went around all over central Indiana in two or three days, working day and night. Wow, god setting up computers, because we didn't know if it was going to be two weeks or two years, setting up computers and printers for our admins to work from home, because this is before people worked at home, right? Right. And and you know, that's Joe George, it was leadership, not it was George leading, taking this has to be done. I'm the guy that can do it. And and uh, you know, he'd say, uh, is it okay for me to, you know, George, hurry. You go do what you you already know what we need, go do it. Go do it.

SPEAKER_03

And and something that I've always said to our team is, you know, plan for or to our power agents too. You plan for the worst, hope for the best. Like you said, it could have been two days or two years. Well, let's plan for the worst and hope for the best. Let's get the system in place so we're not gonna be able to do that.

SPEAKER_02

And then if we don't need it, if we don't need it, we're blessed.

SPEAKER_03

Right, exactly. We don't need it. I just had I just had an aha here in that, you know, like because some brokerages are would be shrinking their their overhead with buildings, right? Like we're go more virtual, we don't need these buildings. Uh but you said something a moment ago about the cash. So I I would guess that uh do you do you have do you own the buildings? Is there is there debt on the buildings? Oh, there's debt.

SPEAKER_02

We have about a uh we just refinanced and and we have 60 plus owners in our building package. So a cut we have two another company called Carpenter Properties, Inc. that owns these buildings. Brick and mortar, they're literally brick buildings, nicely located. And they are uh and and who owns those? Well, all of the senior management has shares, branch managers have shares, admin support people. So it's a different, it's a different level in the in the organization chart that has ownership in in the uh in the in the property. In the property, and they can have that ownership till their death. Now they can't give the shares to their kids, they automatically, upon your demise, sell back. It's beautifully structured. Who put it together? Tom Prohl.

SPEAKER_03

Tom James. All right. So listen, we've got I I want to jump to some questions from Oh. I I know, because you you talk a lot. Um, let me get so one of the questions somebody wants to know do you still drink venti pike place from Starbucks every morning? Venti.

SPEAKER_02

Of course I do. It's a venti coffee with a shot of espresso. And if you have one of those every morning, yeah, Saturdays and Sundays as well, you will live forever.

SPEAKER_04

That's gonna be commercial for for Starbucks.

SPEAKER_03

All right, so Ghidri, um, because I got some questions that came in advance. Ghidri uh Pagazakolekke Mananiku, she wants to know it. I think it's Paga Zelski, what is your best advice for a new agent, what you must do and what you should not do?

SPEAKER_02

Oh, for a brand new agent in the business, it is now none of this is new, and you won't do it. I always tell it when agents come and ask me, I say, I'll tell you what to do. It's not hard, but you won't do it because it is hard. Uh, you have to identify everybody you know or could know, and you have to make sure they know you're in the residential real estate brokerage business. You have to pretend fake it till you make it. You have to don't tell them I'm brand new. Nobody wants to work with a brand new agent. Nobody. So you don't mention you just you just uh uh you know how how long have you been in the real estate business, uh Daryl? And Daryl says, Well, this I'm just I'm in my first year. Now he's his first week, but he's but you that's how you say it's my first year. The truth is it's my first year. I'm early in my career. Oh, okay. Something like that. You don't say this is my third week in the real estate business. Nobody's gonna work. But you get out and you reach out to everybody you know or could know or should know, and you just keep pounding them uh with the fact that you're a real estate broker, I'm a real estate broker, I'm a real estate broker. Because at one moment they're gonna think, you know, I think I might want to buy or sell real estate. Do I know any real estate brokers? Oh, I know that Daryl Davis fellow.

SPEAKER_03

He's a real my my wife, we were getting ready for our big event uh next week and where I'm gonna be doing prospecting and stuff. And and my wife were just talking about it yesterday, you know, because she she used to be in real estate. And she said, you know, it if people just even just open up their, you know, I'm big on physbils and expires, but so she was trying to say to me, it doesn't even have to be that. If people just call like people they haven't spoken to in a while, their friends, their family, their relatives, just reach out to people for goodness sakes.

SPEAKER_02

And Daryl, don't ask them, don't ask them. Daryl, are you interested in buying or selling real estate? Don't ask them, because you already know they'll call you. You say, Daryl, hey, do you know anybody who might be thinking about real estate? Because I've got a little extra time right here, and uh, this time of year it's a little slower. So uh, do you know anybody who's might be interested in buying or selling real estate? Don't ask them. Yeah, easy peasy. Easy peasy. It's no, it's not harder than that. But you say, well, it's gotta be there's there's gotta be some magic. There is no magic. Everybody in life and everything, there is no magic. It's all pretty simple.

SPEAKER_03

Yep. Kathy Boris, she said she has no question. She said, I respect and admire Dave. He was a great mentor and leader to me, and I wanted to support him and listen in on the conversation. So just an FYI.

SPEAKER_02

I know Kathy, you know, she's uh she and her sister both uh she and her sister both work for our uh company. Kat Kathy's been working for us. I mean, how how long? I mean, I'm reflect I don't remember being a carpenter, and I've been there a long time without her. She's in our Brownsburg office. I don't remember. I mean, she's and she looks like she's 30, you know what I mean? She's one of these that always looks great.

SPEAKER_03

She just she just she's on the call. She just said since 2002 she's been with Carpenter.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, longer than that. She's had she must be having some issues because she's longer than that. That's only that's 25 years. It's longer than that. But if she's 30, if she's 30, 25, okay.

SPEAKER_03

All right, let's see. What else do I have here in advance? What was the uh best worst thing about being oh yeah, what was the one best and one worst thing about being in real estate according to your experience?

SPEAKER_02

The best thing about re being in real estate is uh it never felt like work. I mean, there were times when you're working and you're um literally your back hurts and you're and you're grinding and it's late at night or whatever. Uh, but it was it is it not was it is so much uh so much fun. And whenever you're starting to feel like you're working too hard, you're not digging ditches. You're not you're not putting a roof on a house in the middle of August. Um, so suck it up, buttercup, kind of a thing. Get back to work. The hard that was the uh the the the heart the the hardest thing for me uh our company uh we're connected and we're a community. This will sound kind of weird. Um funerals. Funerals. Uh our senior management team, I mean uh Carpenters is a community and and people, it just life cycle. Uh people died, agents, spouses, grandparents, or children. That was the that's the worst. God damn it's the worst. Yeah, and uh so my my wife would say, Do you have anything going on this weekend? Which meant Saturday's uh uh funerals, and uh we go. Senior management team goes. Sure. Yeah, and uh that's hard. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For me, I'm just uh I'm a I just and and so you know, but that's part of the connection, part of the commitment, and it is community and it's culture, and you get you have to if you're gonna walk the you gotta if you're gonna talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. Yeah, and that's walking, and that's hard sometimes.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, got it. Okay. How do you know what type of advertising is effective and which companies are are are they? I guess it's a little agency to become a company.

SPEAKER_02

Uh uh, we we're very traditional real estate company historically, so we're we were in everything. Um and you mentioned uh in some of this material that the newspaper, we're the last real estate company in the state of Indiana to come out of the paper. And we only came out of the newspaper because the newspaper went away. Indianapolis Star. The newspaper comes out, and this is what it looks like. One like one piece of paper has their headline on the top and nothing else. They used to have a real estate section, we were huge, we were huge, and it was all everything in our company was driven by a financial formula. And if if an agent got a listing, they could guarantee to the seller, based on the list price of the property, here's everywhere your house is going to be advertised, here's how often it was going to be advertised. They can make a commitment, and we wanted them to make that commitment. Now the newspaper's gone away. We're still in 19, I think we're still in 19 local papers, but the newspaper went away. And and and uh, but we still have a TV show. Every Saturday morning, we have a TV show. Why do we have it? Um, because it still works. As long as it works, as long as it's relevant, as long as sellers respond to it, whether it helps us sell houses or not, this is this may be blasphemy for some of you. If in the perception of a seller, if this is something that we can do to market their house and they see it and go, oh, I like that, we'll do it. And plus, everybody's on Zillow, everybody's here, everybody.

SPEAKER_03

Well, that's the that's the thing, too. And I I say that to our coaching members too is what's old is new again. And and and uh Warren Buffett taught me uh uh when people are uh greedy, you should be afraid. When people are afraid, be greedy. And and so I think of when people are zigging your zegs. If everybody's on TikTok, be in the mailbox, you know, go where everybody is and go.

SPEAKER_02

Daryl, we spend uh today, we spend uh through quantum mail, by the way, uh postcards. Full color jumbo postcards. We love them. We pay the company pays for them, and if you're not gonna send them, the admin who sits there and goes, How how dumb are you not to take advantage of the company? And the company wants you to send them, please send them. And then a lot of our branches, it's automatic now. Uh why? Because those people, the manager sitting there going, My bonus, uh, do what the company already knows, helps us list and sell houses. Please do it. Please spend our money.

SPEAKER_03

All right. So now, Julie, we've got some questions that people have written in the QA. You want to take over on those?

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01

Joe says you've grown a brokerage over decades through recruiting and expansion. If you were to start today, would you still build it the same way, or would you focus more on systems that make agents more productive?

SPEAKER_02

Um, I would do both. Uh, because you can't retain, you can you've got to retain people. You've got to have the systems. And and Carpenter's all about that. And and the economies of scale. See, we've built economies of scale. It doesn't cost us any more to provide these services for six branches as it does for 36 branches. Website, accounting, personnel, advertising, all of those things cost the same, whether you spread it over six. So we have, I mean, let me tell you, state-of-the-art uh uh marketing and management support and accounting and all of that. Umbody has anything better. So the systems, but you can't you can't start with the systems because you can't support it. So we built we built our fixed overhead. Our overhead is based on how as as you grow the business, you grow the support for the business. And it's a catch 22. You're you're you're right. It's not either or, it's actually both, and that's the magic. The balance the magic is in the leadership, whatever you want to call it, to be able to judge, you know, and get that balance as close. And you won't get it right. Just try to get it close if you're trying to build. But you gotta have people. It's chicken and the egg, gotta have people, but you gotta have systems. You gotta have a desk for them to sit at. You know, you gotta have a place to park the car. Uh if they come to the off, you know, what comes first? So that's the management, that's the balance. Got it. That's brilliant.

SPEAKER_01

Love it. Joe says, uh, what do you think most brokerages are getting wrong right now?

SPEAKER_02

What are they getting wrong? Oh, they're uh and I love it. I mean, I I laugh at I laughed at us when we were when we did stupid things. We do eat a lot of stupid things, and I laugh at them. Uh, shiny penny and the new thing. Oh, AI. Oh, you know, oh, oh, this, you know, the new the NAR. People got so upset with NAR, and I'm thinking, relax, everybody. That's not that's not helping you list and sell a house. Boil it down, boil it back. Uh there what they get wrong is getting distracted from the very basics that have not changed in 50 years. Stay focused, stay focused, and let all this going on around you just stay focused on your build your business as an agent, build your branch as a manager, build your company as a broker, and stay focused. Don't get sucked into all the quagmire on the sides.

SPEAKER_03

And you know what? That's that's actually a great concept that you just made me think of is that if other people are getting distracted and sucked into that, that's actually a gift to you. Because while they're being distracted, you get more focused, more committed. Yeah. Awesome. Go ahead, Jules.

SPEAKER_01

I love it. Patricia asks, how important is mentorship in a brokerage as a new agent?

SPEAKER_02

Oh, uh, yeah, some companies have structured, you know, where you're assigned. I love that. We never we didn't go there. My previous uh company, we had tried that and we just didn't do a good job at it. And so I I didn't like it. I I mean, I think in our company, I think a lot of times that's happening naturally. And our branches are smaller. We don't have hundred agent branches, uh, they're smaller. And the managers in our company are selling managers, right or wrong, but they also list and sell. And um, and the manager is really the mentor. Come with me, I'm going to a closing, come with me, I'm gonna go get a listing. Hey, I'm gonna be showing some property today, get in the car and come with me. Uh, there's nothing more powerful for a new agent, sure, especially if it's the branch manager who the who you want them to look up to, that branch manager through their career. And if it's a productive person who's done it for decades, um, that's great. As opposed to sitting behind a desk, uh, the branch manager can be the mentor, but you got to get in the car and go out and meet people and and go to a closing, show them the check. You know, here's an agent, and they here they give you the check of the closing in our and then just go like that and goes like that. Now we gotta split it with the company. So they'll learn that.

SPEAKER_01

I love that. And how many agents are so hungry for that when they first come in the business, right? There's someone, just let me follow you, let me see how it's really done.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, you know that that's the best training. That's the best, but people don't do it, they don't do the basics. But that's powerful training. Day after day, just follow me. Not just, you know, don't just go get me coffee, but come go with me, come go with me, come go with me.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, absolutely. Very good.

SPEAKER_01

Pat says if you don't know many people, um, what is another option beside expireds and FISBOs um and or open houses, which I'm already doing? She's a pattern.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I mean, the open houses is the better, you know. Now, this is blasphemy for some of our own people who just love FISBOs and and expireds. Um that's hard. You get so much rejection. There's enough rejection in life that you have to go out and look for. Now, Daryl, I know you're a master at this, yes, but uh uh just do open houses. And here's what I want you to do do a Thursday evening open house every Thursday, every Thursday at five o'clock. Every no, every Thursday. I don't have any listings. Borrow. Um, every Saturday, but we only do them on Sundays, do them Saturday and Sunday. Work, work for two hours, three days a week. Think about that. Work now, you gotta need half an hour to set up stuff before, half an hour to take everything down. But if you did, if you spent three hours on Thursday afternoons in an open house into the evening, three hours Saturday afternoon, three hours Sunday afternoon doing three open houses on listings that you don't have, but your company has. Uh, and you did that every Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, you will build a nice business if you did that for six, eight, ten months. Now, why why why Thursday at five? That's I've not heard that. No, because people are driving home and there's an open house in a neighborhood they like, and you put out five or six signs. Most people put out two signs. Why not put out seven?

SPEAKER_03

Power agents, are you listening? I say this all the time, David. Power agents listen. Sign, signage.

SPEAKER_02

No, sign, signage, signage. Yard signs. I don't know if you know this, Daryl. Fifty years ago, we used to have signs. Open house signs, we did open houses, we had yard signs, and you would put them out and you put them on the front of the house, on the corner, and then every street that leads in. Um, and if you do that and you don't know a soul speaking your language. The seller, I don't know your you know, seller requires me to get the name of anyone that enters the home. And then so then the seller, it's not me. I I'd love to have you come in. The seller won't let me unless you give me your name and address and and email and phone, and you know, just until they stop. No, no, I'm not gonna give it to you. Well, I'm sorry. They're already out of the car. What are they not gonna tell you who they are? Exactly.

SPEAKER_03

Uh yeah, I got so excited because of my team, because that's that's a huge thing with us with open houses. At least um when I managed the office policy was a minimum of 10 signs had to go out because you want to bring people in, especially from the main roads, if you can't. So it's so basic, too. Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_02

It's not a c it's not a it's not a complex business. It's a very simple business. It's just hard. It's hard to do. Oh my god, stick on it. Well, it it's hot, it's cold, the wind is blowing, the ground is too hard. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_03

All right. Now, Michelle Smith here, and then um, and then I've got rapid fire questions, and then uh go, go. So, Michelle Smith, though, just wanted to say, not a question, tell David his carpenter family misses him.

SPEAKER_02

So I'm still see, Michelle, see how they throw you away. I'm still here. Julianne and I talk 15 minutes every Friday at 11, unless I'm playing golf or something.

SPEAKER_03

I can't wait to get to know Julian better. She's so so far, my interaction conversations with has been very impressive. She seems like a really powerful, great person, great heart. So be careful, Daryl.

SPEAKER_02

Daryl. You'll run circles around you, and you'll just be, you won't even know what's happening.

SPEAKER_03

I'm sure that is so true, David. That is so true. Um, all right. One early. So here's some rapid fire questions. Um one early career habit that made the biggest difference for you.

SPEAKER_02

Oh call people. Ready? This is whenever you don't know. Here's I remember this. It was an epiphany for me. I was a young guy, like nine years old, kind of, you know, doing and and um I didn't know much, and I knew I didn't know much. And so if I had a question, I would think, who has the answer? And I'd call them. In those days, uh people would pick up the phone. Now, nowadays they if you if they don't recognize the number, they wouldn't. But you could you I could get the answer, and you call people all over the country and they'll and they'll give you the answer. Just ask people. I think one of the things uh people love to share, they love to share their knowledge, and so that's why you're doing these podcasts. And and call them. Call them, ask them.

SPEAKER_03

And by the way, just for everybody, that's one of the principles in Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. One leadership belief you had to unlearn.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, uh this was um, you know, you call, you know, young guy, and then you're in college and going to school, business school, and stuff like that. Um uh you had to be uh you had to, you know, look smart, act like you're smart, all this kind of stuff. Uh and I uh uh and business was cold and no, it's not. Uh business can be very warm and uh embracing, and you could you can I still I believe uh the good guys win. Now sometimes it takes years and decades, but I think good people, and people are generally good, I think good people win. I think the people that do it right and do it right long-term, consistent, long-term and consistent, I think they win. Uh now, short term, they can get their teeth kicked out. Uh, but I think if you can stay committed, consistent, um the good making good decisions that are good for not just yourself, uh, but but everybody, even your competitors, by the way. Uh that's you know, uh friendly, think of your competitors in this business as friendly competitors. Uh I I think that's that was one thing I had to to unlearn and then learn what I think is the right one. Got it. Uh favorite book that you've written.

SPEAKER_03

I don't read. I don't read that. Yeah, I I I thought as much. I don't.

SPEAKER_02

I I I talk to Daryl Davis. I need to learn something. And I'm all and I'm kind of serious about that. Not reading's great. My wife reads five books at a time, and that may explain why it's always this. Um uh I I I'd rather pick up the phone and call and talk to you about whatever. Uh you know, how what's going on, you know. And you know, I talked chatted before this, and I, you know, picked up and learned some stuff about you know what's going on in your life. Yeah. Um pick up the phone, call somebody.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Okay, good. All right. What about movies? Do you have a favorite? movie oh yeah uh i'm kind of a romantic um you know and i get all teary uh and uh the the my senior management team knows old yeller oh yeah old yeller uh i still does that have does that have sound that one i i can't stop it uh i love i love old yeller uh there's a life lesson there that'll make you cry make an old old man cry like there's no tomorrow i love consequenca the movie consequenca yeah and then i'm a i'm a western guy i'm living in denver uh grew up in texas i love the good the bad and the ugly it is the most one of the most complex movies ever made i mean what was going through the director and the producer's minds in that movie is unbelievable and what a great soundtrack yeah awesome okay keep going keep going uh uh let's see uh a couple more here favorite expression or motto that you live by okay one of them is uh uh repetition is the key to learning and everybody on our management team has heard that a thousand times repetition is the key to learning and so if you want your team and people around you to learn something your culture and things you better repeat it your number one audience as a leader in a branch or in a company is is your people your staff your support staff your agents uh you know uh you've got to repeat you've got to sell them before you can sell anybody else in other words you've got to repeat it repeat it repeat it consistent consistent consistent and you'll get sick of it sometimes but you got to go over and over and over and over again pretty soon they'll get and you'll actually hear them uh say things like repetition is the key to learn the first time I heard that actually was from uh my mentor and uh it was uh Floyd Wickman he said it just one word different he said repetition is the mother of learning is how I heard him say that um and I so agree um fly fishing or golf if you only had to pick one for the rest of your life oh gosh uh I'm gonna go with golf uh because here in the mountains the streams freeze uh and I can still play golf here in Denver or I can go to uh you know go someplace else and play just got back from Cabo down there playing golf and and uh uh I just love it. In fact uh I got a little tennis elbow developing and elbow and uh I'm a little concerned about that because uh go back on the oxygen oxycote golf is it all right um let's see finish the sentence and then I got one last question um leadership to me is really about um I'm gonna say leadership as I define it is about being consistent uh you have to be consistent right or wrong you have to be consistent in your in your in your thought and I think that consistency over time consistency of of whatever you're trying and and time uh create your culture be careful be careful the culture you create can be top so you have to make sure what you're doing got to believe in it and then you've got to do it uh you can't just do it you gotta do it consistently uh over time days weeks months years decades um especially when it gets uh challenging hard that's when you got to be consistent that's hard hard to do okay what else you got for my my my last question is is is not is is is what the heck is that thing hanging behind your head that I've been seeing the whole time it looks like a duster thing that got stuck on the wall no it's just a a string of chilies from down in Hatch New Mexico it's a what a string of chilies oh chilies there's they they string them together to drive they don't do that in Long Island David yeah I'm a New Yorker from Long Island I don't know what the hell that's on the Daryl Daryl Daryl I've I've got a I've got something for you I'm gonna give this to you I'm not gonna charge you any more than I normally charge you.

SPEAKER_02

Have you ever been to Santa Fe New Mexico I don't think I have New Mexico yes but I don't know if it was Santa Fe may have flew into it no you wouldn't fly you'd fly into Albuquerque but I want you to I want you to spend three nights in Santa Fe New Mexico in the next year. You won't do it but and but you ought to do okay it'll it'll change your life well what is there anything particular should I call somebody when I'm there or no just no just go around just go there and walk around okay the oldest continuously occupied uh uh city in the United States really all right Julie please write that down all right three days and three days in Santa Fe can somebody call April yes call him he won't do it you know he's he's good at a double dog dare though David yeah I am good at no he won't do it in fact if uh let me know when you're gonna be down there and I'll drive down and see okay great I'll walk around we'll we'll walk around I would love that I would absolutely love that I really would and you may say I'm moving to Santa Fe I I don't know I'm I'm a New Yorker man through and through I don't think that's ever going to happen we've been we've we've discussed the retirement plan.

SPEAKER_03

So many others have said is there anything David that I've didn't ask you that you would like to add to this conversation before we close it out all right Julie I would like to add that Julianne Jensen the the current president and CEO is on the call with us today and she said David has can has and continues to walk the walk everything he suggested he's practiced excellent leader lucky to mentor under his leadership that's awesome she put she put that in just as I sent her a little a little uh text message here's what I need you to uh nice to say Ben Moher's a little you know a little bonus for that statement I like it that's hilarious yeah yeah yeah no car Carpenter by the way anybody out there if you've got people moving to central Indiana uh we need the business and it I would be uh uh so referrals we have a fantastic we cover 15 counties uh and we will take care of your client uh like nobody else David this this was uh a true highlight for me I mean this sincerely because um I have always I listen seriously I enjoy you as a human being and uh besides the fact that you've made such a huge impact in the industry and and such a great leader but yeah as a person I've always enjoyed being with you and spending time with you so I really uh gang those of you do me a favor give some love to to David in the chat let him know that this was what you learned or was this valuable you know write something in the chat please to thank him because he's actually inherently very insecure and we need to uh boost up his his his his ego yes please uh but they are I see him floating in here people are just um really appreciative david seriously and um you know thank you for the difference that you've made in the agents and your company but also in the industry you've always been a positive light yeah just a really great human being so thank you thank you well Darrell thank you so much for the opportunity all right buddy all right all right everybody have a wonderful uh I hope this was great for you guys thank you for tuning in and uh don't forget everybody to keep smiling all right thanks again David