At Prudential California Realty, Jon Cook has learned all too well what is needed from leadership as the economy’s crystal ball continues to provide little more than haze and clouds in its window on the future.
Cook, the president and CEO, must somehow strike a balance between promoting realism about the present and optimism about the future. He must try to focus his work force, which includes 3,000 sales associates in Southern California, on what needs to go right for the company to become more successful in the future, while not denying the problems of the present.
Cook must achieve a balance each day, month and quarter. Swing too far toward painting a rosy picture, and he risks losing credibility within the organization. Swing too far toward harsh reality, and he risks damaging employee confidence and, in turn, the company’s culture.
All the while, Cook can never lose sight of the fact that everyone at Prudential California Realty — which had $260 million in 2009 gross commissions — is looking to him for an indication of where the company is headed.
“It all starts at the top,” Cook says. “The CEO has to establish a vision for where you are going as an organization, where your core values are, and make sure that the senior leadership team — in our case, an executive committee — shares the vision and core values. Then, we have to fan out and instill all of that within our management team and agents.”
At the same time, Cook and his leadership team must preach standing firm on Prudential California Realty’s mission and values, while still maintaining the momentum and flexibility to follow a long-range vision, achieve and overachieve on set goals, and remain adaptable as the market shifts.
“Ultimately, we want to focus on the fact that we’re going to promote a highly trained, technologically advanced and diverse sales force that will provide exceptional customer service,” Cook says. “That is where we want to go as an organization.”
