how team broady has weathered THE storm

by Mark Broady on Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Episode 1 - Clear Skies Ahead

Happy New Year, and welcome aboard!


We’re excited to launch this project, and I hope that this forum will serve to not only inform our audience, but to entertain as well. For the past two years, I have been posting a daily blog on my personal Facebook page which I named "The Chopping Block". It's been a tremendous creative outlet for me and what I've learned is that it serves a far greater purpose. By writing down my experiences, my challenges, my thoughts, my struggles, and my ideas - and sharing them with others... I have discovered a way to connect with people through the power of story.  

In keeping with my creative spirit, and in an effort to build onto this new blog from my existing one... I have come up with the name "Captain's Log".  

The purpose of this new corporate blog is to document and share our journey as a business. Consider it a professional diary or journal. We all know what it means to work within a business, whether as employees, managers, partners, directors, or owners. Any healthy business is like a thriving, living organism. So whatever "business" you're in, one thing for sure is that it's a journey, and business leaders are on a constant quest "To boldly go where no man has gone before." Hence, in honour of Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise - I will be sharing the adventures of Team Broady through my version of the Captain's Log.

There's a great song by Montreal rock band The Barr Brothers titled "Never Been a Captain". The opening lines of the song are, "I've never been a captain. Always been a sailor." 

Those lines really resonate with me because I've always identified myself as a sailor rather than a captain. I'm what you might call a reluctant leader. I don't seek out leadership. I don't crave it. I never used to consider myself a leader - or a captain for that matter. But this past year has brought about so many changes and challenges in our business, that being a sailor just wasn't going to cut it anymore. There was a storm coming, and we needed a captain on deck. And when duty calls - the dutiful find a way to step up - and answer that call. 

A true leader also understands that no ship can survive a storm without the help of the entire crew. A successful Captain must find a way to rally the troops, and make sure that everyone on board is executing their role to the best of their abilities in order to keep the ship afloat. 

I've been very fortunate to be surrounded by some of the best crew members out there. My teammates have all done an incredible job at stepping up and adapting to the changes we've had to endure. If I'm now ready to take the ship's wheel... I certainly couldn't do it without my crew! 

One of the most valuable assets any team can have is experience, which is something our team has benefitted from for decades. Libby Broady - our highest-ranking officer - has over 30 years of experience and an iron-clad reputation as one of the most respected realtors in the West Island. If I am the Captain... Libby is the Admiral!

And no Captain can expect to lead without an accomplished First Officer, or Lieutenant Commander. Just like Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock - there is a delicate balance between their differing styles and personalities. My sister Catherine adds a much-needed sense of organization, logic, and caution to the business. Where I can be quick to act on impulse and ideals, Catherine reminds us all to stop, think, analyze, and make careful decisions. 

My executive officers are paramount to our overall success as a business. We must lead the charge together, shape the vision and the culture, and create an environment that encourages leadership throughout the ranks.

Our other crew members – Desiree Ofter and Alex Power have also proven to be extremely valuable additions to our team. 

We recruited Desiree back in 2016 to help us provide more support and better service to our buyer clients. During these past few years, she has helped us grow as a business and has helped us to implement countless new ideas towards client services, innovation and technology. Desiree has become our most senior crew member, and often leads the team training exercises when it comes to buyer representation or anything to do with Instagram!

Our newest sales team member is Alex Power. Alex just joined the team midway through 2019, carrying a license in both commercial and residential real estate. Currently living in Griffintown, he has an intimate knowledge of the downtown condo market and loves working with first-time buyers and investors. His entrepreneurial background has taught him that hard work matters, that protecting others is rewarding work, and that relationships are far more valuable than a commission cheque. 

I now find myself supported by this amazing team, wearing a new hat, sitting in a new chair, and trying my best to assume this new role, as "Captain of the Ship". 

Even though I never saw myself as a Captain, I've begun to realize that deep down, that potential has always existed within me. I certainly have the capacity and ability for leadership, but I think I just needed a good reason to really tap into that potential. And what better circumstances than some good old-fashioned disruption to force me out of my comfort zone. 

One of the toughest challenges we faced both as a family and as a business this past year was the break-up of our team. It's been difficult to write about this for quite some time now... out of concern for the feelings of our family members. We had sent out an e-mail notice to our entire database back in June, as well as an announcement about it on our Facebook page. However, that announcement was very brief, and basically just mentioned that my brother Sean and his wife Kimberley Windsor had left Team Broady to start their own new team together. Their new venture is called “The Broady-Windsor Group”. 

At that time, I think we were all still a little overwhelmed by the incident, and we felt that a short and sweet announcement would be best. We felt there was no need to go into any detail about it. But since then, we’ve noticed that the break-up has caused considerable confusion among our past clients, as well as our friends and colleagues in the West Island and across Canada. Therefore, we have decided that the subject now deserves a little further explanation.

However, since this is the beginning of an ongoing, weekly series… you’ll have to wait for the next post in order to read the rest of the story.

Be sure to look out next week for Episode 2 of The Captain’s Log, as we dive deeper into what happened during the past year, and how we’ve all adapted to the changes so far.

Until then, signing off...

 

Mark Broady