I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. Today I wanted to share some thoughts about this time of year and how often overlooked the opportunities are for us in the mortgage and real estate arena. I like to call this window, Thanksgiving through the middle of December few weeks, the single most critical time block we have, because the opportunities are great, the competition is small, and there is a very real “Motivation of the situation!” Here are my reasons:

1. 1. Focus! People believe there isn’t enough time to get things done this time of year and just choose to push it off until next year.
2. 2. Ability! As the clock keeps ticking, lenders lose the ability or the willingness to do what they need to do to get a deal closed before the end of the year.
3. 3. False beliefs! How often have you heard, “nobody wants to buy or sell during the holidays!”

The good news is, if you know these things, you can set the stage to close a few more deals THIS YEAR and start to build big momentum going into January! Remember, it’s hard to have a bad year when you have a great first quarter! Here are a few things to consider:

1. 1. People looking to buy right now are serious about buying!
2. 2. Those looking to sell are motivated to get the deal done NOW!
3. 3. The competition is far less because of people distracted by other things and not focused on working!

Would you rather compete in January when everyone comes back and the competition is greater; or now when you hold a competitive advantage of ability to convert the opportunities at hand? The motivation of the situation is very real! What you choose to do about it is up to you!

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Creativity is a highly applicable character trait of those who find success and significance in the business world.

In light of this observation, the question of whether creativity can be taught naturally arises. While it’s true that, with sufficient determination, individuals can learn almost anything, teaching your team to think creatively in any industry is contingent upon the approach.

As an Anticipatory Leader, the concept of fostering creativity among your employees should manifest in proactively addressing challenges through innovative solutions. This involves the cultivation of intricate ideas, allowing for the creation of remedies well in advance of issues becoming disruptive.

Creativity in Its Most Basic Form

Many organizations are playing the competition game, copying ideas in an attempt to stay one step ahead and gain a small fraction of market share. This is a road riddled with friction and little payoff as each player struggles to move one space ahead. If this sounds exhausting, it’s because it is exhausting.

The solution is to break free from this relentless cycle and forge an entirely new path. To achieve this, it’s essential to keep your opportunity radar finely tuned, identifying areas ripe for innovation. At the core of innovation lies creativity, naturally driving the process.

Just as with anything in business, creativity is a process in which bits and pieces of ideas are taken, shaken up, and revealed to discover new uses for products or services, or most importantly, solutions to problems both current and in the future.

The leaders many look up to in society — those who bring about the most powerful, transformative innovations — begin with an insatiable thirst for knowledge and curiosity about the world around them. This allows them to conceptualize diverse and original ideas, often taught to them by predecessors in their industry. Yet while creativity is taking in all that you know and experience, innovation is the ability to evaluate those observations and develop them into usable solutions.

Case Study: Elderly Companionship and A.I.

For Anticipatory Leaders and Anticipatory Organizations, pre-solving problems is not a hard stop for creativity, because everything can be improved upon in life.

For instance, it is a Hard Trend future certainty that as the Baby Boomers are aging, more of the population than ever before is entering into elderhood, where their range of mobility, ability to functionally care for themselves and others, and companionship are all reduced. Using this Hard Trend as well as the fact that pets play a crucial role in the emotional fulfillment of all age groups, one organization saw an opportunity to apply a creative and exponential solution to the issue of companionship: Joy for All.

A while back, I wrote about this innovative product that debuted for elderly individuals. To summarize briefly, Joy for All is an organization that supplies animal companionship — in the form of robotic cats and dogs — to the elderly who wish for company but not the burden of feeding schedules and vet appointments. This gives older individuals all the emotional benefits of owning a pet.

Creative, right? But is this industry tapped out because of one innovative idea? Absolutely not. What a company like Joy for All should be doing is thinking creatively about their product 20, 30, or more years from now! How can they make these mechanical companions more lifelike, especially as Gen X, Millennials, and even Gen Z individuals age into the elderly demographic one day?

I can bet on the reality that artificial intelligence (A.I.) will most definitely accelerate, and that you may be able to have this robotic pet actually start to emulate the behaviors of a pet that can learn tricks, pick up on patterns of your or your loved ones’ behavior, and more. This is an evident solution to a problem that does not even exist yet, as younger generations are not in their elderly years.

The Layers of Creativity

Too often I hear higher-level managers, C-suite executives, and other business leaders state that they “are not creative,” or they equate creativity to being “artsy” alone.

Remember: Creativity can be learned and should be fostered within your Anticipatory Organization! Learning to be creative and thus innovative comes with understanding the following three steps:

Discovery — This is the lower level of creativity. Discovery is when you become aware of or stumble upon something. In essence, this can be when you find that a tool or process can be adapted into something else, just as an interesting rock goes from being “just a rock” to “art.”

Invention — The next level of creativity comes with the process of invention. All great inventions would have come to fruition by someone else if the known inventor hadn’t pulled it together themselves. The pieces to the next great invention already exist. You simply discover them and pull them together in a new way.

Creation — Here is the highest level of creativity. Now is when you actually put your stamp on something new or reinvent something that exists. The creation portion of fostering creativity is the process of tapping into where your innovation lies.

The goal is never to compete in a foot race against your competition. Likewise, it is certainly not to copy and follow the crowd to find the next big idea. The goal is to be the leading industry innovator that has staying power by leveraging creative thinking to innovate in everything your organization currently does and will do in the future.

This then unlocks your opportunity as an Anticipatory Organization that stays in the lead naturally.

Dan A. Negulescu is a distinguished Real Estate Broker with a deep passion for international real estate. As a visionary promoter of the Exclusive Representation (Agency) concept in Europe, Dan has been at the forefront of shaping the European real estate landscape.

His dedication to advancing the industry is underscored by his active involvement with the National Association of REALTORS (NAR). Dan has served as a NAR Board Member in 2015 and again in 2019, bringing his expertise and insights to the forefront of industry decision-making.Dan’s impact extends beyond his roles within NAR. Since 2019, he has taken on the role of NAR In-region Ambassador for Central and Eastern Europe, further solidifying his dedication to promoting global real estate collaboration.

In 2022, Dan expanded his involvement with NAR, becoming a valued member of the NAR Events and Conference team, where his insights continue to shape the future of real estate conferences.

Zola is a seasoned real estate professional with a passion for helping clients buy, sell, and invest in beautiful Central Florida and beyond. Originally from Hungary, Zola’s journey in real estate began when he purchased his first investment property in Pennsylvania. After moving to Orlando in 2000, he quickly realized that real estate was his true calling.

With over 14 years of experience, Zola has built a thriving practice, serving both local and international clients. In 2015, he took on the challenge of helping open and manage a successful real estate office, attracting 150 associates within the first two years. However, Zola found his true calling when he transitioned to his current role as a practitioner, coach, and mentor to his fellow sales associates.

Zola is actively involved in teaching various courses for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the Real Estate Business Institute (REBI). He is a member of both the NAR’s CIPS Faculty and the Florida Realtors® Faculty. As a volunteer leader, Zola has held prestigious positions such as President of the Orlando Regional Realtors® Association in 2014 and Vice President of Florida Realtors® District 12 in 2015. He is currently a member of the NAR Board of Directors.

In addition to his teaching and leadership roles, Zola has chaired several committees and forums focused on international real estate and global business. He is highly regarded for his expertise in cultural variations and challenges faced by real estate practitioners. Zola’s dedication to education has earned him the 2021 Educator of the Year Award from the Orlando Regional Realtor® Association.