Over the past few weeks, I have reached out to dozens of friends and other thought leaders to talk about the future of our industry. With so much going on and the appearance of people taking sides, one friend made a suggestion that we could each check our premise. The phrase, “Check your premise” stems from the writings of Ayn Rand.
Everyone has an agenda. Some are obvious – right on the surface, while others are buried deep below. Such is the case with the various stakeholder groups in organized real estate – as well as those who are on the outside. Everyone has an agenda.
I do a lot of work with association/MLSs that ask me to guide them through the process of MLS Consolidation. They have made a decision that is right for them and it works for all parties involved. It may not be for everyone.
I don’t like to be told what to do. I don’t like mandates or monopolies generally. Do you?
This applies to MLS Consolidation. Nobody should be forced to consolidate. It’s not for everyone. If you think it might be a good option for you and your members, I suggest you learn everything you can about it, get together with the right people and talk openly about the options. Then make an informed decision.
As we check our premise, what are your assumptions about the following questions?
- Should there be fewer MLSs?
- Is MLS Consolidation right for you?
- Are all associations/MLSs broken and need to be fixed?
- Could you do better for your members?
- Will Upstream or RPR be successful? (I couldn’t say, but they didn’t ask me 🙂
- And who gets to decide?
There are organizations and groups pushing for more consolidation and many associations and MLSs fighting against it. Each has an agenda at play. That’s not unusual.
Who should decide?
Is there anything we can all agree upon? As I sit at my desk in Denver today, here is what comes to mind for me:
Boards of Directors should do what is best for their members and subscribers
There are a number of national initiatives and there will be many more to come. Some will succeed, others won’t. Many will have an impact, but do they get to decide the future outcome for you or will you make your own big decisions first?
When I check my premise, I believe that the associations and MLSs at the local and regional MLS level are the ones with the responsibility and the power to decide what is best for their members. Many Boards of Directors are doing a good job while others are not. As a result, we have a lot of different agendas at play including the national initiatives. This results in an environment of increasing conflict and sides are being drawn.
What do you think? Can we generally agree that the overriding goal of every Board is to do what’s best for its members? I invite you to check your premise and have more open and engaging discussions about the best options available, in order to better serve your members.
Our future will be shaped by many different initiatives now and int the future. Solutions come in various packages. One size does not fit all. Is MLS Consolidation right for you and your members?
Check your premise and tell us how you are thinking and feeling right now.
Thanks Kevin! Getting to “what’s best for members” is exactly the right next step. But how can we know without knowing the options? Is there a way to educate members about what opportunities exist in the MLS world and what those opportunities mean to the members? If all I know is what exists in my direct experience, how can I make a well-informed decision? Sure would be helpful to see what the choices are (in a non-threatening way, of course), so I really knew how to make the best decision “for the members”. Thanks in advance for your thought on this.
Thanks Rick. I hope we can continue this type of open dialog right here, on social media and in person. NAR Midyear in Washington DC provides the ideal opportunity for people to talk. We do need to create an environment friendly to learning about the options that are available to the association/MLS. One challenge we face as speakers and facilitators for collaboration is that many of the (smaller) associations that run MLSs don’t attend the conferences or sessions where the learning opportunities are presented in mass. CMLS is an excellent example of this. CMLS has about 200 organizations that have the budget and time resources to join and participate in CMLS and their exceptional conferences. But we have 590 association/MLSs with less than 1,000 members. Many of these are doing a good job of serving their members’ best interests, however they don’t attend the CMLS meetings, where the education and options are presented and discussed openly. We need to do better.
I believe the best way to reach them is to go to the places where they hang-out. For example, in Washington DC, CMLS – Brings it to the Table on May 10 will provide information and education about some of the options available to every MLS. This will definitely not be about telling people what to do, it’s simply providing information and some options that work.
Everyone has choices. The problem is, they aren’t aware of the options or they choose not listen and learn. Check your Premise.
Nice blog Kevin. Lots of complex issues to think about.
Thanks Derek. You are correct – lots of complex issues to think about. One of the key issues centers around the philosophical beliefs of the local association’s Board of Directors. Some believe that making money from MLS which is used to support the association activities is good for the members. Some boardrooms believe that it is their duty to maintain a healthy and profitable MLS. What do you think?
In my experience, the money is possibly the biggest challenge to overcome. It’s the members who are paying most of that money (MLS and Association fee income). Is it important to survey the members and ask them what they want on this?
There are however a few solutions to the money challenge. Look at MLSEvolved.com as a possible solution. In my opinion, they are doing a good job in creating something new with their MLS consolidation initiative.
Thought provoking post Kevin. For what it’s worth … this is how ignorant I was about MLS’s. I never had a clue there were soooo many MLS’s on a Local and Regional level. It wasn’t until I attended my first NAR Conference in CA that I even began to understand this … somewhat. And that is only because I chose to attend an MLS meeting there. At first, I was really confused with all the input and comments being thrown out at the meeting. I recall my own personal thoughts being, Wow what a mess all this is. Then I was wondering how did MLS get to become like this. For a long time I always thought there was one MLS … at least Nationally much less Internationally. Then I realized this is not even one MLS at a state level. To me MLS needs to be “consolidated” or integrated at the very least on a State level … then on a National level … and hopefully on an International level. But, it all needs to begin with education the members first. The only way I think MLS members can be educated is to make it a required CE class/course to renew your real estate license. I happy to say CINDY ARIOSA is now on our Local MLS and I feel confident in saying I know positive change will happen. Good Luck with the impact you are making.