Our Innovation Journey…

Watched VH1 over the weekend and was amazed by a recent Journey concert film.  Three of the original (or at least from the “iconic years”) band members were there and looking/sounding good, but Steve Perry wasn’t there…and man, they sounded exactly the same.  They had this guy, Arnel Pineda, and he nailed every Steve Perry […]

Watched VH1 over the weekend and was amazed by a recent Journey concert film.  Three of the original (or at least from the “iconic years”) band members were there and looking/sounding good, but Steve Perry wasn’t there…and man, they sounded exactly the same.  They had this guy, Arnel Pineda, and he nailed every Steve Perry note.  But after a few songs I got a little bored.

All Journey is doing is extending the same memories I had growing up with those songs but nothing new.  They even have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame….the absolute kiss of death for relevance.

On the other hand, a band like U2 has the same members since 1976 and Bono can’t hit the scream notes like he used to, but they keep putting out relevant albums, filling stadiums around the globe, and, Bono is even single handedly wiping out African debt!

So tying this back to real estate and Coldwell Banker®, it’s clear we can’t be Journey.   Hey, don’t get me wrong.  I would want my yard sign in the final scene and episode of the Soprano’s.  Wouldn’t mind Glee showcasing a re-made yard sign on national TV… except that my kids would like the Glee version better (Yuk).  But nothing new.  Nostalgia vs Relevance.

So, here we are.  A 104 year old Brand with a birthday coming up in August (no presents, please, just send cake) and we are plugging away to stay on top and remain relevant so that our customers and agents get real value by associating with us.  No Journey!

So I was thrilled to see that our great, “old” brand was nominated this week for two Inman Innovator of the Year awards…our industry’s version of the MTV VMA’s.  We were nominated for our new Bluescape sm search function on the all-new coldwellbanker.com, and for this Blog…Coldwell Banker Blue Matter.  And, we were nominated twice last year as well, and no other national brand has been recognized as much and as often as Coldwell Banker in the field of real estate innovation!

We are nominated alongside small start up firms, venture capital-backed entities and young guns looking to change real estate…just like we are.  It’s exciting, it’s motivating, and it shows that we live our tag line, “We Never Stop Movingtm”.  So if you are looking for the next best thing in real estate, look for us…the young at heart, 104 year old real estate firm…Coldwell Banker.

Because for Coldwell Banker Real Estate, Life’s Not a “Journey”, it’s a constant push to provide relevant value to our clients today.

(Cut to Black, music stops)

Quiz: The original lead guitarist for Journey came from what seminal late 60’s band, whose namesake was staying relevant up to the early 2000’s with monster albums in 2000 and 2002.  Post a comment with the name of that band!

Flickr photo by Σταύρος

COO for Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Ohio born, Jersey raised, NYC, LA and Nashville cultured. Father of three daughters and married to a saint. Undergraduate from Rutgers and MBA from Anderson School at UCLA. After 20 years in the car industry, Mike joined Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC in 2008 where he guided a string of innovations while serving as the CMO. In 2013 Mike was promoted to COO where he oversees the Coldwell Banker brand’s internal operations, learning, talent attraction, international, events and marketing.

Subscribe to Blue Matter and get the latest updates

7 Comments

  1. Julianne Krutka
    June 25, 2010

    Great Article Mike! When I read the headline I wondered how you were going to tie Coldwell Banker in with the fabulous classic rock group of Journey. I’m also happy to hear that Coldwell Banker turned up in the inman awards list. When I looked at that list last week I was surprised to see us NOT on it. Coldwell Banker certainly does dominate the industry when it comes to technology! JMHO 🙂

    Happy Friday and keep up the good work in the “bluematter”!

    Julianne Krutka
    Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
    48 Court Street Westfield, MA 01085
    Office: 413-568-2324
    Cell: 413-297-6718
    Email: Julianne.Krutka@nemoves.com
    Site: http://www.JulianneKrutka.com – Serving the real estate needs of Buyers and Sellers in Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut.
    Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JulianneKrutka
    A wise person once said..the only stupid question is the one you don’t ask! I am never to busy to answer your questions about Real Estate…ask away!

    Reply
  2. Tony Marriott
    June 25, 2010

    The Band: Santana
    The Guitarist: Neal Schon

    Mike: Tell me what I’ve won!

    Reply
    • mike_fischer
      June 25, 2010

      WOW. Nice Job!!!! I'll get back to you with something good.

      Reply
    • mike_fischer
      June 25, 2010

      Okay, how about a credit at Dee Sign or Lowen for a new yard sign…but it has to be Coldwell Banker! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Liza Jones
    June 25, 2010

    Santana
    (I won’t lie – I had to e-mail my musician husband and ask him for the answer!).

    Reply
  4. Tweets that mention Our Innovation Journey… | Coldwell Banker Blue Matter -- Topsy.com
    June 25, 2010

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Joshua Patz, Michael Fischer. Michael Fischer said: RT @coldwellbnkr Our Innovation Journey… http://bit.ly/auJ3oD […]

    Reply
  5. Lude
    July 6, 2010

    Mike…I was sure you were going to mention how the original Journey members found their replacement for Steve Perry…Arnel Pinada posted his talent on YouTube!

    Seems if you're looking to replace a one-of-a kind whatever

    (voice, car, HOUSE) that's one of the places to be…

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Share on Facebook Share on Twiiter Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Share on Telegram Share on Email