Lots of things were outstanding at the 2006 Family Reunion.   This is a list of my favorites from the event.

1) The KW Culture responds to Hurricane Katrina

    Mark and Mo's general session and Mo's inspirational breakfast clearly showed the difference that the KW culture makes to our associates.  The video played in the general session had me and most of the audience choked up as we saw what an impact the heart-to-heart program had on our associates who lost almost everything in the Gulf Coast.  This video should be required viewing in all KW Market Centers so that every associate knows what great leadership and the power of giving can do for people's lives. 

    You also could not miss the red shoes that everyone was wearing at the event.  These shoes were part of the KW Cares Fundraiser, and contribute towards ongoing hurricane relief and the many other initiatives of KW Cares.  For more information about KW Cares, see the website at http://www.kwcares.org/.

2) KWU MAPS rolls out new programs under new leadership

    Keller Williams University MAPS Coaching produced three new coaching programs for agents and management under the direction of newly hired VP, Dianna Kokoszka.  Dianna has only been with MAPS since November, and during that time she has assembled three new coaching programs for associates and recruited additional coaches to the program.  The breakout session that she faciliated "How Accountabilty can Change Your Life" was fantastic and clearly demonstrated how effective coaching can help anyone reach their goals.

To learn more about the new programs, click here: https://secure.kw.com/kwu/content/maps.jsp

My technology program was accepted as a Mastery Level coaching program, and is available through MAPS.  I will also be launching an Internet Lead Generation coaching program through the business building series later this year. 

3) Camp 443 Succcess Stories

Camp 443 launched in 2005, and everywhere I turned people were talking about its success in Market Centers.  The Market Centers that I own have seen this as well, with class sizes of 20 people and the agents sticking to the class the whole time.  We've seen many of the agents in 443 get to productivity faster, and we've even had several experienced agents join the classes- this has added great real world perspective to the class and has also helped the experienced agents by holding them accountable to their goals.  This course clearly demonstrates that KW is at the top of the game when it comes to training new agents and holding them accountable to building their careers quickly.

Additionally, KWRI announced that they would be shipping the Camp 443 supplemental videos to all Market Centers participating in KW Connect.  The initial videos were very bandwidth intensive, and many Market Centers experienced delays and pauses when playing back these videos.  Having the videos in the Market Center will allow trainers to play directly from DVD instead of streaming over the internet.

For information about new agent training and Camp 443 click here: https://secure.kw.com/kwu/content/cat_101.jsp

4) Eagentc rolls out significant improvements in 2005 and some very cool new tools

    The following new tools and improvements were put out for FR 2006:

    411 Online Goal Setting Tool

This goal setting tool is the foundation for action focused planning for real estate agents.  The new tool makes it easy to track annual, monthly, and weekly "big rocks" and easily print out your 411.  This tool has been used internally by KWRI, and is now available to the field.

    Agent Website Adminstrative Interface Rewrite

The agent website user interface got a new look and also significant improvements in its functionality.  It will now be much easier to edit your website, create custom pages, and implement website best practices.  In addition to the new interface, helpful tips are now included in the adminstrative screens so that you can quickly get help with anything you are trying to accomplish.

    KW Eagentc Technology Tour

A new tour of KW technology for agents was released.  Eagentc staffers handed out CDs that run the tech tour and these are sure to be great recruiting pieces to send to candidates.  The tour is not yet available on line but I would expect it to be available shortly. The new tour features interactive video and a robot tour guide to take you through all of the KW
agent technology.

    Other tools rolled out in 2005 that were showcased at the Family Reunion:
    Agent performance reporting dashboard and the Microsites (unbranded lead capture websites)

    News and announcements about KW technology appear here: http://support.kw.com/pages/kwintra_news.shtml

5) Susan Scott keynote on "Fierce Conversations"

Susan Scott gave a powerful keynote address about the cultural and personal transformation that is possible with authentic conversation.  Susan outlined 3 ideas about conversations, and the 7 principles of Fierce conversations.  She also outlined a specific method for handling tough conversations with a powerful example of this conversation in action.

This was one of the most valuable keynote sessions I have ever attended, and I think many in the KW family felt the same.  For more information about Fierce Conversations, see

http://www.fierceinc.com/