Everybody Wins

The title of this 30-year history of the RE/MAX real estate firm is founder Dave Liniger’s corporate philosophy: "Everybody wins." Liniger is a maverick, so even this authorized history is exciting and instructive. Authors Phil Harkins and Keith Hollihan assert that RE/MAX, "never experienced a month of negative growth," although they include sagas of near bankruptcies and other crises. The book focuses on absorbing storytelling, not statistics or metrics. It is organized mostly by theme, which blurs the chronology. The authors spin or dismiss any Liniger missteps, such as his "naïve" failure to keep up with payroll taxes. They praise him as bold and risk-taking, including the quixotic year he devoted to trying to fly a hot air balloon - the RE/MAX symbol - into the stratosphere. The book is readable, although sometimes a bit sweet and simple. And, the authors love clichés ("He put his head down and threw himself into the job" - ouch). Nevertheless, getAbstract.com cheerfully recommends this peppy saga. Managers will find it refreshing and instructive to read about people who attribute their success to loyalty, collegiality, hands-on leadership, and the ability to work and play hard, from each agent’s office to the golf course and the boardroom.