Coffee with Colleen

• 1992 | Studied graphic design and illustration at
  the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth “I was so
  fortunate to study with some brilliant minds, like Dietmar Winkler,
  who designed the Kendall MIT subway station, and Robert Barry,
  author of Mr. Willowbys Christmas Tree.”
• 1996 |Worked as a graphic designer at an
  independent printing company

  “I really worked on my ability
  to hustle and looked for innovative ways to market our
  services.”

• 2001 |Worked as a researcher and
  community events organizer for a documentary filmmaker

  “I met a lot of people who were
  making a huge difference in the world, including Grameen Bank
  founder and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr. Muhammad
  Yunus.”

• 2002 |Started working at Gibson
  domain|domain as a receptionist and freelance graphic designer

  “After the dot-com-bust, jobs
  were scarce. One of our agents passed along my resume to the HR
  person at Gibson. I was hired as a receptionist and freelance
  graphic designer (two of the three jobs I held at the time). I
  loved working with the agents and their clients. We managed to get
  an espresso machine for the office, so I made espresso drinks for
  clients when they arrived. The idea that I could provide a little
  care and joy for them really made my workday thoroughly
  enjoyable.”

• 2003 |Hired to work full-time in
  the marketing department of Gibson domain|domain, eventually
  promoted to director of the department

  “This was an exciting moment for
  me. Those were much simpler times; a brochure contained one photo
  and one paragraph of text. MLS wasnt sharing data with third
  parties. Now that seems like the dark ages!”

• 2006 |Helped transition Gibson domain|domain
  into a Sothebys International Realty franchise

  “When Larry and Paul bought the
  company, we decided to make a splash. We wanted to change all of
  our listing signs overnight so that we were truly a new company
  when the sun rose. Our department called in every favor we had
  available; even my father was changing signs!”

• 2012 |Began work as a sales coach for Gibson
  Sothebys International Realty, eventually named as the Director of
  Productivity

  “This was a major turning point
  in my life. I felt tremendous inspiration and responsibility for
  helping agents get to their goals. So, I read every book I could
  get my hands on to learn about successful business models,
  motivation, goal-setting, neuroscience, and other relevant topics.
  I called it my Library Card MBA. We created several strategies to
  improve our agents enjoyment of their work. We have the highest per
  agent productivity out of the top ten firms in the state of
  Massachusetts.

  During the process of reading all of those
  fabulous books, one of them really resonated with me. It was Lead
  with Luv, written by Ken Blanchard and Colleen Barrett. Barrett is
  the President Emeritus of Southwest Airlines. I was so moved by her
  caring approach to leadership that I wrote a note thanking her for
  generously sharing her experience. One of the nice folks who
  answered the phone at Southwest promised they would get my note to
  her. Barrett wrote back and included a copy of a different book.
  Since then, we have communicated back and forth.”

• 2017 |Named CEO of Gibson
  Sothebys International Realty “I feel so
  grateful every day that I get to contribute to our efforts and to
  participate in such a special workplace. The family-like culture of
  our company is truly unique, and our growth trajectory is
  unparalleled.”

To learn more about Colleen, click here.

CLICKto read this
article of the Fall 2017 Collections Magazine, via publication
layout.