Start With a Win

Strengthen your leadership skills and achieve success at work and at home with advice from a proven business leader

In Start with a Win: Tools and Lessons to Create Personal and Business Success, CEO of RE/MAX Holdings Adam Contos delivers a powerful exploration of how leaders process information and lead boldly, especially (or even) during times of crisis. Packed with the practical lessons he learned as the leader of one of the most recognized real estate brands in the world, the book shows you how leaders recognize emotion, chaos, and fear and transform those negatives into opportunity.

Whether you lead a team of one—yourself—ten, or 10,000 and up, you'll also find actionable advice on:

• How to develop effective leadership skills by seeking out situations that require you to practice leading
• Avoiding the experience of becoming overwhelmed by relying on time-tested frameworks to organize your thinking during stressful situations
• Overcoming fear and self-doubt by recognizing that your doubts are only as powerful as you think they are

Perfect for executives, managers, and other business leaders, Start with a Win is an indispensable resource for entrepreneurs seeking to clarify and accomplish their goals.

Introduction xi

Part I It’s Your Choice 1

Chapter 1 Attitude: You Can! 3

Chapter 2 Our Missions Set the Playbook 27

Part II Your Toolbox 51

Chapter 3 Party With the Beast (Your Emotions) 53

Chapter 4 Be a Sponge 83

Chapter 5 Leadership Learnings 101

Chapter 6 From Chaos to Calm: Build Your Action Plans 145

Chapter 7 Presence and Passion: For Your People and Work 153

Chapter 8 Lose the Ego 175

Chapter 9 The Trifecta: Mentor/Coach/Mastermind 189

Chapter 10 Celebrate the Wins 203

Good Reads 215

Acknowledgments 217

About the Author 221

Index 223

ADAM CONTOS is Chief Executive Officer of RE/MAX Holdings, the global real estate leader and home of RE/MAX LLC and Motto Mortgage. Founded in 1973, RE/MAX has grown to over 140,000 professionals and 8,700 offices, in 110 countries. Motto Mortgage, one of the fastest growing emerging franchises in the United States is on an exciting growth trajectory as well, now with hundreds of franchises awarded in just 5 years. Under Adam’s leadership, the RE/MAX Holdings team has massively grown its technology and data infrastructure through multiple acquisitions in tech, data, AI, and loan processing to provide a greater experience and capability to the real estate and mortgage marketplace.

In Start With a Win: Tools and Lessons to Create Personal and Business Success, RE/MAX CEO Adam Contos delivers an insightful and actionable guide to achieving your personal and professional leadership goals. Drawn from his experience leading the world’s most recognized brand in real estate along with time in law enforcement and as an entrepreneur, the author offers readers a roadmap on how to recognize risk, opportunity, and fear and turn them into golden opportunities. You’ll learn to avoid the experience of becoming overwhelmed or burned out by relying on simple frameworks to organize your thinking, negotiate so that both sides leave with a win, learn and grow throughout your career, and network and lead teams in any situation.

To Start With a Win, you’ll understand how to:

• Party with the Beast: control your emotions and climb out of chaos and uncertainty into decisive action
• Lose the Ego: by putting your people first you build lasting impact in your field and your community
• Master the Winning Approach: step up, stay present, deploy kindness and gratitude

Adam Contos has helped thousands of people to realize their dreams through his leadership, speaking, coaching, and mentoring. In his time with the U.S. military and as a deputy sheriff, SWAT team leader, and police officer, he kept his colleagues and communities safe. Start With a Win captures the tools he’s learned along the way told with his energetic style and compassion. Don’t wait: It’s time to Start With a Win.

Praise for START WITH A WIN

"There is no single incident that made Adam the incredible success he is as a leader. It is the small steps that he learned, experimented with, and helped his evolution to get to be one of the really great CEOs of American Business."
—Dave Liniger, Co-founder of RE/MAX

"Adam Contos is an extraordinary person who understands the importance of humility, wisdom, and perspective required to be the great leader and success he is in business and in life."
—Darren Hardy, CEO, Mentor and New York Times bestselling author

Insider secrets on leadership and success from a global real estate CEO. Drawing from his years of experience as Chief Executive Officer of the world’s largest real estate brand, Adam Contos provides actionable and specific advice on how to develop skills, grow personally and professionally, and succeed.