8 Values That Drive Our Family and Our Business

Our Values Guide Our Client Experience

Welcome to the Oikos Blog; we’re glad you’re here! 

Our inaugural post is all about values.  

In real estate, value is a future-oriented concept, a mix of market factors and ownership accrual over time—the anticipated benefits to the owner or investor. This post isn’t about that. 

We’re talking about values. The stuff you care about. The stuff that guides your plans and decision-making. The stuff that fills you with pride and purpose. Values are a big part of Oikos’ central operating principle. As a client, you’ll notice this immediately as we dig into the heart of your checklist before looking at listings. To understand you holistically, we use a values-based approach.

If we’re asking you to invite us into your hopes and closely held beliefs, it’s only fair that we share ours. 

As my wife Sarah and I prepared to have kids in 2017, we drew up our Ponder Family Values. In the thick of the pandemic, with two kids and expecting our third, these values took on new meaning for us in 2020. We teach our young kids toddler-friendly versions, helping us recommit and formalize our values.

Every January, we reflect on our values as we envision the upcoming year.

Ponder Family Values

We don’t give up when it’s hard.

We use grit to persevere through challenges in pursuit of a long-term goal. Failure is an opportunity to learn something new about ourselves.

We help others.

We use compassion to understand how another person feels.

We ask questions.

We use curiosity to learn, ask questions, and carefully listen for answers.

We tell the truth.

We use honesty to seek and share the truth. We are not distracted by falsehoods. Facts are true, but the interpretation of facts is subjective.

We take care of our stuff.

We use stewardship to care for the things we have. We don’t keep or take more than we need. We share abundance with others.

We make cool stuff.

We use creativity to find solutions to problems. We share the stuff we create with the world.

We laugh.

We use humor to seek out laughter and joy in life. We don’t take ourselves too seriously.

We try new things.

With a sense of adventure, we take appropriate risks and try things that might take us out of our comfort zone. We are not complacent.

These values illuminate who we are as humans and as a company. Our bottom line is our client’s long-term well-being, and you’ll see these values at play with everything we do. 

Now, over to you.

‍What values do you and your family reflect on?

For REALTORS®, my wife Sarah provides financial and wealth planning. To learn more, visit realestatewealthplanning.com.