Daddy's not gonna pay for your crashed car

In the book titled Bono …in Conversation with Michka Assayas, U2’s vocalist, commented on the music business, an industry threatened by the Internet and technology. Asked how at 46 he remains vital and seemingly on top of the industry besieged technology, loss of record sales and a shifting demographic of record buyers, his answer seems culled directly from Jared Diamond’s anthropological thesis first published in his book Guns Germs and Steel.

“New distribution models have changed the face of the business making it unrecognizable from what it once was” Bono said. “U2 realized that and works hard to not be run over by the future. We want to be a part of it, not the past. The only way was to be involved and take part in shaping what the future will be.”

Wise words and very applicable to our business where very few of the 1.2 million members have gotten involved and shaped. If an aging rock star can have his finger directly on the pulse on social mechanics, behaviors and trends, you would think more than a few of the million+ entrepreneurs and independent business in real estate would as well. As a result of not taking control, not shaping, not being part of the change, both industries have seen large and small entities disappear from the landscape. Turning a blind eye, burying your head in the sand only serves to prolong the inevitable.

– Davison