Hindering Forces are obstacles which are placed in front of us or used against us. They provide resistance, delays or obstruction to something or someone. Hinderances are put in our path to literally slow us down. However, it is possible to use these blockages as stepping stones to overcome. Learn how the lessons of the past couple of years can help us to draw upon these resources to help us in uncertain times.
LOCATION: 401 Hall St. Suite 188, Grand Rapids, MI
TIME: 7:30 AM - 9;00 AM on May 10, 2022
Feeling Like You Belong - Real Estate Broker & Entrepreneur Lola Audu
The feeling of belonging is a complex and intuitive one. The narrative behind the story of the immigrant experience is rarely a straight line. It meanders through the challenges of navigating unfamiliar spaces and constructs and inevitably runs into unanticipated obstacles and sometimes opportunities.
Lola Audu, Real Estate Broker and owner of Audu Real Estate shares her experience of coming to America as an International college student and living and working in West Michigan in this revealing and insightful discussion on a variety of topics and issues including racism (prejudice + power) and cultural intelligence. Also, humorous anecdotes about learning the world and lingo of real estate world from the group up.
TRID 2016: Crouching Lion or Toothless Tiger?
Few things capture the attention of the real estate community as the threat of fines for violations. Or perhaps, more appropriately stated, the threat of enforcement for violations. So, when new regulatory guidelines for lenders, title companies and real estate agents were announced which made changes to the lending and closing process starting in October of 2015, there was understandably some angst as to how things would play out.
The concern was buttressed by an investigation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of a West Michigan title company which resulted in a significant fine. A warning shot across the bow, I was told by one industry veteran.
However, in January I was in a room packed with professionals in the industry where the question was posed, 'How has TRID impacted your business'. As a REALTOR, I was especially interested to know how my peers had fared since the implementation approximately 90 days earlier. It was notable that most of those present did not seem to feel that there had been any impact. To be fair, this was the consensus of the REALTORS present. Lenders definitely had a different take on the issue. During the event, one explanation for why there was less regulatory impact than expected was that implementation was being delayed until April 2016 to provide time for the industry to make adjustments. Since then, it appears that legal challenges are also impacting the speed of implementation by the Bureau.
The webinar below was recorded in March of 2016.
On Culture + Intelligence
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to extend the dialog around cultural intelligence with REALTOR leadership within the State of Michigan. The keynote Speaker for the conference, David Livermore PhD spoke to a packed room about the implications of failing to understand and develop a coherent professional approach to assisting people from other cultures with their housing needs.
Quoting from an article published in the Michigan REALTOR magazine, Livermore indicates that he is 'hard pressed to think of a group of professionals in our state who matter more to our future than Michigan REALTORS. You're often the first face of Michigan to those thinking about locating here. And with the growing diversity of those moving to our neighborhoods, the way you treat these potential residents could make or break us'.
That's significant responsibility to be sure! I have had the opportunity to teach sessions on home ownership to immigrants from Nepal, Burma and Congo. It is humbling to recognize how much some of our fellow citizens have endured to start from scratch in making a new culture a home base. You're just scratching the surface if you think acclimating to the American way of life is simply a matter of learning English, dressing in western style clothing or eating a burger.
In fact, the visible aspects of what we commonly reference as 'culture' are simply the tip of the iceberg. Much of our cultural experience and bias lies well below the surface and many of us are unaware of how deeply impacted our automatic reactions are when faced with someone who differs from what we consider the norm.
Over the years, I've had the opportunity to service the real estate needs of individuals from all sorts of professions, cultures, religions and persuasions of various sorts. As far as I'm concerned, human beings can never be neatly categorized and labelled, no matter how much we think we know or can see. Every man is an iceberg. What is visible above the surface doesn't even begin to reveal the enormity of who a person is nor does in capture the gift that the richness of diversity adds to the tapestry of life.
Next month, April 2016 is Fair Housing month! It's a time when the real estate industry intentionally focuses on increasing awareness around the issues which separate and segregate us. My hope, my dream is that one day Fair Housing won't be an issue which focuses on what divides us, but will instead be an opportunity to remind America of what unites us and makes us strong in this amazing melting pot that we call the American dream. One which includes the rights of home ownership.
Being an Entrepreneur
Innovation to me is very much linked to being an entrepreneur. It took me a while to realize that being an entrepreneur is really in my blood stream. My parents were entrepreneurs; their parents were entrepreneurs. And so part of being an entrepreneur is you deal with what you have, and try to figure out how to create something someone else wants. Being in education, and what made education so interesting to me, is it offers so many different opportunities for innovation, for creativity, for expressing things in a different way.
Design A Workshop with LA SPEAKING
Have you ever been to an event or workshop and thought, "I wish they had covered (insert topic) during the session?" LA SPEAKING is pleased to announce our latest innovation in audience engagement - Design A Workshop.
Lola specializes in bringing together people from every industry, and catering her workshops to fit your needs. With tremendous experience behind her, Lola brings an infectious energy to all of her workshops and seminars: make her one of the premier event speakers in the Grand Rapids area.
Using the Design A Workshop tool allows Event Planners, Program Directors and Educators to put the building blocks together in a unique way and create and audience experience which is fresh and insightful.
The tool features six major building blocks which can be put together in a number of ways. In addition, specific areas of interest can be added to build more content and focus in a particular area.
ENHANCING THE VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
CREATING A CULTURE THAT ATTRACTS YOUR NEXT HIRE
CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE - THE CQ ADVANTAGE!
LEADERSHIP ESSENTIALS: KEYS TO SOLID FOUNDATIONS
PLACEMAKING - BUILDING INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY
RELATIONSHIP MARKETING - BEYOND SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
Time: 4-6 Hours
BUILD A WORKSHOP: Choose combinations of 2-4 topic areas to build a unique offering for your team or organization.
Please contact us for additional information
The Gatekeepers: Unconscious Bias, Cultural Intelligence & Real Estate
I grew up in the country of Nigeria, attending an American school where children from a number of countries were educated. In an institution with about 200 students at that time in the early 80's, there were approximately 60 different nationalities thus creating a uniquely multi-cultural experience which has served as a unique backdrop for selling real estate in a community which is far more homogeneous. As a real estate Broker in West Michigan for over two decades, I've sold homes in all sorts of communities. My career has spanned a wide swath of geographical locations within West Michigan,
However, I vividly remember a time during which I experienced blatant racism when I was invited to present a listing service proposal. As the homeowner opened the door, it was clear that they were surprised to see me. This was before the days of the Internet so they probably made the request for my service proposal based on how I sounded on the phone.
The situation became increasingly uncomfortable as I entered the living room for the interview and was interrogated about who I was going to bring to see the home. They didn't want 'those kind of people' in the neighborhood as it might upset their neighbors. A bizarre conversation as it was obvious that 'those kind of people' included the person they were currently interviewing to service the sale of their home.
After a few minutes, I got up and said, 'it is illegal for me or any other REALTOR to consider your request, so I cannot be of service to you' and left the home. To be frank, it was such a disconcerting experience that I blocked much of the detail out of my mind.
"Segregation is a social construct. It is something we choose to do and we can choose not to do. We need to start thinking of diversity in a new way. A city is the sum of the relationships of the people who live there. We can reshape our cities" Quotes from Dave Troy - Social Maps that Reveal A City's Intersections - and Separations
In fact, the issue of racial bias is so deeply embedded within our psyche that we are often unaware that we are prejudiced. Unconscious bias runs deep and controls many reactions and belief systems. It is so deeply enfolded within the subconscious that most people would not admit to any racist tendencies yet, on closer examination it is clear that their entire lives are void of any engagement with a minority group apart from that which is absolutely necessary. (The Free Implicit Association Test or IAT Test administered by Harvard University is a great tool to explore the area of subconscious bias)
The real estate community has wrestled with this demon for decades. It undermines the foundation through which community is expressed through our dwelling places - the space we call home.
Historically, the United States has been defined by segregated neighborhoods. That is certainly the case in the city in which I live, Grand Rapids MI. Last year, I attended TED GR where one presentation highlighted areas in which the majority of African Americans live in the city. It was jarring to see the reality reflected so vividly on a big screen.
Racial steering refers to the practice in which real estate brokers guide prospective home buyers towards or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race. Racial steering is often divided into two broad classes of conduct;
Advising customers to purchase homes in particular neighborhoods on the basis of raceFailing, on the basis of race, to show, or to inform buyers of homes that meet their specifications
Wikipedia: Racial Steering: The Real Estate Broker and Title VIII" The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 85 No. 6. (1976) 808 - 825
As the traditional Gatekeepers of information and the source of financing for homes, the real estate and lending communities have had a tremendous amount of influence and leverage in defining the context of American neighborhoods.
An interesting story about the history behind planned communities revolves around the professional contributions of an English architect named Ebenezer Howard.who became renowned for his design of the garden city, a planned utopia which would allow people to live in harmony with nature. While the plan purported to create urban landscapes and promote healthier lifestyles more in tune with nature and thus lessen the congestion of the city of London, England, it also explicitly stated that this environment was intended to cater to upper and middle class Caucasian residents and provide them with economic benefit as expressed in the excerpt below.
"These communities would be set up for Caucasian upper-middle-class people, by virtue of quick rail access, they would have close economic links to other cities, but would have enough economic activity within its boundaries so that the majority of residents would not have to commute" thus lessening the impact of congestion and pollution. " Levy, John M. "Contemporary Urban Planning. Pearson Prentice Hall. New Jersey. 2006. Page 48
Sir Ebenezer Howard and his theories of design about urban and suburban communities would come to have tremendous influence on the design of communities in America during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The city of Detroit, Michigan was deeply impacted thus creating racial steering in a systematic way from 1917 as city officials allowed racial profiling and stereotyping to continue through laws and zoning ordinances.
It was fairly early in my career that I came across the actual evidence of the systemic use of racist terminology in zoning ordinances as I examined a title abstract on behalf of a client. Several sections of the abstract had been blocked out by black marker, but unfortunately the entirety of the now illegal terminology was still visible in part. The language in the document indicated that the subdivision had restrictions against certain types of people (including Blacks & Jews among others) purchasing homes in that particular subdivision.
Unfortunately, while we can legislate laws that make racial profiling and steering illegal, we cannot legislate the human heart. A recent conversation with a young mother underscored her specific concern regarded studies about infant mortality rates as a minority living within an a more segregated neighborhood. Essentially, a child has a statistically significantly lower chance of survival in a severely segregated minority community. This fact is supported by a Public Health Study, Racial Residential Segregation: A Fundamental Cause of Racial Disparities in Health.
In living systems when a vein becomes blocked or occluded, the body finds ways to route the flow of blood in another way; one which is usually less efficient than the original design. Communities are living systems which house human beings. We cannot afford to continue to ignore the long term, devastating impact of racial segregation.
REALTORS are increasingly dealing with international transactions due to the rise in immigration and are finding that it is necessary to develop another skill set which facilitates better communication with people from other cultures. It is interesting that many of the prejudicial elements which the industry has struggled with in dealing with minority communities also underscore the challenge of serving diverse communities from a wide strata. Diversity is not just a racial issue. A lack of it impacts the integral fabric of this our American life..
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Lola Audu will be leading two workshops in the areas of Cultural Intelligence and Risk Management Reduction for members of the Michigan real estate community on January 22-22, 2016 at the Achieve Leadership Conference for the Michigan REALTORS. The sessions will cover the the areas of Cultural Intelligence, Unconscious Bias and provide insights for creating an environment of service through REALTORS that engages clients intelligently, enhances cultural intelligence and expanding opportunities for growth and economic progress.
Lola Audu l LA SPEAKING l Keynote Speaker l Workshop Leader
Hushed Tones...
It was nice to see the parking lot full of cars. One of our favorite restaurants in the Grand Rapids area is a beautiful Persian restaurant with excellent food and exquisite authentic decor. We have come to enjoy and appreciate the subtle nuances in the cuisine and the mixed potpourri of individuals who amble in on any given afternoon or evening.
Today was not an exception as the table almost diagonally adjacent to ours was occupied by a mixed group of American and Australian diners. As a Nigerian American, it was nice to have another accent punctuating the air with laughter and conversation.
As we neared the end of our meal, the proprietor who was also assisting guests stopped by to ask if we'd like to try some Persian tea. Although we were stuffed, his description made the cardamon infused hot beverage sound so inviting, we decided to taste the brew. It was excellent!
As we savored our tea, I realized that something was a bit off. The table in front of us, which had been involved in a normal level of conversation was now speaking in hushed tones. I could decipher some of the conversation and it took me a minute to realize that they were responding at least in part to the conversation which had just taken place at our table.
As our tea was brought to the table by the proprietor, a conversation ensued in which we spoke about Persian culture and the country of Iran. Admittedly, not a conversation that you're likely to overhear in the average West Michigan restaurant setting. He talked about visiting Iran and his family and how he wished more people would make the journey to see his native country. He asked us about our home country Nigeria.
It was a comfortable and easy conversation as we connected on the level of fellow travelers in the diaspora who had immigrated to the United States. As he talked about Iran and the geopolitics of the area, I was struck by how different it is to have a conversation as human beings, not as the caricatures which we see so often portrayed in the media. Hearing the country of Iran described as a safe, orderly country was a far cry from anything I had become accustomed to.
Which brings me back to the hushed tones. It quickly became clear to me that this type of conversation was not just a rarity, but somewhat of an oddity. One which had stopped the conversation at the table next to us as they listened in. I left the restaurant thinking; I wonder how our lives would change, if we simply engaged in more human conversations? Conversations in which we listened to each other, shared our experiences, expressed interest in another's culture and were curious about learning something new. How would our worldviews be enlarged if we were less dependent on the incessant tethers of talking media heads framed within the small and large screens of our electronic devises?