Today, Jonathan Keyser, the inspiring founder behind real estate brokerage firm Keyser, joins us today to talk about living out one’s true values. He gives us an insight into the cut-throat industry of real estate and what he has become to rise from the ranks. After an epiphany, he realizes one doesn’t have to be ruthless to succeed.

Selfless Service: The Key to Success

If you ask around among Arizona commercial real estate brokers, you’ll surely hear about Jonathan Keyser — a thought leader and the inspiring founder of Keyser. He designs and implements unique solutions to complex real estate challenges. 

In particular, Jonathan focused on promoting “selfless service,” which he believes is the key to growing his company.

However, when he was still starting his career, he was very honest about being ruthless and cut-throat.

“The thing about me is, I try to be as authentic as possible. I used to be the most ruthless, cut-throat, commercial real estate prick in the world. I would lie, cheat and steal and would basically do whatever it took to be successful.” – Jonathan Keyser

You Don’t Have to Be Ruthless to Succeed

Jonathan vowed to himself that he will be successful. He came into the real estate world because it was a promising industry. Unfortunately, he was not prepared to face the hard truths the industry has in store for him.

“This is a ruthless industry. Everybody was scratching, clawing and backstabbing. I said okay if this is what it takes to be successful, I would do that. Because I was a little overachiever, I became ruthless the most. While I was successful at it, I hated it.” – Jonathan Keyser

Upon attending a seminar, he had an epiphany and realized that you can create success – financial, material success – through selfless service. Fast forward to the present day, he created the Keyser Institute which trains various corporations and individuals to succeed through selfless service.

Creating a Culture of Selfless Service 

Jonathan believes that at the end of the day, it’s our relationship with people that really matters. He warned that this philosophy of selfless service is not an instant gratification play. 

“You have to be thinking about long-term sustainable success. The only way you develop trust is by helping other people. Not trying to “sell” to them, but to serve them.” – Jonathan Keyser

Jonathan built his organization on 15 cooperating principles that define the company culture. New members of the team must be aligned “culturally” which means they truly want to help other people. 

Download and listen to Living Out Your True Values to learn more. Remember to let Jonathan know you heard about him next Culture Eats Strategy with Jaime Jay!

Connect through the links below:

LinkedIn: jonathankeyser

Twitter: @KeyserCo

Twitter: @TenantsAdvisor