Goldie B. Wolfe Miller
I was at a luncheon the other day where Goldie B. Wolfe Miller was the speaker. (http://womenleadersinrealestate.com/speak.htm) In fact, I was honored to be seated at the head table with her family. I am so inspired by this woman! She started in commercial real estate - office leasing - at Rubloff in 1972. Rubloff is a venerable Chicago firm that has been around since the 1930’s. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubloff_Company). The company was founded by a feisty and brilliant fellow that I had the privilege of sitting next to early in my career at a board banquet one night: Arthur Rubloff. I can’t help but wonder what Mr. Rubloff would think about the direction his eponymous company has taken these past 10-15 years. It is not the company it was under his leadership! In the early 90’s, the Rubloff company, under it’s new owners, decided to spin off its commercial division and focus only on residential brokerage. In the break-up and shake-up after Arthur’s death, Goldie departed forming her own eponymous company - which under her leadership went on to become the largest woman-owned commercial real estate company. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rubloff’s decision to spin-off it’s commercial division had a great deal to do with Goldie’s success. They found her a tough competitor to beat. She sold that company in 1998 and is now consulting and developing as President of Millbrook Corporate Real Estate Services.
Some of Mr. Rubloff’s feistiness must have rubbed off on Goldie during her formative years as a real estate agent. In her speech this past Thursday, she said that she is often asked how she was able to balance her career with being a single mom. She said there is no such thing as balance. She said that there may be many defiinitions of success, but she always defined it in terms of money. That if you wanted to be successful, you couldn’t have the luxury of balance. One attendee during the Q&A asked how one can assure being lucky. Goldie’s response was by working harder than anyone else. And though she sounds like - and is! - a “hard cobb” - make no mistake, she is a character and a half! - what has made her the success that she is - and an inspiration to the standing room only crowd in attendance - is her genuine interest in and concern for the person she is talking to. For that brief moment when you have her attention, you have her full attention. She makes you feel as if there is nobody else in the room that is more important to her. It’s a rare gift and comes from a generous heart.
It is amazing what this woman with singleness of purpose, dedication and drive has been able to accomplish. Her energy is infectious. It is a tribute to her warm and generous spirit that in an industry notorious for envious back-stabbing and vicious mud-slinging, that this woman is held in high regard by any who come into contact with her. One cannot help but be enlivened and inspired by her. I sure as heck wouldn’t want to be competing against her in a business deal!
“All Things With Exuberance!”
mary!
