Essay

The Three Questions I Ask About Every Decision

By Rob Tucker · October 2026

Run every tool, vendor, meeting, policy and perk through three questions. How will this help my agents become more efficient? How will it help them make more money? How will it help them look better for their clients and customers? If it doesn't answer at least one of those, don't do it, no matter how shiny it is.

Every week, somebody brings a broker-owner something new. A new tool. A new vendor. A new meeting format. A new perk to put in the recruiting pitch. Some of it is good. A lot of it isn't. And most offices don't have a clear way to tell the difference.

I do. It's three questions, and I ask them about every decision I make for an office:

How is this going to help my agents become more efficient?
How is this going to help my agents make more money?
How is this going to help my agents look better for their clients and customers?

If something doesn't answer at least one of those, I don't do it. It doesn't matter how shiny it is or who's selling it.

Here's why each one matters.

Before you approve anything, ask three questions.

Efficiency: their time is the asset

An agent's value is in their time, and the more they produce, the more true that gets. Nobody has more than 24 hours in a day. Not a brand-new agent, not a top producer.

So if you can give an agent back an hour a day, or even 30 minutes, that's real. Thirty minutes a day over a five-day week is two and a half hours. Over a year, that's more than 100 hours.

What do they do with that time? More time with their family and their kids. Trips. Vacations. The things that turn into memories. Or more time in front of clients, if that's what they want. Either way, it's theirs.

So when someone pitches you a new system, ask: does this give my agents time back, or does it take time away? A lot of "tools" are just more logins and more steps.

Question one: does this help my agents become more efficient?

More money: it's what pays for the life

This one sounds obvious, but it gets lost. Making more money is how an agent pays for their kids' college. It's how they help a son or daughter start a business. It's how they support a kid chasing something big.

When you look at a decision, ask whether it actually helps agents earn more. Not in theory. In practice, at the closing table.

Question two: does this help my agents make more money?

Looking better: where the next deal comes from

When an agent looks good to their clients and customers, that's what leads to more business. Referrals. Five-star reviews. People talking about that agent or that team.

Anything that makes your agents look more prepared, more responsive, and more professional in front of a client is worth a serious look. Anything that makes them look worse, slower, or more confusing isn't, no matter what it saves you.

Question three: does this help my agents look better for their clients and customers?

Use the same questions when you recruit

These three questions aren't just for buying decisions. They're also the best recruiting conversation you can have.

When I sit down with an agent, we talk about their goals, their gaps, and how the office can help. Splits come last. If you can show an agent exactly how you'll make them more efficient, help them make more money, and help them look better for their clients, the split becomes a much smaller part of the conversation.

It's also exactly what an experienced agent wants from coaching: help getting to the next level, becoming more efficient, making more money, and looking better for their clients. Same three things.

The most expensive sentence in your office

There's one sentence that kills more good ideas than anything else: "Well, we've never done that. This is how we've always done it."

I hear it on calls and in meetings all the time. The three questions are the answer to it. "How we've always done it" isn't a reason. The only question that matters is whether it helps your agents. If it does, figure out how to do it. If it doesn't, stop doing it, even if you've done it for years.

Try it this week

Look at the last three things you approved for your office. A tool, a meeting, a policy, a perk. Run each one through the three questions.

Some will pass. Some won't. The ones that don't are costing your agents time, money, or credibility, and probably costing you agents.

Then use the same three questions on the next decision. And the one after that.

If the answer to all three questions is no, why are you doing it?

The same three questions guide what I'm building at RosterOS for broker-owners who want to take care of the agents they have and recruit the right ones. Learn more at rosteros.io.

Common questions

How do I decide whether to add a new tool for my agents?

Ask whether it gives your agents time back or takes time away. A lot of tools are just more logins and more steps. If it doesn't make them more efficient, help them make more money, or help them look better for their clients, I don't do it. It doesn't matter who's selling it.

Why does agent efficiency matter so much?

An agent's value is in their time, and nobody has more than 24 hours in a day. Give an agent back 30 minutes a day and over a five-day week that's two and a half hours. Over a year, that's more than 100 hours for their family, trips, or more time in front of clients.

Can I use the three questions when I recruit?

Yes. They're the best recruiting conversation you can have. When I sit down with an agent, we talk about their goals, their gaps and how the office can help. Splits come last. Show them those three things and the split becomes a much smaller part of the conversation.

What about "this is how we've always done it"?

That's the most expensive sentence in your office. It isn't a reason. The only question that matters is whether it helps your agents. If it does, figure out how to do it. If it doesn't, stop doing it, even if you've done it for years.