Robert Reiss, FORBES MAGAZINE
Philip Jalufka is a former army special operator and founder and CEO of international real estate company Legacy International, which has generated over $1B in sales revenue for developers over the last two decades. March 31 marks Philip’s book debut and launch of Leading With Your Life Equation: How to Be Indestructible, Indispensable and Unstoppable. The book recalls a life of lessons crossing personal, military, business experiences and the journey to his own “life equation,” leading to a remarkable record of service, leadership and enterprise. The journey began when, as a high school football player, his plans to attend West Point were derailed in a horrific auto accident, requiring the jaws of life to extract Philip from a crushed car.
Robert Reiss: Talk about the challenges you faced in your life and how you overcame them.
Philip Jalufka: The first major challenge came right before my high school senior year, when I was in a serious auto accident. It took time to heal from the injuries and being unconscious for what was noted as “an undetermined amount of time”— disrupted my route for entering West Point directly after graduating high school. I didn’t give up on it but remained focused on my goal and worked for two years on alternative routes to enter the U.S. Military Academy, paved with clarity and perseverance. I eventually graduated from West Point and entered the Army. After a time, I was invited into the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and flew Chinook helicopters, the heavy lifters also referred to as the Center of Gravity. With significant horsepower, they’re a challenge! Years later, after the military, I established a new life and livelihood for my young family, and I found my home in residential real estate sales & marketing services, and training. There’s a dose of humility that comes from being from a small town in Texas and being in the military. Being grounded with these values has helped me soar.
Reiss: What specifically did you learn from your military experience that helped you in business?
Jalufka: The military instills powerful values in you. I learned the essentiality of training to build excellence and predictability; a strategy to build an action plan that accommodates foreseeable contingencies; and accountability that supports integrity. You can’t succeed in the military without fully embracing the definition of motivated teamwork by passionate people. This is reflected in my own “Life Equation,” which is a team leadership framework to ensure staying on a purposeful path on caring for my family, motivating teams and serving my clients and investors.
Reiss: What persuaded you to found Legacy International?
Jalufka: trained to be a leader at West Point and in the military. My process is to learn, practice, apply and adjust. After serving in senior sales leadership roles at two large real estate companies after the military, I wanted to create a unique functional area firm built on execution. I was ready to take my real estate sales and marketing experience to a higher level and create a company that respects the importance of design, development, sales, marketing, management and capital all working together.
Reiss. Why did you write the book and what can CEOs learn from it?
Jalufka: felt like I had useful knowledge to share but the enthusiasm of Myers Barnes, one of the nation’s best home sales strategists, lit up my passion for putting it all together into a book. My goal for executive readers is to explore a leadership methodology that expands their possibilities for building and guiding powerful teams. It’s a challenge to find, recruit, train, integrate and retain the best talent and expertise. My “Life Equation” gives me a measurable process to build and motivate teams focused and on target with my objectives. I want to share my method with others who can benefit from a strategic approach to getting to where they want to become. It’s an aspirational story.