Following the recent deeply sad news that Ivor Dickinson, one of London’s most high-profile estate agents, had died at the age of 64, a former colleague and friend has got in touch with EYE to offer his personal account of knowing and working with him.
Ahead of Dickinson’s funeral this Thursday, Joel Baseley, director of Rampton Baseley, based in London, wrote:
‘How does one express the impact Ivor Dickinson made on London Estate agency? How does one express the impact he made on those who worked with him? It is so difficult. I was one of the people lucky enough to have personally experienced his leadership (for a short time). While I didn’t work for Ivor for long I did know him for a long time and I would go as far as to say that he was one of the most influential people I have ever met. By this I mean, rarely a day goes by when I don’t think “how would Ivor deal with a particular situation”
‘Ivor was such a refreshingly different agent one might find it hard to believe he was an estate agent at all and I mean that in the very best sense. If a stranger got talking to him on a train they would be forgiven for guessing that he was a creative in a trendy advertising agency, they might think he was a motivational speaker, they might think he was the manager of super band (in joke there) but probably not an estate agent. In a way however they would have been right because he was all of the above. He was much, much more than “just an estate agent”. Ivor cared – he cared alot. He cared about the business and he cared about the people. I have heard in other tributes that he was a “people before profit guy” and that he most certainly was. This was a philosophy he latterly admitted took a little to far if that is possible. Ivor was one of the most effusive people I have ever met – his enthusiasm was infectious and it would have been exhausting to be around him for any length of time.
‘I remember how he would walk into an office and immediately raise the energy levels. He would generally start the pleasantries by asking each member of the team what level they were today. By this he was asking how positive they were – how motivated they were. If you didn’t say “I’m a 10 Ivor” you knew you would be letting the skipper down. It worked, he aways made us smile on those visits. That’s not to say he couldn’t be scary. The day I informed him that I was leaving to set up my own business was effing terrifying. I was physically shaking and close to tears. Thinking about it, it was probably because I felt like I had betrayed somebody I admired and respected. When I think about the short time I had at D&G in the mid 2000’s I have only have happy memories. I am sure I would not be alone in thinking of it as being part of some really special club, it was a collection of exceptional people who all loved their work. Loved being at work. D&G was fun, with oodles of cool and a smattering of rock and roll. It was successful. This shared memory is Ivor’s legacy.
‘When Ivor left Douglas and Gordon he asked me provide him with a reference for his potential new employers at Lomond. To me, that was like a school child being asked to write a report for their teacher. It was confusing and flattering in equal measure. The following day I had a call from an executive at Lomond. He opened the chat with a very difficult question “how would you describe Ivor” I wanted to say – how the **** am I supposed to answer that? – how long have you got? What I think I said was “ he is the best leader I have ever met” – I meant it.
‘I was due to have lunch with Ivor the week after his accident, clearly that lunch never happened. In the following years I have often dreamed about being able to reschedule that lunch but I knew deep down that it would never happen. I think I wanted to have that opportunity to thank him. I owe him a lot. I will take that opportunity now. Ivor you were always a 10 and you still are in my book. Thank you.’
Comments are closed.