Category — Leadership

My question today is a simple one: What’s your vision for the future and what are you doing about it? Much has been written about surviving the downturn – what to do now, the “new normal” and other tips for how to navigate current market conditions. And while I certainly have no gripes about being in the moment from a tactical perspective, I’m concerned that as an industry we don’t lose sight of the value of looking forward. In today’s post I’ll share my thoughts on the importance of looking forward.

Are you a commercial real estate specialist or generalist? As the CEO of one of the country’s largest commercial real estate firms, I’ll share with you that your answer to the aforementioned question is very telling to your peers, clients and employers alike.  Your answer will have a direct impact on your credibility, earning power and your ability to survive market volatility over the long-term.  In today’s post, I’ll weigh-in with my opinion on the age old debate of “generalist vs. specialist.”

While I don’t normally share specific company performance information in this venue, I thought many of you might enjoy the opportunity to learn more about the company I lead.  The above video highlights some of my comments from the recent Sperry Van Ness State of the Company address. Those of you familiar with, or who have interest in the commercial real estate industry will find our company performance over the last year to be nothing short of remarkable.  I’m truly honored to lead such a wonderful and talented group of Advisors, whose differentiated, “Client’s Interests First,” operating philosophy has created amazing benefits for our clients and for the Sperry Van Ness brand. I would invite you to read a press release further describing our plans for the future. Given the recent market dislocation, and the current commercial real estate industry landscape, a focus on growth, driven by smart and creative acquisitions, is an initiative that we feel will yield strong returns for all of our constituencies.

While commercial real estate markets are not static, I’m always surprised by the number of so-called “professionals” that operate as if they were. As the landscape around them changes, rather than understanding and adapting to new market drivers, many just prefer to pretend as if it’s business as usual. It is those practitioners that adapt to the fluidity of the market that become innovative market leaders, and who thrive during even the toughest of market conditions. Likewise, it is those practitioners who refuse to change with the times that push themselves into irrelevancy, and eventually become self-inflicted casualties of the weeding-out process.

Today’s post may be short in length, but I hope you’ll agree that it is powerful in terms of content. I’m not going to pontificate about the state of the current market, nor am I going to prognosticate on where I believe the market will trend in 2010. What I am going to do is pose the following question: “What will YOU do differently in 2010?” You cannot simply repeat your 2009 performance in 2010 and expect the outcome to be any different. The message today is a simple one…The market doesn’t matter, but YOU do!

As a former commercial real estate practitioner, and the current leader of a national firm, I have been exposed to thousands of transactions and have witnessed countless examples of professionals doing the wrong thing for their clients, and what they consider to be the right thing for their pockets. There is a huge difference between doing the right thing and doing things right. A bigger problem is that there seem to be fewer people who recognize this difference. In today’s post I’ll share my thoughts about these two similar sounding, yet often very different positions.

I am passionate about learning…In fact so much so, that I believe that staying ahead of the learning curve is what keeps you relevant, interesting, engaging, and a few steps ahead of the competition. Show me a person or an organization that doesn’t embrace learning, and I’ll guarantee you that the only thing they excel at is failure. It is continued personal and professional development that allows people and organizations to maintain relevancy. You simply cannot adopt a static approach to a fluid market and expect to succeed…it won’t work. A focus on learning not only prevents static thinking, but it fosters innovation. Perhaps most importantly, learning and development form the core of any successful talent management strategy. In today’s post I’ll examine the link between learning and relevance.

Let’s face it, businesses can pump-out a mind-numbing volume of corporate propaganda. But if you’re anything like me, I’ve found words are often of little consequence. As the CEO of a large enterprise, I tend to pay much more attention to the follow through on the statements made…it’s the actions behind the words that are important to me. While I find that much is written and said on the topic of accountability and transparency, I also find that few organizations put tangible practices into play to support the plethora of rhetoric and management speak currently in circulation.

“Nail The Visible” is an operating philosophy that I have long espoused. I never cease to be amazed at how many people seem to gloss over this most basic (and powerful) of business precepts. The phrase “Nail The Visible” speaks to the importance of nailing initiatives which are visible to your most important constituencies: clients, partners, vendors, co-workers and those you report to, as well as other key stakeholders. In today’s post I’ll share a few brief thoughts on why paying close attention to initiatives in public view is more than just common sense; it’s good business.

Today’s post is meant as a reality check for all commercial real estate advisers slugging it out in the toughest market conditions we’ve experienced in this generation. To the chagrin of many, the text that follows is harsh, but it is nonetheless true. Great brokers always produce…Don’t tell me what type of producer you were during the frothy markets of 2005 when sellers experienced record low cap rates, buyers were aided by loose credit and a strong flow of funds from the capital markets, and transactions just seemed to almost close themselves. Rather, show me what type of producer you are today. You see virtually any broker can put-up record numbers during good times, but the real question is what can they do when the market is getting crushed? As the CEO of one of the nation’s largest commercial real estate firms I’m pleased to say that the majority of our advisors already understand what I’m addressing in the text that follows, but for those that don’t, here’s a gut check for you…