System Administrator
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Posts by System Administrator
If Things Are Going Sideways…..Let Em!
Dec 20th
Ordinarily you wouldn’t endorse efforts going sideways unless you actually have planned for them to go that way. Many times as commercial professionals we are so focused on doing business one way that we forget the arsenal of services that we have at our disposal that could actually add value to our customers and clients goals and objectives. We are so programmed to list and sell or lease and represent that we neglect the needs and wants of the actual situation.
Side door selling is becoming more and more successful for those innovative professionals that are willing to determine what the opportunity in a particular situation might be. For instance, recently I was in the office of a potential client and the more I listened to how they conducted their business the more I knew that if I stuck to my traditional thinking and my traditional menu of services that there would not be an opportunity for me to assist this particular prospect.
Once I started to think differently and let my thoughts go “sideways”, I was confident that if I could determine, through the asking of strategic questions, how I could add value to not only the corporate real estate executive but also the shareholder. By asking how leases were being abstracted, did they have an in-house facilities management department, who was tracking critical dates, how are they currently handling market analytics and would they possibly consider a series of sale leasebacks either nationally or regionally. These types of questions were different enough that it made the corporate real estate executive look at me and my organization differently. It made my stock rise in their eyes and took me out of the traditional “broker” box that most of my competition is mired in. What makes you different? Do you know? You should be able to recite your differentiators.
If you are willing to learn everything there is to know about your organizations capabilities and identify that you are a part of something much greater than yourself and your local group then you will begin to speak with confidence when describing the vast array of services that you can provide by embracing those alliances and service partners with a proven success tract. This is will also give your prospective customers and clients more confidence in your abilities, keeping you at the top of their minds whenever they think of commercial real estate.
Take the chance and reinvent yourself and take the opportunity to prosper when things go a little sideways
Champion or Hero
May 15th
Do you know the difference between a Champion and a Hero, is there any?
Webster’s defines a Champion as a person who has defeated all opponents in a competition or series of competitions, so as to hold first place. You can also Champion a cause or support someone else’s efforts.
They define a Hero as a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. A person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal. Can someone be both? Absolutely!
Now I realize we all have heroes in our life; parents, spouses, friends, etc. but how many times have you had the chance to be a Champion and passed it up. Too many times in our professional or personal lives for that matter, either we are given the opportunity to take a chance and reach beyond the reachable or we are called upon to support or lift up a colleague and in both cases we just plain look the other way. Why? Too much trouble? Jealousy? Fear?
Being given the opportunity to be a Champion whether it’s for yourself or for others should be embraced. The world as we know it is constantly changing and we as active members of the human race need to change with it or we will most assuredly die. What are you afraid of? Whether it’s your inner competitive heart that drives you every day to reach new goals or whether it’s your compassionate heart that every day takes time out to support and encourage someone else. Marriage, friendships, you career; Do something that takes you outside of your comfort zone and look for opportunities to champion someone else’s efforts.
Who knows you might even become that someone’s hero too.
The Reinvention of Me!
Mar 24th
While talking with a customer the other day it dawned on me that throughout my life I’ve been forced or more times than not consciously had to “reinvent” myself. My friend Vance Caesar wouldn’t like to hear me say “had”, I’ve gotten the opportunity to “reinvent” myself over the years. We all do it whether we know it or would admit to it. We do it in our personal lives; we go from being a son/daughter to husband/wife to father/mother and eventually grandfather and grandmother if we are lucky.
The business world is a little different when we go from student to professional without all the steps in between and sometimes we make the correct decisions and sometimes we do not. And it is when we do not that the process of reinvention takes place. In today’s economy a professional in commercial real estate has to remain flexible and versatile if he or she is going to survive. In smaller markets you have to be all things to all people, but you can also specialize in an area that you are passionate about. Too many times we find ourselves in a rut. What’s the famous saying; “if you find yourself in a rut, stop digging?” Its true why continue to the same things over and over hoping for a different outcome.
I truly believe that we can accomplish anything if we allow ourselves to dream and not get caught up in the road blocks perceived or real. If we all were to enter each encounter or situation as a servant there would be less disappointment and more accomplishments. It is becoming more and more irritating in today’s business world, with a challenging economy, listening to professionals complaining about how bad is, but aren’t willing to do anything about it like reinventing themselves.
Give it a try and not complain about how bad your business has become or how unfair this or that might be and reinvent yourself. Turn your attention to looking for opportunities to explore that would make you better in some area of your business life. You might like the reinvention better than the original model.
Where Does the Time Go?
Jan 4th
Happy New Year everyone. I’ve noticed recently that no one was sorry to see 2010 come to an end, especially those of us in the commercial real estate industry. Property values plummeted, there was little money to lend in the markets, and foreclosures became an everyday topic. Where did the year go, you ask? The time seemed to fly by. 2010 came to an end for me on a melancholy note. I heard of the passing of a boyhood friend named Warren “Squeaky” Hale, Jr. To be honest once we reached High School our paths drifted apart. I really hadn’t thought about Squeaky for many years. We played baseball at the same time when we were 9 or 10 years old. Squeaky was a likeable guy who played for another team. We were both big for our age; however he was a good athlete and a good sport. He always wanted everyone to play well, play hard, be positive and achieve.
Once when we were playing each other in an All Star Baseball game in Oak Park, IL, he was playing for the South All Stars and I was playing for the North. Squeaky had broken his arm sometime before the game was to be played. When you’re 9 or 10 there isn’t anything bigger than representing your team in the All Star game. The Manager of the South Squad started Squeaky in right field and planned for him to only play the top half of the inning in the field. We all thought this was crazy to see a fielder with a cast on his throwing arm. But I remember after the third out, I watched from behind home plate, as Squeaky ran off the field with tears in his eyes. He so wanted to play in that game. It seems as if it was yesterday but the memory was distant until I heard about his passing. Where do the years go? Time seems to fly by.
Why is it that when we’re 9 or 10 we don’t realize or cannot comprehend the attributes one might possess as we get older. While reading his obituary I was amazed at all that Squeaky had accomplished since our meeting that day on the ball field in Oak Park. He graduated from college; received his Master’s Degree of Counseling and Student Affairs; and was married for over 25 years. His passing came all too soon. Where do the years go? Time seems to fly by.
Squeaky became a youth hockey coach in Minnesota, Alabama, New York, and Illinois; was a member of the National Youth Hockey Association and ACUHO; and belonged to several other professional university associations.
Over the years, he helped many students with housing, books, and financial aid and has even sent students on mission trips, paying for them anonymously out of his own pocket. He was also a volunteer Sunday school teacher.
I was afraid that I would remember 2010 as a year of disappointments, unfulfilled goals and objectives that now seemed off course. There wasn’t any reason to be afraid, because none of that seems very important when you realize you now have an old friend in heaven and I am the one with a tear in my eye. Happy New Year everyone.
