The adage “a rising tide lifts all ships” rings especially true during a bull market.  Recent years have been good to our region and many of us have benefited from the booming economy.  But as deal flow and business in general trickles, we are reminded that periods of prosperity inevitably give way to hard times. There’s no question that the problems we’re facing require more than a quick fix, but by revisiting the basics of business development, we can prime ourselves for growth once the good times return. The first step in going back to basics is keeping poised and…

Developing Meaningful Success Metrics during tough economic times is more challenging than one might think. The economy is certainly not static, so why should the manner in which you assess the effectiveness of your business model not be fluid in nature as well? How do you measure success, are you measuring the right successes, and are you using the right measurements to determine your success? Complicating matters along with the current economic conditions is the reality is that each industry, sector, vertical, and micro-vertical all have unique business drivers. Furthermore, depending on how a business is positioned, where it is…

Conventional leadership theory is littered with misunderstood and misapplied practices. The fact is that any practice, no matter how highly regarded, when taken to the extreme can not only erode the intended value, but can often cause great harm. I have espoused for years now that when a practice evolves to the level of becoming a “best practice” its time has already past. Once a methodology becomes institutionalized through mass adoption it is by my definition obsolete. You simply cannot drive innovation by doing the same things in the same ways as your competition. Those of you not familiar with…

  When I sat down to choose a topic for my first blog entry, I was reminded of just a few short months ago when I was deciding upon a theme for CREW-Miami’s 2009 campaign (Commercial Real Estate Women). At that time, my initial thought was to launch “Close the Deal,” a natural sequel to this past year’s successful “Make the Ask” campaign, which sought to inspire assertiveness among women throughout the industry and generate deal flow among members. But as the economy plummeted even further and deal flow stalled, it became clear that a new campaign theme was in…

With the turning of the calendar to 2009, there are some signs of increased confidence among investors. Whether it’s the new year, the massive spending package proposed by Obama, a somewhat stabilizing stock market or a combination, investors appear to be more receptive to considering and touring new offerings. Just last week, we conducted 20 tours of a new offering, agreed to terms on a New Jersey office building, and went hard on a 400+ unit apartment portfolio. While many investors remain on the sidelines, others are active.  

Thank you to our friends at CPN for arranging this opportunity. Hopefully, this will give us in the industry a new communication vehicle that not only provides a platform for opinions but perhaps some worthwhile interaction. With the start of 2009, we are leaving behind perhaps the worst year in commercial real estate finance since the Great Depression. Maybe – if measured in the amount of the fall from what we had to where we are now – the worst ever. It was a year of fundamental correction so extreme that it effectively closed down the entire commercial mortgage backed…

–You can run, but regrettably you cannot seem to hide from the “corporate crazies.” Over the years, I’ve simply come to a conclusion that many otherwise savvy business people have yet to grasp; you can’t argue with crazy. We’ve all heard the saying “pick your battles,” and in my experience one of the most futile battles that can be waged is attempting to change the mind of someone who already lives in an altered state. So, as we move forward into 2009 I’ll share some thoughts on how to make sure the lunatics don’t gain control of the asylum in…