There are rarely simple rules to follow that can be applied the same way across a variety of situations. Blanket rules are good for ensuring alignment of behavior with cultural norms but they rarely end up being truly one-size-fits-all. One of the keys to success is knowing when to follow the rules and when to…
The myth of the structured work week.
A truism of any job is: the work must get done. Sometimes that means delegating and sharing responsibilities. Sometimes it means having your day planned out in 15-minute increments. Sometimes it means being reactionary to the needs of others. Most companies and managers like their employees to have set work hours such as Monday to Friday 8…
Always be sure where you stand, don’t choose your positions based on what you think others want to hear.
Authenticity is a word that is used a lot these days when it comes to culture. Leaders that are authentic are more likely to be looking forward and are easier for their teams to predict into the future. Their grounding can serve as a base for others to act from without needing to worry about…
Being skeptical of statistics is rational. Rejecting all statistics is irrational.
Statistics is a tricky subject. To some, it seems like the ultimate in waffling – why can’t you just say what the right answer is after all? To others, it’s the ultimate in risk mitigation – but what if these 15 things were to happen. With the recent election forecasting, renewed debate over climate change data,…
Thinking Moneyball in CRE
Moneyball is one of my favorite books about business operations. When you exist in a highly competitive environment it is in your best interests to think about the landscape differently than your competition. You need to find an advantage that you can leverage that no one else is focused on. There are few spaces as…
Want to get things done? Worry about your team’s chemistry.
We are used to hearing about team chemistry when it comes to sports. Coaches apply some mystical spell on their team and suddenly everyone is moving in the same direction or no one buys into it and the team falls apart. It’s binary and all about the coach. Sometimes there’s the “on-the-field leader” who is…
Sometimes it pays to move slowly instead of getting everything done as quickly as possible.
I love the theory of failing fast. If you are going to get something wrong, it’s best to know what it is so that you can get the solution put together just as quickly. When trying to get a solution to market time is often your enemy. But there are many moments when time is…
Raw ideas should not try to satisfy consensus.
Ideas in their infancy are fragile creatures. They can die simply because they are not given an environment to thrive within. The single best part of brainstorming sessions is knowing that you are identifying new ideas that are not yet developed so you know not to kill them too soon. There are a number of…
Smart, successful people can also be wrong.
There’s a meme that hits LinkedIn every few months that is a picture of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes with the quote: The minute you have a back-up plan, you’ve admitted you’re not going to succeed. This quote started going around well before Theranos crashed and burned but picked up again because of their situations. The…
A few thoughts on the art of benchmarking.
In my decade of experience in CRE I have seen far more bad benchmarking studies and reports than I have seen good ones. It can almost be dubbed an epidemic other than for the fact that many bad ones truly are trying to be good and insightful but simply miss the mark for deliverability. Benchmarking…