I’m often surprised by how little research some do before walking into client meetings. It’s always awkward when someone walks in and doesn’t know the company’s primary business, main revenue lines or organizational focus. Why should they hire you if you aren’t going to spend 10 minutes looking up who they are? Wikipedia and LinkedIn…
Can you articulate the cultural difference in your city’s real estate?
Often times a building is a building. Individually they can quickly blend together. But collectively they articulate a city’s architectural (and perhaps cultural) legacy. When you go from one city to the next there are a few things that jump out to the visitor: Width of sidewalks – is there a walking legacy? Landscaping –…
I hate business cards.
Business cards need to die. Sooner rather than later. Maybe this is one of those Gen Y things but from recent conversations even others have the same belief they just haven’t really thought about it yet. Business cards have been around since at least the late 1800’s. Before the digital age they were the only…
Banking is driving the future of #workplace and #CRE.
I have the privilege of working with companies across a broad range of industries. But the one I’ve found to be most fascinating is banking (and to some degree all other financial services). Banking has undergone a fairly fundamental shift over the past 7 years starting with the Great Recession and continuing beyond. It really…
Copyright and the internet
The joy of writing this blog is that I can hopefully help make the world a bit better in my little corner. Maybe I can help people make their lives a little easier through a tip, trick or what to watch out for. Maybe I convince someone to give CRE a shot that wouldn’t have…
What your attrition rate tells you about where your business is headed.
Unless your business is growing like crazy, the best way to measure the influx of skills and ideas is through your attrition rate. Most companies think it’s good to keep it low (5 to 15%) because they don’t have to retrain new employees and they retain the knowledge base. But a 10% attrition rate means…
Just because #CRE technology isn’t best-in-class yet doesn’t mean it has no value. #realcomm
Yesterday I (a bit emphatically for me) made the case that CRE technology is 10 years behind. I’m not changing my position, just following up with what that means for you. Because we are so far behind, every technology advance does move the ball forward. New tools really are breaking new ground (and occassionally just…
#CRE cutting-edge Technology does not exist yet. Anyone that says otherwise is wrong. #realcomm
There are no CRE Technologies that will blow your doors off or solve all of your problems. Anyone that says their iWMS system does is lying to you. Any single solution that claims to be the answer is incomplete. Period, end of story. All those systems being touted by Duke Long are half-baked and marketing…
No process flow chart ever taught someone their roles and responsibilities.
Process flow charts are management creations intended to assign responsibility and manage the overall process. They are often handed out to describe what is meant to be done but in reality nothing is as black and white as process charts make them seem. How many steps are involved in making a peanut butter sandwich? 3?…
When should you be teaching versus selling?
Not everyone is ready or open to a sales pitch, but when they aren’t they are usually going to be open to a quick education in what you do. The first part of any relationship is a mutual 2 way street – a little give and take. Teaching instead of selling let’s you be the…