A break in, or a ransom letter. An invitation to the dark web. It sounds like a movie plot, but it played out here last month. A computer hacker waited until about 7:20 pm, when our office would likely be cleared out, and found an opening in our firewall, creating a username. He or she then virtually made their way through all our computers and locked …
In our business, there are times when the tendency is to quantify by the unit. “Price per square foot” is used to measure all kinds of things, from the average property value, all the way to building cost. While it can be a quick and easy reference at times, a summary is just that. A …
This morning, I was on the phone with one of our service providers. There was a question about our account that required me to speak with a representative…And after hearing at least three other conversations in the background as we talked, I’m confident he was sitting in the open office environment that’s become a standard in certain places. For …
One of our senior managers recently told me about walking a project with our civil site superintendent and a customer. As they toured the job site, the customer asked several questions and shared other thoughts while they walked. Without a word, the superintendent pulled out a pad and started a running list of discussion items. That simple act sent the customer a message that was …
Yesterday, one of our customers stopped by to talk about a new mixed use development that we will start end of the 1st quarter–retail, apartments and condominiums. “You may have the curse of being an engineer,” I told him. When he gave me a puzzled look, I explained that a lot of our customers are …
“Be Prepared.” The 100-year motto of the Boy Scouts could also be well-suited for the Adaptive Reuse or Historic Restoration arena, along with having “the vision.” Here you see a circa-1908 brick structure being transitioned to a new medical research facility. The existing 3-wythe exterior masonry wall facade will be saved. This means removing interior structure …
This time of year, there are always resolutions about this and that floating around for the new year, the things we say we are going to do better. It’s just the same with me, but I always start by taking a good look in the rear view mirror. What could I have done different here …
Sleep and I have a precarious relationship. On the one hand, it’s a necessity. But the downtime can feel wasted, like I could have been getting more accomplished. I’ve heard it said that the uninspired sleep late, while those perusing a passion naturally wake up early. I can relate. I relish the quiet hours before …
In the last few days, I was talking with our CFO about what distinguishes between a good hire and an average one. He said something like this: By watching how someone handles their personal life, we get a good glimpse of how valuable they can be to the company. Character, values and good judgment sometimes …
A portion of the ULI 2018 Look Ahead keyed in on retail. Their commentary may best be summarized, “Retail isn’t dead, it’s just changing. Give it some time to adjust.” In 2016, total retail sales approached $5 trillion, broken down: $4.3 trillion from traditional, or maybe not so traditional, bricks and mortar transactions $.5 trillion …
This week I attended our annual ULI Chapter meeting here, where Anita Kramer of ULI’s Washington headquarters presented ULI’s “Emerging Trends in Real estate 2018,” a real estate lookahead produced jointly with PWC. They interview several thousand in the industry, gathering thoughts and opinions combined with data from the field. A few summary takeaways: The “What inning are we …
When I am faced with a problem to solve and there is not a clear path at the time, it has been my experience that consciously filing it in my mind for further processing is the best temporary solution. It is amazing the way this works. Over the next few days, it will surface from …