We don’t always find the answer or make the right decision inside the “yes” bubble. Let me explain. We’ve all been at a meeting where everyone around the table is an optimist, or perhaps eager to please. There is a lot of head nodding and agreement with the leadership. While the intentions are golden, this …
One of my favorite things about the way our company operates is that we have a healthy mix of one-of-a-kind builds vs repeat relationship customers who we follow across the Southeast, Midwest, Atlantic and western states, and at times, the Northeast. Each of these locations comes with a new set of site conditions, entitlements to …
The first time I wrote a post about archaic parking regulations was ten years ago, and I revisited the topic in 2016. Time has passed, and things have gotten a little better, but we still have a long way to go. I recently read a post from a friend and business associate titled Parking Laws …
All of us, at one time or another, need to take some time for ourselves to reenergize and reconnect. That’s exactly what I did a couple of weeks ago at the Renewal Retreat, hosted by Kanuga in Hendersonville, North Carolina. I found Kanuga to be a special place with more than a century of history. …
One of the things that I have thought about more recently is what makes someone truly happy in their work? We can talk about perks, fellow team members and benefits, and all those things are important, but there is another layer. It’s feeling like your work matters. The key, according to expert David Rock, is …
Yesterday, we sponsored a Leadership in Diversity & Inclusion roundtable held at The Lakeshore Foundation. The third in a series, this session focused on inclusion for our international community, a particularly poignant topic since The World Games will be in Birmingham next month. Carlos Alemán, CEO of the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (¡HICA!), served …
This may not be the sexiest post, but I think it’s one that is close to all of our wallets. We have been working toward getting a really cool adaptive reuse project started, converting a steel plant to mixed-use space with offices and restaurants. Once again, commodity pricing is an issue, steel in particular. Our …
Earlier this week, I was in Las Vegas for the 2022 ICSC conference. I’ve heard this referred to as the ”Super Bowl” of retail. It’s certainly the premiere retail conference for the U.S. and maybe beyond. The conference was on quarantine for a couple of years, so it was really nice to see colleagues again. …
The “urban renewal” trend is still going strong, and showing no hints of changing anytime soon. As we build and re-develop downtowns, architectural diversity is one of the major benefits. Tax credits provide even more motivation to adaptively reuse some of these treasured vintage buildings. We’ve been privileged to work on several redevelopment projects in …
Talking about yourself, or in our case, speaking up to promote your business, is easy. Stepping back and listening is much more difficult. To me, there is a delicate balance between being a good listener and sharing your own good news. Here’s what I mean. I would have to have many hands (and fingers) to count …
Last Saturday, I felt like a trip to the Black Belt of our state for a couple of stops. Greensboro was first up. I had visited this small town several years ago when my friend Pamela Dorr led a hand-built bamboo bike shop called HERObike and Pie Lab. Greensboro is a sweet town, still beautiful, …
I recently read an article from Microsoft tracking the productivity of knowledge workers. Traditionally, there have been two peaks where people really focus and get things done: They come around 10:30 am and 2:30 pm. When Microsoft revisited their research recently, they found that for many, there is now a third peak, which comes around 8 …