Last week I was able to attend ICSC’s Open Air Center (OAC) Summit in Scottsdale. This is my fourth time to attend the annual event, which is closed to 400 attendees running the gamut from landlords to brokers and folks like me. It’s always good discussion of key trends, challenges and the opportunities current to …
I have never met a strong person with an easy backgroud. Earlier this week I learned that a customer had laid off several members of their construction and real estate department. Losing a position is sometimes like a kick in the stomach and I reached out to the folks who are my business friends, offering to …
I have found success in the leverage of our efforts by having solid “two-way street partners.” This is somewhat like loosely connected circles–watching out for each other, touching the perimeter and being able to help each other with opportunities. Sometimes I feel like a high school coach, forwarding my good recruits to my favorite NCAA …
In our industry, I’ve found that many times folks use too much stick and not enough carrot. Let me explain. Because of tight deadlines and performance pressures, resulting in little time, the industry tends to cater to impersonal emails at best, and raised voices at worst. Perhaps we could all practice better manners and carve …
Over the last few weeks, we have been working on the initial stages of a project that will land somewhere between $40 and $70 million, with a 2017 delivery. A really nice, interesting project. Recently when I was meeting with our customer about the project, I asked about two consultants who I thought would be …
This week, I received the picture above, showing one our crews on a redevelopment project. The company name on the back of a vest brought back many memories. Several of us got our start with Brice Building Company, under the tutelage of H.A. Brice, Jr., and the leadership of the company at the time. When …
I was talking with our CFO this week, discussing tactical and strategic types of thinking. In tactical execution, one does not have to look over the horizon. These are the folks who focus on short-term goals and milestones, planning and organizing for a set timeframe. Problems always seems urgent and concrete, with the immediate goals …
[I remember saying this to my parents a zillion times on those long vacation road trips to Florida.] Since last year, I’ve been building a small cabin in the mountains and have had a great time doing it. I’ve worked with my children to get the design how we’d like it, right down to making …
Last week, I spent about 15 hours of windshield time traveling through mid-Atlantic states visiting our projects. I made an effort to drive without music, leaving plenty of time for thought. One thing on my mind: If you were to leave this earth at 5 pm–not just any day, but TODAY–what would people say about you? …
When I visit one of our projects and see something that is not done as promised to our customer, there’s nothing that frustrates me more than hearing, “I told ______ to do it.” I continually remind our folks that the service business is not a hand off business. We are responsible for every detail of …
This year, I was fortunate to attend The Masters, hosted at Augusta National Golf Club, as the guest of a friend who is the son of a former Masters champion. After my time of 4 days there, I got to thinking about the means and methods of being successful on course vs in business: Stay after it. When a …
Tim Cook leads one of the largest global corporations, with sales approaching $200 billion, but you’d never know it. I had the opportunity to visit with Steve Jobs’ Apple successor recently at the Auburn University Lifetime Achievement Awards, and found him to be engaging, insightful and most of all, humble. Cook came from modest beginnings in rural …