The Corporate War Room

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

I was recently asked: “I’ve heard reference to executive teams that utilize ‘war rooms’ for strategy development. Is this beneficial?” Let me begin by stating that any tools or techniques that bring executive teams together for the purposes of consistent and focused strategy development and refinement are marvelous things. Furthermore, any company that I have run has had at least one war room for the executive team, and often times war rooms have been assigned to each business unit or department. In today’s post I’ll cover the benefits associated with war rooms, or what I like to refer to as the place where good things happen…

Are your meeting areas, conference facilities and board rooms used? Perhaps more to the point, are they used effectively? When I see a conference room that looks as if the main purpose for its existence is to serve as a corporate art museum, I tend to question why it exists at all. I recently spent two days on site with a new client. The client had an exquisite headquarters facility with a number of absolutely gorgeous conference rooms. However during my two days on site, not once did I observe any of them being utilized. When I asked the CEO about this he said “nobody uses them.” Hmmmm…..

Let’s start with the basics…As wonderful as technology is, and as small as our global footprint has become, as a workforce we are really more disconnected (at least personally) than at any point in history. Even workers who office in the same location are so busy being busy, and virtually collaborating, that they often don’t spend enough focused time with one another working on key issues. Rather than sequestering your talent behind the closed doors of their individual offices, or spreading them hither and yon in cube farms, consider the benefits of bringing them together (face-to-face) for the purposes of accomplishing something specific. 

Executive teams don’t come together often enough, and when they do, meetings are often not as productive as they should be as they try and cover far too much ground in short periods of time. I’m always amazed when I witness companies that will take all the C-suite talent into a boardroom for an hour or two and accomplish virtually nothing. Likewise, project teams and work groups have become creatures of habit who prefer to use internet or software based toolsets as a substitute for the power of highly focused and very intense personal interactions. As noted above, it is after all much easier and safer to be disengaged, but is it more productive? In most cases, I think not…

At first blush, one might think that the concept of a war room is bit of a throw-back to some Orwellian form of old school management theory, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, studies have shown that while workers may initially resist the idea of working in close quarters for the purpose of increasing intensity over extended periods of time, the benefits of collaboration and productivity quickly win them over. By way of example, the University of Michigan produced a study on war rooms only to find that workers functioning in a war room environment were twice as productive as their counterparts working in traditional office arrangements.

Where possible, I’m a firm believer that workgroups should spend as much time as possible in war room environments. I would take this so far as to suggest that one should consider this to be the best form of collaborative workspace configuration and should therefore make this the default space plan of choice if possible. With regard to executive teams, you will rarely find executives that will subject themselves to a co-officing arrangement, but this does not obviate the need for a war room. As stated earlier, executive teams do not spend nearly enough focused time together, and simply committing to one half-day per week cloistered in a war room together will improve both efficiency and productivity. Following are a few points of consideration when building your executive war room:

1. Your war room should be a dedicated conference room with a locked door. You will keep a great deal of confidential information out in the open and you’ll want the room secured.
2. Without sounding cultish, the war room needs to become revered as your company’s executive bastion for disruptive innovation where you major in the majors. Do not allow attendees to be interrupted while sessions are in progress. This is highest and best use time which should be protected at all costs.
3. The war room should be configured for optimum productivity with acrylic walls (or multiple white boards), easels, wireless internet access, a high quality conference phone, multiple large wall mounted plasma screens, webcams, laser pointers, etc.

The bottom line is this…If you commit to giving war rooms a chance you’ll find that productivity will soar and that your executives will begin to embrace the concept because things that were once normally carried forward from meeting to meeting as rollover agenda items are now consistently being crossed off the list.

Leading Change

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Is leading change difficult? Only if you don’t know what you’re doing. As much as some people want to create complexity around the topic of leading change for personal gain, the reality is that creating, managing and leading change is really quite simple. In fact, catalyzing and leading change isn’t very daunting at all if you understand a few key principles. To prove my point, I’ll not only explain the entire change life-cycle in three short paragraphs, but I’ll do it in simple terms that anyone can understand…

Identifying the Need for Change: The need for change exists in every organization. Other than irrational change solely for the sake of change, every corporation must change to survive. If your entity doesn’t innovate and change with market driven needs and demands it will fail…it’s just that simple. The most complex area surrounding change is focusing your efforts in the right areas, for the right reasons, and at the right times. The ambiguity and risk can be taken out of the change agenda by simply focusing on three areas: 1) your current customers…what needs to change to better serve your customers? 2) potential customers…what needs to change to profitably create new customers? and; 3) your talent and resources…what changes need to occur to better leverage existing talent and resources? 

Leading Change: You cannot effectively lead change without understanding the landscape of change. There are four typical responses to change: The Victim…those that view change as a personal attack on their persona, their role, their job, or their area of responsibility. They view everything at an atomic level based upon how they perceive change will directly and indirectly impact them. The Neutral Bystander…This group is neither for nor against change. They will not directly or vocally oppose change, but neither will they proactively get behind change. The Neutral Bystander will just go with the flow not wanting to make any waves hoping to perpetually fly under the radar. The Critic…The Critic opposes any and all change. Keep in mind that not all critics are overt in their resistance. Many critics remain in stealth mode trying to derail change behind the scenes by using their influence on others. Whether overt or covert, you must identify critics of change early in the process if you hope to succeed. The Advocate…The Advocate not only embraces change, they will evangelize the change initiative. Like The Critics, it is important to identify The Advocates early in the process to not only build the power base for change, but to give momentum and enthusiasm to the change initiative. Once you’ve identified these change constituencies you must involve all of them, message properly to each of them, and don’t let up. With the proper messaging and involvement even adversaries can be converted into allies.

Managing Change: Manging change requires that key players have control over 4 critical elements: 1) Vision Alignment…those that understand and agree with your vision must be leveraged in the change process. Those that disagree must be converted or have their influence neutralized; 2) Responsibility…your change agents must have a sufficient level of responsibility to achieve the necessary results; 3) Accountability…your change agents must be accountable for reaching their objectives, and; 4) Authority…if the first three items are in place, yet your change agents have not been given the needed authority to get the job done the first three items won’t mean much…you must set your change agents up for success and not failure by giving them the proper tools, talent, resources, responsibility and authority necessary for finishing the race.

There you have it; in three short paragraphs I’ve given you the formula for change, and the question now becomes what will you do with it?

The Death of Sales

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

The thoughts that follow are building off of last week’s post entitled “Shut-up & Listen.” If you thouht I took it too far last week, then what I’m about to espouse below will quite probably cause many of you to think “Myatt has finally lost it.” That said, I truly believe that the practice of sales as a business discipline has become at best ineffective, and in many cases flat out obsolete. You see, good business practices are not static. Stale methodologies and disciplines simply die a slow and very painful death, and it is my contention that the overwhelming majority of sales processes I see in today’s marketplace are just that…stale. If you want to create revenue, increase customer satisfaction, and drive brand equity, stop selling and start adding value. In the text that follows I’ll share my thoughts on how the practice of sales must change in order to survive.

Lest you think I’ve lost my mind, I want to be clear that I’m not advocating taking your eye off the revenue creation ball. Rather what I’m recommending will help you generate more revenue, with greater velocity by simply doing the right thing in putting your client’s needs first. I hear a lot of noise about the tough economy, and revenue being down for many companies. I hear complaint upon complaint that capital is frozen, and that nobody is closing deals. If you’re experiencing this type of reaction from your client, it’s not because they don’t have money to spend, it’s because you’re selling and not adding value. It’s because you’re talking and not listening. It’s because you don’t get it…It’s not about you, your company, your products or your services. It’s about meeting client needs and adding value.  The simple truth of the matter is that the economy hasn’t killed nearly the amount of sales that arrogant and unprofessional sales people have.

The problem with many sales organizations is that they still operate with the same principles and techniques they were using in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. While the technology supporting sales process have clearly evolved, the traditional sales strategies proffered by sales gurus 20 or 30 years ago have not kept pace with market needs. They are not nearly as effective as they once were, and as I’ve eluded to, in most cases they are obsolete. Trust me when I tell you that your prospects and clients have heard it all before. They can see the worn-out, old school closes coming a mile away. They can sniff antiquated selling strategies, and will immediately tune out on presentations not deemed relevant. If your sales force is still FAB-selling, spin-selling, soft-selling or using any number of outdated, one size fits all selling methodologies, your sales are suffering whether you realize it or not.

Call me crazy, but I don’t want to talk to someone who wants to broker my deal, manage my relationship, develop my business, or engineer my sale. I want to communicate with someone who wants to service my needs or solve my problems. Any organization that still has “sales” titles on their org charts and business cards is living in another time and place while attempting to do business in a world that’s already passed them by. It’s time for companies to realize that consumers have become very savvy and very demanding. Today’s consumer does their homework, is well informed, and buys…they are not sold.

Engage me, communicate with me, add value to my business, solve my problems, create opportunity for me, educate me, inform me, but don’t try and sell me…it won’t work. An attempt to sell me insults my intelligence and wastes my time. Think about it…do you like to be sold? News flash…nobody does. Now ask yourself this question, do you like to be helped? Most reasonable people do. The difference between the two positions while subtle, are very meaningful and powerful. If customer centricity is a buzzword as opposed to the foundation of your corporate culture then you have some work to do. The reality is that until I know that you care more about meeting my needs than yours, you’ll remain on the outside looking in. By the way, in order to understand my needs you have to actually know something about me…

The first thing to do when assessing your sales model is to take a giant step back, and critically examine the current landscape. You can’t fix a problem that you don’t understand, and implementing change for the sake of change will likely only make matters worse. If what you’ve read thus far even remotely resonates with you, then I would suggest reading “Don’t Negotiate…Facilitate.” Teach your sales force to become true professionals focused on helping their clients for all the right reasons vs. closing the big deal for personal benefit. Otherwise you will likely miss substantial opportunities without even being aware of it.

The bottom line is that the most important factor in creating revenue and building brand equity is the client/customer/end-user. If you don’t build everything around the client, your client relationships will vanish before your very eyes.

Shut-up and Listen

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Shut-up and listen…While  my message today is very direct, it’s also very simple: talk less and listen more. The best leaders are proactive strategic listeners. They recognize that knowledge and wisdom are not gained by talking, but by listening. Take a moment and reflect back on any great leader that comes to mind…you’ll find that they are very adept at reading between the lines. They have the uncanny ability to understand what is not said, witnessed, or heard. Being a leader should not be viewed as a license to increase the volume of rhetoric. Rather astute leaders know that there is far more to be gained by surrendering the floor than by commanding it. In this age of instant communication, everyone seems to be in such a rush to communicate what’s on their mind that they fail to realize everything to be gained from the minds of others. In today’s post I’ll quickly examine the merits of developing your listen skills.

Simply broadcasting your message ad nauseum will not have the same result as engaging in meaningful conversation, but this assumes that you understand that the greatest form of discourse takes place within a conversation, and not a lecture or a monologue. When you reach that point in your life where the light bulb goes off, and you begin to understand that knowledge is not gained by flapping your lips, but by removing your ear wax, you have taken the first step to becoming a skilled communicator.

The next step in the process is learning where to apply your new found listening skills. Listen to your customers, competitors, your peers, your subordinates, and to those that care about you. Ask people how you can become a better leader and then LISTEN. Take your listening skills online, and don’t just push out Tweets and Facebook messages, but ask questions and elicit feedback. Use your vast array of social media platforms, toolsets and connections to listen. If you follow this advice not only will you become better informed, but you’ll also become more popular with those whom you interact with. 

And finally, if you’re ready for advanced listening skills, don’t just listen to those who agree with you, but actively seek out dissenting opinions and thoughts. Listen to those that confront you, challenge you, stretch you, and develop you. Good luck and good listening.

Interview: Kevin Maggiacomo, CEO, Sperry Van Ness

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Kevin Maggiacomo, CEO, Sperry Van Ness

This week’s CEO spotlight profiles Kevin Maggiacomo, President and CEO of Sperry Van Ness (SVN). Sperry Van Ness is the 12th largest commercial real estate brokerage firm in the world with more than 950 advisors in 3 countries, 38 states and 153 markets and having completed more than 39 billion dollars in sales volume on 12,000 commercial real estate transactions in the last 4 years. On with the interview…

Mike Myatt: Kevin, for readers not familiar with your background, would you please share a brief summary of your career history?

Kevin Maggiacomo: I am currently the President and CEO of Sperry Van Ness International, I worked my way up the food chain at SVN, joining the firm on September 11th 2001 to help facilitate our national expansion. I later served as VP of our franchise business, EVP of SVNI, and COO before being appointed President last year. Prior to my time at SVNI, I served as an advisor for RTE Group, a telecommunications real estate advisory firm where I focused on the acquisition and disposition of critical network real estate, spent two years facilitating business development for Costar Group, and began my real estate career in 1995 at CRESA Partners, Boston.

Mike Myatt: What do you see as your primary role as the CEO of Sperry Van Ness?

Kevin Maggiacomo: I won’t bore you with commentary on the obvious role that I have as a CEO – Responsibility for creating the mission, vision, etc., as those are table stakes for the position. That said, one of my primary areas of focus is engaging the stakeholders by creating a culture of collaboration. Thorough and frequent communication with leaders of SVN offices and their advisors, chatting with their clients, leading by example, selling a point of view, and evangelizing about the brand, will help to facilitate strategy execution. If the construction of the vision and plans for the future play into the needs of all stakeholders, then strong adoption and organizational leverage will be the result, and I will have done my job. If I have failed, then splintered beliefs and an environment where everyone is not on the same page will rule the day.

Creating a culture where the thinking of all stakeholders are leveraged, if done in a controlled environment, can be a powerful source of new ideas. Some of our strongest tools and initiatives have been developed by our Advisors. It is my responsibility to continue to ensure that our unique culture is preserved, to encourage outside the box thinking, capitalize on intellectual assets, and allocate resources in a way that provides for seamless execution of the company’s mission and vision.

Mike Myatt: What do you see as SVN’s strongest competitive value proposition?

Kevin Maggiacomo: This can be best answered by highlighting our new brand strategy and accompanying moniker, “Your creative edge.” “Your,” meant to communicate our undying focus on always putting the client’s interests first, and “creative edge,” meant to highlight our unique ability to be agile, quick to react, and progressive in this new and emerging market. Speed to market on sales and leasing transactions can mean the difference between a landlord retaining or losing a property. We use this as our guide as we develop new tools and cooperative methods of exposing properties.

Our competitive value proposition, or point of differentiation, has always been strong and unique. We are the only national firm with a written policy which mandates that all Advisors cooperate on investment sales transactions, sharing the gross fees 50%-50% with cooperating brokers, and the only national firm with an integrated accelerated marketing, or auction division. Selling traditionally through the entire brokerage community or via an auction product are the only ways of effectively selling real estate today. While our competitors have begun to share fees (because the market now all but requires this), our difference remains in place with a brand known for creating organized competition by leveraging the entire brokerage community to sell properties – A company can’t just decide to change course and start cooperating and sharing fees. Years of doing the opposite creates a situation where a company must operate equally as long to change the perceptions of their employees, clients, and competitive brokers.

Mike Myatt: Do you have a mentor, and how important was/is that person to you in term of your professional development?

Kevin Magggiacomo: A handful of executives and family members, inside and outside the work environment, have assisted greatly in the shaping of my career and in me as leader. There are too many to mention in this context. I will say that I have long valued and sought out good coaches and mentors. I usually engage coaches for specified periods of time to help me with the execution of a specific agenda, and interact regularly and long term with mentors who serve as agenda free facilitators, providing me with affirmations, learning opportunities and other personal returns.

Mike Myatt: You’re a big believer in social media, and one of the few CEO bloggers among your contemporaries…why do you feel this is important?

Kevin Maggiacomo: It is tremendously important. Social media is not a fad and represents one of the most significant shifts in history in the way our clients, prospects, and competitors send and receive information. Brands can now be strengthened or eliminated by the use of social media, including ours. CRE has lagged behind the residential industry in terms of adopting new technologies and embracing progressive media, and SVN is entering the space early. Social media is like the “dot.com” boom of the 90’s only it is growing 10 times faster. It is a train that CRE executives and advisors must board or they will be left at the station. I Tweet, I blog, I read the Tweet’s and blogs of my competitors, peers, clients, and I communicate more effectively and am more informed about my business as a result.

I often ask SVN Advisors, “Do you like what your clients and prospects are saying about your personal brand?” SM provides our advisors with a powerful opportunity to assess and positively impact their brands, provides a forum which allows them to establish credibility, and when embraced properly, can create speaking engagements, consulting opportunities, and real estate assignments. I think that all if this has now been termed “Socialnomics.”

Last month, I set a goal for Sperry Van Ness to have a 100% Advisor adoption rate of SM by Q2, 2010. Our clients want unfettered access to their advisors across multiple mediums and we plan to give them exactly what they are asking for through social media.

Mike Myatt: What books are you currently reading?

Kevin Maggiacomo: I just finished reading The Killer Angels by Jeff Shaara, a fascinating, historical Civil War novel which focuses on the four days of the Battle of Gettysburg. I am a big fan of military history, as many a great lesson is strategy, leadership, and execution can be taken from a look back at martial success and failure.

Mike Myatt: What would you say was your “defining moment” as an executive?

Kevin Maggiacomo: Executing the successful restructure for profitability of Sperry Van Ness. In late 2007, Mark Van Ness recognized the significance of the market correction, and called for a complete restructure of the SVN infrastructure and cost structure. For years, we had been operating our franchise business in the shadows of our corporate stores, when in reality, they are two distinctly different businesses. Working with the Sperry Van Ness founders, our board, and leadership team to reorganize, we made some tough decisions in late 2007 (before any of our competitors), and positioned the company to be stable in any market. We are now hitting our margins in this difficult environment, have cash reserves, zero debt, and an un-tapped line of credit.

Mike Myatt: What do you see as your greatest leadership strength?

Kevin Maggiacomo: Communication and presentation skills. Communication includes listening and putting into practice thoughts and ideas from various constituencies as we previously discussed, the presentation component serves as an important means to achieving total buy-in to the company’s mission and vision. If you surround yourself with talent, express a strong willingness to listen, and refine your ability to present the strategies which stem from that fertile ground, then you will do well as a leader in any business.

Mike Myatt: Where do you the commercial real estate markets trending in 2010?

Kevin Maggiacomo: I see volume picking-up measurably in late 2010. We will see fewer banks extending loan terms and maturities as pressure from the Fed for banks to address toxic loans on their balance sheets mount. We will see new investors – first time buyers and foreign investors enter the market at varying price points. Property values are in the trough or close to it, but values will take much longer to rebound and will be tied to employment metrics. Watch Temporary Labor numbers, which usually move 6-9 months ahead of Non-Farm metrics. Temp Labor improvements can signal the economy trending towards adding net jobs, as businesses are signaling that they have job openings but are using temp help to fill seats before taking the plunge and hiring permanent, fixed cost employees.

Mike Myatt: If you could give one piece of advice to our readers what would that be?

Kevin Maggiacomo: I’ll try not to be too cliche’ here. Getting outside of the comfort zone for leaders, new to the business advisers or investors is paramount to success in today’s economy. There will not be a return to the glory days of CRE and the ways in which transactions were consummated. Not going to happen. So, my advice would be to quickly change and adapt to the new reality. For brokers, it means pursuing smaller deals in the $1M-$5M category, which can be financed and are selling. For investors, it might mean taking a longer view of a prospective investment and increasing hold periods. For sellers, it might mean taking losses and redeploying capital and resources to the incredible buying opportunities that this market presents.

Without being overly simplistic, I believe that those who are better equipped for surviving this downturn will survive. To strengthen that position and put it another way, those who change their approaches to reflect the new market, get outside of their comfort zones, leverage new resources, tools, talent and thinking will survive and thrive in 2010 and beyond. Those who do not are probably out of this business fairly quickly. The old ways in which properties were acquired and financed, brokered and appraised are gone, and they are not coming back. The need to change, to be creative, create new verticals and think outside the box is imperative. It’s the law of the jungle. It’s Survival of the Fittest real estate practitioners.

Conclusion
If Kevin’s depth of articulation hasn’t impressed you, I can’t think of a better testimony to his leadership ability than guiding SVN to profitability, having cash reserves, zero debt, and an un-tapped line of credit during this difficult commercial real estate market. A job well done Kevin…

CEO Interview: Peter C. Roberts, Jones Lang LaSalle

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Peter Roberts, CEO, JLL

Peter C. Roberts is Chief Executive Officer, Americas for Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL). Jones Lang LaSalle has more than 30,000 people in 750 locations across 60 countries. What better person to interview on topics of leadership and commercial real estate than the CEO of the firm that has been recognized as the best overall provider of corporate real estate services by the Watkins 2009 Survey of Corporate Real Estate Service Providers. Of the 19 providers evaluated by the largest users of commercial real estate services, Jones Lang LaSalle was rated #1 in every category, including delivery of results, adaptability of services, pricing, reputation and financial strength. On with the interview…

Mike Myatt: Peter, for our readers who may not be familiar with your background, would you please share a brief summary of your career history?

Peter C. Roberts: My first experience in the real estate industry was a summer job with Trammell Crow in Houston in 1985. I learned during that experience that I liked real estate but I didn’t want to start my career in development. I joined what was then LaSalle Partners in Chicago in 1986, starting my career in Capital Markets. After 61/2 years, I moved to New York and spent the next eight years in Tenant Representation before moving back to Chicago in 2001 to become Jones Lang LaSalle’s global Chief Financial Officer. I relocated again in 2002, this time to London, as the firm’s global Chief Operating Officer, and then returned to Chicago in 2003 in my current role as Chief Executive Officer for the Americas region.

Mike Myatt: How do you view the current commercial real estate market, and where do you see it trending in 2010?

Peter C. Roberts: The overall market is clearly suffering from the effects of the financial crisis and the recession. Activity levels are down dramatically, fundamentals remain weak and price discovery for assets is challenging at best. So, what happens from here?

We expect the growth we’re seeing in outsourcing to continue as occupiers seek to drive efficiencies and cost savings through outsourcing of functions such as facility management, transactions and space planning. The pressure on businesses to reduce costs to remain competitive will not abate.

Leasing activity may start to pick up during 2010. With increasing vacancy and continued pressure on rental rates, tenants could see a growing window of opportunity with regard to choice and cost. Just to cite one asset class – the office market – we expect overall vacancy to peak above 20 percent in late 2010 or early 2011. While sublease vacancies remain 38 percent below the peak level of the last recession, sublease availability is expected to rise well into 2010.

With the downward re-pricing of assets and continued slow demand for space, distress among property owners will usher in some of the industry’s most attractive investment plays in the next few years. The volume of distressed properties nationwide continues to build steadily, recently surpassing $100 billion. This total will likely continue to increase over the coming quarters as commercial mortgage maturities grow in 2010 and will surpass the $400 billion mark annually by 2012.

Mike Myatt: What do you see as JLL’s strongest competitive value proposition?

Peter C. Roberts: I believe that the best companies – the most competitive – are those that have the strongest alignment of their entire business: strategy, business model, culture, compensation philosophy, etc. I see a direct correlation between the degree of alignment of these elements and the success of the company.

Our strongest competitive value proposition starts with our culture, which is all about placing our clients’ interests first, teamwork, integrity and trust.

In our business, being able to deliver all the benefits of our firm through a single point of contact is key to our ability to align our actions with our clients’ needs. This alignment creates real value in our clients’ eyes because they trust us to be proactive and to exceed their expectations on a consistent basis. Our ability to exceed our clients’ expectations day in and day out rests on the strength of our culture.

Mike Myatt: What do you see as your primary role as CEO?

Peter C. Roberts: My primary role as CEO is working with others. That may sound strange, but if the CEO is ultimately accountable for vision, strategy, performance of the organization (both financial and qualitative), and the long term, sustainable success of the organization, none of that can be accomplished alone. So establishing a vision, and working with the leadership team to shape it and mold it into reality, is an example. Working with the leadership team to establish strategic priorities to achieve the vision is another. Empowering leaders, and the organization, to execute the strategy is another.

I think another key role for the CEO is to ensure that the “voice of the customer” resonates within the organization. Bringing that voice, and the client’s needs, to the table for every major decision is important for a client-driven firm. Finally, I think the “tone at the top” is critically important for any organization, and that tone at the top starts with the CEO.

Mike Myatt: Do you have a mentor, and how important was that person to you in term of your professional development?

Peter C. Roberts: I’ve actually had so many mentors, I’ve lost count! I’ve always believed that you can learn more from others than you can from what you read. I’ve also believed that there should be no end to one’s personal growth and self improvement. So I look for every opportunity to learn from others either more experienced than I or simply with different experiences than I have had. I look for opportunities to learn from mentors every day.

Mike Myatt: What books are you currently reading?

Peter C. Roberts: Well, you’re catching me right after my birthday, and being a big Brice Springsteen fan, I received Runaway Dream: Born To Run and Bruce Springsteen’s American Vision. So I just cracked that one. Also, Think Big, Act Small by Jason Jennings.

Mike Myatt: What would you say was your “defining moment” as an executive?

Peter C. Roberts: I really don’t view my career, or my work, as a series of “moments.” So the closest thing that comes to mind is really the last five years. Five years ago, we worked with our leadership team to establish several concrete strategic priorities. We also established a financial goal that we thought was achievable if we executed successfully on our strategic priorities and we had a favorable economic climate. Well, the end of the five year period is the end of this year. While we all know that the economic climate has not remained favorable, we have focused unrelentingly on our strategic priorities, and at the end of this year we will have exceeded our five year goal by 31%! It has been a fun journey, and it marks the beginning of the next chapter…..

Mike Myatt: What do you see as your greatest leadership strength?

Peter C. Roberts: A combination of an innate belief that everyone can bring something of value to the table, and a focused commitment to connecting with, and listening to, people.

Mike Myatt: What is the toughest leadership decision you have had to make thus far in 2009?

Peter C. Roberts: As we, and most companies, have focused on cost savings this year, the toughest decisions centered around right sizing our cost structure – specifically involving staff and compensation. These are tough because they affect people, and people are our most important asset. It’s always hard to lose people and, as a leader, these decisions are the hardest to make.

Mike Myatt: If you could give one piece of advice to our readers what would that be?

Peter C. Roberts: I would share a piece of advice that I learned from one of those many mentors: Everyone else is at least as smart as you are, if not smarter. So, if you see something, you can bet your bottom dollar that everyone else sees it, too.

Conclusion:
I think it’s clear to anyone reading this interview that Peter’s humility, his commitment to the people he works with, and to his clients have served him well. It’s no wonder that under his leadership that JLL is consistently one of the most highly regarded brands in commercial real estate.

Interview: Jeffrey Rogers, President, Integra Realty Resources

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Jeffrey Rogers, President, Integra Realty Resources

This week’s interview features Jeffrey Rogers, President and COO, of Integra Realty Resources (IRR). Jeffrey is the senior operating executive and a board member of IRR, the nation’s largest commercial valuation firm with more than 55 offices and 750 employees. I had the pleasure of first meeting Jeffrey several years ago at an industry conference and developed an immediate respect for his intellectual acuity and business acumen. Jeffrey is a phenomenal leader with one of the most well rounded executive backgrounds you’ll find in the commercial real estate space. On with the interview…

Mike Myatt: Jeffrey, for our readers who may not be familiar with your background, would you please share a brief summary of your career history?

Jeffrey Rogers: I have had the fortune of approaching real estate from a number of different disciplines. My background includes Investment Banking, Technology and Law. In my past positions, I was charged with assessing risk, deploying capital to its highest use, and significantly increasing shareholder value. Integra has been a great fit for me because it has allowed me to combine all of my skills to assist in doubling the size of Integra over a 5 year span. In addition to Integra, I sit on various boards including TNP Strategic Retail Trust, Inc., which is a non-traded public REIT.

Mike Myatt: As President of the nation’s largest valuation firm, you’re at ground zero on one of the industry’s biggest issues…what are assets really worth? Please describe where you see cap rates and values trending in 2010.

Jeffrey Rogers: We are still in a declining market. More than $2 trillion in commercial mortgages are expected to come due between now and 2013. However, due to the declining values and lack of financing, many property owners will have a very difficult time refinancing. Even the money sitting on the sidelines, which is about $300 billion, will not be enough to bridge the gap. In such an environment, values will continue to fall and cap rates will continue to rise in 2010.

Compounding the problem, foreclosures of commercial properties carrying mortgages are starting to surge. The CMBS sector is experiencing delinquency rates of more than six times the level a year ago. The economy continues to sag with increasing unemployment, falling income and consumer pessimism. Without the demand for commercial real estate increasing anytime soon, it will take us a while to recover.

Mike Myatt: What do you see as your primary role as IRR’s President?

Jeffrey Rogers: My primary role is to provide the overall strategic vision and direction for the company and oversee its implementation. During my tenure at Integra, we have made shifts in strategic direction in line with the external environment and stage of the company’s growth. So the process of strategic visioning is iterative and a job that is never done. At the same time, we have had significant accomplishments on the operational side. We have built processes and technology to capture the best data in the industry so that our employees can do their job better and faster than our competitors. We also expanded our product offerings such as valuation for financial reporting and distressed asset analysis.

Mike Myatt: Do you have a mentor, and how important was that person to you in term of your professional development?

Jeffrey Rogers: I have been very fortunate to have many mentors in my life, including pioneers in the real estate industry. I cannot mention them all, but would like to mention one, our late Chairman Kevin Nunnink, who passed away unexpectedly in August. Kevin’s professional life touched every aspect of real estate. Kevin saw the industry changing and the need for a large national valuation firm and, thus, formulated the vision to found Integra. He was key to my development as we experienced rapid growth. I encourage everyone to seek a mentor. In many cases, a mentor has already seen the challenges ahead of you and can assist you in making the best decisions while learning in the process.

Mike Myatt: What books are you currently reading?

Jeffrey Rogers: For balance, I always read a non-fiction and fiction book simultaneously. On the fiction side, I am close to finishing The Black Swan which theorizes that it is impossible to predict rare events outside of the realm of normal expectations. I love this book considering the times we are in now. The book also discussed how we attempt to rationalize black swan events as if we could have expected them.

On the fiction side, I am reading The Road which is a post-apocalyptic novel about the journey of a man and his son after the US was devastated by an unnamed cataclysm. Although the novel leaves you with hope, it is a warning of how bad the human condition can become if we do not change some critical aspects of our world.

Mike Myatt: What would you say was your “defining moment” as an executive?

Jeffrey Rogers: When Integra experienced a spike in assignments from the CMBS industry a few years ago, it was tempting to direct a disporportionate amount of company resources to that sector of the market. However, I made sure we remained diversified and invested in building our Litigation, Valuation for Financial Reporting and Government practice groups. At the same time, I took our brand international resulting in assignments which originated abroad. We never had that before to the levels we are seeing today. When the CMBS work dried up, our competitors experienced severe downturns resulting in layoffs. Integra is still growing today with our employee count now at 750, which has increased every year.

Mike Myatt: What do you see as your greatest leadership strength?

Jeffrey Rogers: My greatest strength is to analyze an industry and formulate a vision to become a market leader. I accomplish this by clearly communicating the vision and inspiring other leaders in the organization to take action. The ability to move seamlessly between strategy and execution, and knowing when to focus on which, has been key to my success.

Mike Myatt: What is the toughest leadership decision you have had to make thus far in 2009?

Jeffrey Rogers: In this environment, most companies are slashing budgets and cutting investment. We made the decision to invest heavily in enhancing our technology and product offerings. I went against the convention because not only do I see opportunity in this downturn, but because we are a value-added player in the type of turmoil.

Mike Myatt: If you could give one piece of advice to our readers what would that be?

Jeffrey Rogers: Everyone is going through a very difficult time right now. However, in difficulty there is opportunity. One should spend time searching for the opportunity and not worrying about the past. This is a time to stay positive, get creative, and make an impact. Our industry and the economy run in cycles. This period will end and we will get through this. When this cycle is over, think about how you want to answer the question, “What did you do?”

Conclusion
After reading this interview it should be no wonder as to why IRR has become the nation’s leading commercial real estate valuation firm. Jeffrey’s integrity, leadership ability, and intellect even have the firm growing in the worst commercial real estate market this generation.

CEO Interview: Mark Rose

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth 

Mark Rose, CEO, Avison Young

This week’s CEO interview features Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, of Avison Young. Founded in 1978, and headquartered in Toronto, Avison Young is Canada’s largest privately held commercial real estate services firm. As you might suspect, the combination of Mark Rose and Avison Young can mean only one thing…a new player entering the US market. I have long believed that Mark Rose possesses one of the brightest minds within the field of commercial real estate, and it’s my pleasure to be able to profile Mark in this week’s CEO spotlight. In the text that follows you’ll hear Mark’s views on leadership and the state of the market, and you’ll be introduced to a firm poised to make a prolific entry into the US market. On with the interview…   

Mike Myatt: I think it’s fair to say that most of our readers are familiar with your previous leadership roles with JLL and Grubb & Ellis, but in order to provide a more complete sketch of your background, would you please share a brief summary of your career history?

Mark Rose: Ever since my first days in New York as a public accountant specializing in real estate advisory, it was clear that solving the needs of clients and generating returns for investors needed to be a priority. Whether managing, creating a strategy and selling a REIT at the top of the market in 1989 as CEO of Pan American Properties, Inc. (a semi-public REIT owned by the British Coal Pension Funds), or moving to Washington D.C. to personally oversee and execute a plan to restore profitability to the Watergate Complex, the combination of strategy, understanding the power of people and execution became the foundations for success.

In 1995 I sold my company, Metropolitan Realty Advisors, to Jones Lang Wooten (JLW) to begin managing real estate services companies. As a lead executive in America for JLW, I oversaw the merger with LaSalle Partners in March 1999 to form Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). Later, I had the great fortune to write strategy as Chief Innovation Officer with JLL and ultimately left as COO and CFO of the Americas. In March 2005, I was recruited by Grubb & Ellis as CEO to rebuild a once proud brand. We hired more than 400 new brokers in 18 months, raised $100 million in equity capital to fund a five-year strategic plan and put a previously de-listed company back on the New York Stock Exchange in less than two years. By driving shareholder value to historic highs, we restored G&E’s reputation, raised industry awareness of our talented staff, created significant shareholder value at that time and ultimately became a takeover target.

Mike Myatt: Would you please share with us what attracted you to Avison Young?

Mark Rose: Very simply, the strategy. I spent six months writing and honing with the help of key leaders in business, banking and real estate what was an unattributed thesis that fit and described a company– the history, culture and success of which, was Avison Young. I wasn’t looking for Avison Young, but when I sat down with the principals and leadership of the company, I was overwhelmed by the alignment of vision and cultural beliefs. With experience as a guide rail, I was looking for a private, partner-led company that puts its clients and people ahead or in alignment with its shareholders, not behind them.

Mike Myatt: What do you see as your primary role as Avison Young’s CEO?

Mark Rose: I believe the CEO owns the company’s strategy and is accountable for a management team that organizes the company to deliver solutions, innovate and deliver value. The CEO is a client interface and business developer and never, ever forgets that people are the life blood of the company. A CEO must never lose connection with his or her people and must always show leadership as we develop and promote a diverse generation of future leaders.

Mike Myatt: What are Avison Young’s plans for US expansion in the US market?

Mark Rose: As you might expect, with the US market being one of the largest and most vibrant real estate markets in the world, we have big plans for expansion in the US. We have already established a presence in the Chicago market, and have set our sights on immediate expansion in the key markets from coast to coast. Additionally, as a diversified company, we expect to expand in all facets of the commercial markets, in all property types, in order to meet the widespread demands of our institutional and corporate clients.

Mike Myatt: Do you have a mentor, and how important was/is that person to you in term of your professional development?

Mark Rose: Mentoring and the role of a mentor are critical to the success and development of executives. I was very fortunate to have a powerful mentor in the early stages of my career and continue to reach out to those whom I hold in high regard. At Pan American Properties, Inc., I was mentored by Jim Boisi, our Chairman who was instrumental in shaping my management style. Two of his more profound teachings were: “Drive your team to succeed and push them to be better than what you yourself are capable of” and “There are many experienced professionals who have forgotten more (knowledge) than you know!” I never forget the power of experience, knowledge and learning from mistakes, and today pass this on to the many mentees I have helped to attain leadership positions in the industry.

Mike Myatt: What books are you currently reading?

Mark Rose: The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

Mike Myatt: What would you say was your “defining moment” as an executive?

Mark Rose: It’s very hard to choose one defining moment because there have been several very key moments for me. I have written strategies and action plans that have led to very positive outcomes over an almost 25-year career. But the two I am most passionate about defined who I was as a leader. The first was when I sold Metropolitan Realty Advisors to JLW. I had the choice to accept a large payment and leave my team behind or receive no upfront payment and bring my team with me. The answer was actually easy– my team meant more to me and they helped me establish a baseline for success. The second was learning to stand up and demand that people behave properly. It is not easy, but taking on tough problems and bad actors are part of leadership. Having come through a situation like that, I learned that all you have is your reputation and compromising or looking the other way is unacceptable. Take the high road every time and it pays off in the end.

Mike Myatt: What do you see as your greatest leadership strength?

Mark Rose: Commitment to a vision, strategy and your people. No matter how rough the waters get, I am always confident that we know what the result will look like if we stay focused and committed. Too many leaders create the vision and start to build, only to pull back when difficulties or natural tensions develop. I believe that true leadership takes commitment and you cannot waiver on core principles.

Mike Myatt: What is the toughest leadership decision you have had to make thus far in 2009?

Mark Rose: We have needed to make a few changes to our leadership team in 2009. Those are never easy decisions, particularly when the professionals are quality people. But my job is to field the best team at the best positions and sometimes that requires change. Our clients, principals and staff deserve to work with the best and the brightest at every level, and the sustainability of our culture and the company itself rests with those people.

Mike Myatt: Where do you see the commercial real estate markets trending in 2010?

Mark Rose: I believe 2010 will start the way 2009 will end– at the bottom of the cycle. I am a big believer in metrics-based forecasting and cannot see a recovery in our sector until employment starts to rebound. As the financial and real estate markets are forward-looking, I believe the second half of 2010 will start to recover and the actual progress will be recorded in 2011.

Mike Myatt: If you could give one piece of advice to our readers what would that be?

Mark Rose: Stop talking and listen– you will be amazed by the knowledge and transformational ideas that rest with others. Embracing someone else’s passionate viewpoint is not a weakness.

Conclusion
This is a significant interview for two reasons:

1. Mark Rose is highly regarded for his leadership ability, and this interview provides an insightful look into the leadership thinking responsible for shaping the minds of many within the industry, and;
2. It reintroduces a well known CEO leading a Canadian juggernaut in an aggressive US expansion. It is this author’s opinion that Avison Young will become a major player in the US commercial real estate market under Mark’s superior leadership.

Mark Rose is a proven leader, and I look forward to watching Avison Young transition from Canada’s largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company and the only national, Canadian-owned, principal-managed real estate brokerage north of the border, to one of the dominant firms in North America.

Interview: Transwestern CEO, Larry Heard

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Larry Heard

Today marks the beginning of a series of interviews with some of the top CEOs in the commercial real estate industry. First up is Larry Heard, President and CEO of Transwestern. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Transwestern has grown into one of the country’s largest privately held, nationwide, full service (Agency Leasing, Tenant Advisory, Investment Services, Development, Property & Facilities Management, Troubled Assets and Research) commercial real estate firms. The reason I chose to begin with Larry Heard, is not only because he is highly regarded for his leadership ability, but also because Transwestern as a company is widely known to be one of the best managed companies in the commercial real estate industry.

As an advisor to CEOs, I have the priviledge of being able to discuss the topics of leadership, strategy and branding with CEOs on a daily basis. I felt it would be encouraging to many readers given the current state of the commercial markets to view things through the lens of the chief executives whom they may not otherwise have the opportunity to interact with. Remember that it is the CEOs interviewed in this series that will be largely responsible for helping to lead the industry back to better times. On with the interview…

Mike Myatt: Larry, for readers not familiar with your background, please give us a brief summary of your commercial real estate career:

Larry Heard: I started in the business in 1980 and became immersed in the development and leasing of the product we built for many years. The early 1980s was boom time in Houston, so I learned my way around the banks, design architects offices and on-site construction shacks. I joined Transwestern in 1983, so I have only worked for two firms in my career. Since that time, I have enjoyed expanding my areas of focus and expertise as our firm has grown and developed into one of the largest private real estate firms in the country today. Ours is a terrific firm filled with motivated and high quality people – I am proud of what we have created.

Mike Myatt: What has Transwestern done from a strategic and tactical perspective to successfully navigate this market?

Larry Heard: Early on, we deleveraged by paying off our corporate debt just before the downturn, stayed almost singularly focused on the needs of our clients and tried to continually elevate the workplace environment at each Transwestern office around the country. As we have moved through this cycle we have been opportunistic with a few new initiatives aimed at gaining market share. We are in the process of working with our clients from an investment perspective to take advantage of the opportunities that will present themselves over the next year or two.

Mike Myat: What do you see as your primary role as CEO from a leadership perspective?

Larry Heard: 1.) To set a clear vision as to where we are going as a firm; 2.) To empower our top leaders and producers to design the road map to achieve the vision; 3.) To try to lead by example each and every day, and; 4.) To make certain to serve those you lead.

Mike Myatt: What is the most significant leadership decision you’ve made in 2009?

Larry Heard: In light of the unprecedented economic decline the decision to dramatically reduce costs without reducing headcount. Our leadership team recognized early on that our people are the company. We have worked too hard to recruit and develop our team members and working units all over the country to dismantle them in response to the downturn. As the economic picture has finally stabilized a bit, we feel good about having our full complement of team members on the field ready to play the next half of the game.

Mike Myatt: What is the toughest leadership decision you’ve had to make in 2009?

Larry Heard: The aforementioned decision. Our decision to cut costs, but not team members was made late last year when the economy, stock market and real estate business appeared to be in a free fall. Transaction activity had come to a virtual halt as decision makers took as much time as possible to make decisions. There was no clarity at the time as to the depth of the economic slide. Job number one for me is to ensure the health, vibrancy and continuity of the company. So, sticking to our plan could have been second guessed as not dramatic enough. As noted above, at this point in the recovery, we are pleased with the steps we took and the results that are beginning to emerge.

Mike Myatt: How do you see markets changing in 2010 if at all?

Larry Heard: From a services perspective, and by that I mean transaction activity, I think activity will actually pick up in 2010 over 2009 levels. Now, that’s not saying much, but it is trending in the right direction. The recovery will be slow, but I think steady. Real estate companies will make more money on less revenue than in the past due to the cost containment initiatives that have been implemented. Real estate equity values will take longer to recover because the decline has been so steep and the deleveraging process is still underway. That said, most real estate people are resourceful and loaded with perseverance. We will just have to prove it one more time……………

Conclusions:
After having the opportunity to look inside the mind of Larry Heard I think it’s easy to see why I chose to begin this CEO interview series with him. Larry is a person of great character who grasps the importance of servant leadership, vision, clear messaging, strategic planning and team building. Feel free to leave your comments below, and stay tuned for next week’s interview.

Upcoming Leadership Interview Series

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Get Your Leadership Scoop Here

I thought I’d use this holiday weekend to announce an upcoming series of leadership interviews that I’ll post each week for the next 6 weeks (perhaps longer depending on the response) on this blog. I’ll be interviewing CEOs from some of the most recognized and respected commercial real estate companies to find out their thoughts on leadership, the state of the current real estate market, and how they are positioning their companies to grow and thrive even during these tough economic times. Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts about who you’d like to see interviewed in the weeks ahead. It is my hope that the information shared during the interviews will be of value and benefit to all readers…