NEW: Dutch/U.S. Real Estate Trade Mission / RCA Global Capital Trends / True Joy / The Busy Trap / Moving to NYC

Exciting News:  I'm proud to announce the launch of the first Dutch/U.S. Real Estate Trade Mission.  The Felix Consulting Group in partnership with NCH (The Netherlands largest private trade and investment promotion council) and Zien-Branding will hold this private, invitation-only event in Amsterdam on October 3-5, 2012.  No more than 20 U.S. real estate companies will be sanctioned to attend this gathering where, among other benefits, they will enjoy private meetings with each of 10 Dutch capital sources.  This event was created because there is great interest from Dutch investors in U.S. real estate today. The organizers will provide a complete concierge service designed to maximize the time for both groups to get to know each other better and understand the opportunities to invest in U.S. real estate.  Invitations will go out early next week to the U.S. firms who have been hand-picked to participate based on a stringent set of criteria.  

The opening paragraph from RCA's Global Capital Trends:  Mid-Year Review published this past Wednesday:

Global transaction volumes for property increased slightly in Q2 over Q1 to total $157.0. Year-overyear, the global transaction market has slowed for three consecutive quarters and so far in 2012, both Q1 and Q2 registered 23 declines. However, while the Q1 decline resulted primarily from a sharp slowing in sales of China development sites, the Q2 decline represents a more widespread slowing across most property types and geographies. In Q2 compared to a year earlier, volumes in EMEA fell 28 while Asia Pac and the Americas were both off 21.

Reading further into the report, the only property type that showed positive is....you guessed it....apartments!  A few other snippets:  Core investors are having to broaden their geographic scope; Sales of development sites in the UK and U.S. have rebounded; Global capital, seeking both yield and safe haven status, has reversed direction considerably and is now coming west vs. going east.  

True Joy.  At .31 of this wonderful film clip scientists are celebrating the successful Mars landing early last Monday morning of NASA's Mars science rover, Curiosity.   It's great to see a team, who worked long and hard on this project, spontaneously erupt in happiness and caught on camera.  Doesn't seeing them make you feel good?  

I found these "Qualities" on an investment advisors website last week and thought they were brilliant in their simplicity, directness and ability to convey both their philosophy and culture and wanted to share it with you.  Less is always more!

Excellence

We constantly strive for excellence, especially with regard to performance, client relations, and how we do our job. 

Calculated Risk-Taking

We take calculated risks – when prudent – as a condition of winning. 

Responsibility

We place the highest importance on our responsibility to our clients, to each other, and to building for the future. 

Something Better

We strive to be unique, to set the standards for others, and to demonstrate our ability to sustain and grow.

An article this week about the grand re-opening of the legendary music venue, Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York brought back one vivid memory.  Three of us went there to see the band Traffic perform.  The show was great and, in no hurry to get back to New Jersey we decided to hang around what we believed to be the door that the band exited from after the show.  There were only a few people there as the band came out.  Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood...Traffic.  Just standing there a few feet away from us.  Stevie was much smaller and slighter than I had ever imagined.  I don't recall if there was any conversation, other than perhaps a nod of hello or perhaps a "Great show, man."  

The Busy Trap.  A good friend sent me a link to this article along with this excerpt: "I’ve always understood that the best investment of my limited time on earth was to spend it with people I love. I suppose it’s possible I’ll lie on my deathbed regretting that I didn’t work harder and say everything I had to say, but I think what I’ll really wish is that I could have one more beer with Chris, another long talk with Megan, one last good hard laugh with Boyd. Life is too short to be busy." Yes, this totally resonates with me and I first was exposed to this in the book Type A Behavior and Your Heart. (Type A personality:  Two main characteristics:  Free-floating hostility (Everything makes him angry) and time urgency (Someone who lives his life by a stopwatch rather than a calendar).  

Springsteen at 62.  There's a great piece in The New Yorker magazine of July 30, 2012.  A couple of quotes from Bruce:

• "For an adult, the world is constantly trying to clamp down on itself.  Routine, responsibility, decay of institutions, corruption:  this is all the world closing in.  Music, when it's really great, pries that shit back open and lets people back in, it lets light in, and air in, and energy in, and sends people home with that and sends me back to the hotel with it.  People carry that with them sometimes for a very long period of time."
• "We hope to send people out of the building we play in with a slightly more enhanced sense of what their options might be, emotionally, maybe communally.  You empower them a little bit, they empower you.  It's all a battle against the futility and the existential loneliness!  It may be that we are all huddled together around the fire and trying to fight off that sense of the inevitable.  That's what we do for one another."

Award-winning pizza of the week:  Maria's, 1591 Division Street, Morris, IL (26 miles west of Joliet). 

NYC Subway Artist

Congratulations:  

Paige Mueller who has joined RCLCO as Director of Institutional Real Estate Advisory Services.  

Justin Mallis who is joining The Bogdahn Group

Zack Fox who is leaving SNL for an investigative journalism fellowship at Harvard to explore the efficacy of bond-financed affordable housing projects.

This week I drove from Napa to relocate to New York. When you spend almost six days in a car by yourself you can only do a few things:  drive, think, listen to music, play the drums on your steering wheel (For men only?) and think some more.  Have you ever experienced this:  you hear a song you've listened to for years but now it takes on new meaning depending on what is going on in your life at the time?  Here's one, "When You Love Someone" by Bryan Adams that brought tears to my eyes...not a good thing when you're going 82 MPH and you forgot to bring tissues.  

On the road...

Aug. 13-Sept. 5:  New York.

Sept. 6: Ithaca, NY-Cornell University:  Careers in Real Estate:  Connecting the Dots discussion with students.

Sept. 13:  Los Angeles to moderate the Real Capital Analytics (RCA) breakfast briefing.

Sept. 14:  San Francisco to moderate the RCA breakfast briefing.

Sept. 17-19:  New York

Sept. 21:  Boston to moderate the RCA breakfast briefing.

Sept. 25-28:  New York

Oct. 3-5:  Amsterdam for the first Dutch-U.S. Commercial Real Estate Trade Mission (Invitation only).

Oct. 8-12:  New York

Oct. 14-16:  Chicago to attend the NAREIM Fall Executive Meeting.

Oct. 17:  Chicago-DePaul University: Careers in Real Estate:  Connecting the Dots discussion with students.

Oct. 18:  Chicago-University of Chicago: Careers in Real Estate:  Connecting the Dots discussion with students.

Oct. 19:  Still in Chicago for client and prospective client meetings.

Oct. 22-24:  Los Angeles to attend the PREA conference.

Oct. 31:  Seattle, WA-University of Washington: Careers in Real Estate:  Connecting the Dots discussion with students.

Nov. 5-6:  New York

Nov. 7:  Washington, DC-Johns Hopkins University: Careers in Real Estate:  Connecting the Dots discussion with students.

Nov. 8-9:  New York to attend and chair the PERE Forum.

How to Raise Institutional Capital / Research Jobs? / "The Mentors"

"How do we get some of that there pension fund money?"  This question has been posed to me many, many times.  Often the source is a successful regional real estate company, with a great story and track record, but that has never raised institutional capital or at most for a one-off deal.  Some of these companies have hired me to conduct a unique training session, "How to Raise Institutional Capital-A One-Day Soup-to-Nuts Introduction."  When the day is over, my client's reaction sometimes resembles,"It can't possibly take that long to raise an institutional fund, could it?" or "Boy, I'm really going to have to make a considerable investment in our reporting, compliance and risk management capabilities."  And, sometimes, they decide, "It's not worth it."  But I remind them that all the successful real estate investment managers started in the same place, more or less, and perhaps it's only a question of patience (Warning:  Serious amount of patience required, learning to accept rejection, realizing that things will not go according to your timeline and how long it takes to develop trust to the point that an institutional investor, and/or their consultant, will endorse you).  However, once you are accepted 'in the club' you have to do something get yourself thrown out.  So, maybe it is worth it!


This leads to another thought about what I believe we're going to see more of:  managers going out of business or merging (if they can get past the money aspect of what they believe their firm and they are worth).  All this basically brings us to one word:  change is afoot.  Lots of it.  And with change comes possibilities; possibilities for our companies and for ourselves.  This is not a time to be faint of heart.  We are at an inflection point and we can seize the day....if we dare to.  


Notice:  The Association of Real Estate Research Professionals, a 1000+ member group on Linkedin.com, wants to identify real estate research positions for their members.  If your firm is seeking someone with that experience (all levels) please let me know and I'll post it to the group.  Thanks.

My fall tour of university real estate programs is really coming together.  The title of my discussion with the students is, "Careers in Real Estate: Connecting the Dots." As I prepare, I'm going to use my own career as a starting point:  The job, The connecting of the dots (how I got the job) and what I learned there.  The learning part is technical learning but rather what I learned about people and about myself.  And, just like on the last college tour, I know we will all be learning from each other.  

People who are thinking:  In Asheville, NC visiting my son and his sons this week, we went to a place called "The Tree House:  A Cafe at Play."  It's a very cool idea and the only one in the U.S. (for now, anyway).  It's got an indoor treehouse and is chock full of educational toys.  In one section are a bunch of tables (the cafe) where parents (and their children if they must) can hang out, have a snack, work on their computer (shame on them), etc.  One of the very cool features is that you can order really good food that is "delivered" by a restaurant next door!  There are lot of other services that they offer like art classes, music classes and yoga for kids.  There's also a drop-off service (ages 12 months-8 years) for when a parent needs to leave their child for a bit and run some errands (or just needs some time for themselves!). Anyway, it's great to see people thinking differently and filling a need (for both the kids and their parents).  

Driving from my home in Napa Valley to southern California yesterday the diversity of the landscape allows this conclusion: each of us plays a part in the success of others.

Just as the farmer in Modesto needs workers to provide food for our tables, the analyst just beginning their career needs someone to provide guidance so they can provide food for their "table".  Each successive rung on the ladder has a similar characteristic to it.

As I continued the drive it became clearer to me that for our industry to grow there needs to be a forum for the knowledge and wisdom of a senior industry professional to be shared with younger professionals....tomorrow's industry leaders. 

So it is with great pride and excitement to announce that The Felix Consulting Group is launching an on-going series of regional events called, The Mentors.  This is something that has been on my 'to-launch' list for many years.  Stay tuned for the details. 

On the road....


Aug. 13-17:  New York for a client coaching session and meetings with prospective clients.


Sept. 3-7:  New York


Sept. 13:  Los Angeles to moderate the RCA Breakfast Briefing and introduction of their newest product.


Sept. 14:  San Francisco to moderate the RCA Breakfast Briefing and the introduction of their newest product.


Sept. 21:  Boston to moderate the RCA Breakfast Briefing and the introduction of their newest product. 


Sept. 6:  Ithaca, NY-Cornell University:  Careers in Real Estate-Connecting the Dots discussion with students and their advisors.
  
Sept. 18-19:  Chicago to attend the NAREIM H.R Council Meeting


Oct. 3-5:  Amsterdam for the launch of a very special industry event (Announcement coming next week). 

Oct. 14-16:  Chicago to attend the NAREIM Fall Executive meeting.

Oct. 14-16:  Chicago to attend the NAREIM Fall 

Oct. 17:  DePaul University:  Careers in Real Estate: Connecting the Dots 
discussion with students

Oct. 18:  University of Chicago/Booth:  Careers in Real Estate: Connecting the Dots discussion with students.

Oct. 19:  Chicago for meetings with prospective clients.

Oct. 22-24:  Los Angeles to attend the PREA conference

Oct. 31:  Seattle, WA-University of Washington-Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies-Careers in Real Estate: Connecting the Dots discussion with students and other meetings.

Nov. 7:  Washington, DC-Johns Hopkins University:  Careers in Real Estate: Connecting the Dots discussion with students. 

Nov. 8-9:  New York to attend and serve as chair at the PERE Forum



P.S.  Thanks to my long-time friend, Michael Kalmonson who acted as a sounding board for some parts of this week's column.

RCA Mid-Year Reports / Stress / A Deluxe Apartment in the Sky

RCA this week released it's U.S. Capital Trends Mid-Year Reports.  Here's what RCA says about transaction volume:

• Apartment:  Second highest quarter since 2007.  But year over year increases in transactions are slowing.
• Office:  Slight gain from prior quarter but off 10% compared to a year ago.
• Hotel:  Slowed for the third consecutive quarter.
• Industrial: Excluding an outlier deal, activity in Q2 was up 17%.  Flex properties have registered stronger gains than the warehouse sector.  
• Retail: Excluding entity transactions, activity increased 56% in Q2.

Standout markets across all property types include: Seattle, WA;  San Jose, CA;  and Austin, TX.  Other markets which appear to be gaining favor are:  Charlotte, Miami, Baltimore and Nashville. 

14 years ago I moved from New Jersey to California to take a new job. Shortly after getting there I started to get excruciating pains in my right side.  I went to a doctor who sent me for a bunch of tests (during one they forgot to strap me onto the table and when it raised, I fell, hitting my head and almost creating a real problem).  But all the tests were negative.  After getting the results, the doctor, a new one for me having just moved, asked, "Have you ever heard of stress?"  I felt like saying, "Everybody has." But instead I courteously said, "Yes."  He said that after telling me that within the past six months or so I had:  gotten married, moved cross-country and started a new job, the pain on my side was likely just stress-related from all the major things that I'd experienced recently.  I don't remember if the pain stopped as I left his office but it stopped shortly thereafter.  As I travel around I'm both observing behavior that suggests more and more people are feeling more and more stress and from hearing from people who clearly state that 'it ain't easy out there.'  

My generation grew up believing that things would get better each year.  Perhaps we weren't the only ones.  I believed it and in 1987-91 got myself into financial trouble regarding a house because I overextended myself believing that I would make more money each succeeding year.  But that didn't happen and I learned a valuable lesson.  Today, we're still a long way from recovering from many people overextending themselves.  In addition, we've got a situation where lots of people are out of work, some with little or no prospects and others taking jobs well below their ability and experience, just to pay the bills. Also, I believe that the stress we're experiencing (the "we" is probably the entire developed world in one way or another) manifests itself in the growing rudeness and lack of consideration people are showing to one another.  It's sad.  If we lose our civility toward one another we are creating an environment that far exceeds anything the "Me" generation ever believed.  Yes, we're stressed, but showing kindness to one another could be a positive that comes out of the negative.  We need to find something to believe in and, right now, it just may be each other.  

Comment from an OTR reader about my recent observation:  "It really is sad to see people so engrossed by technology. I’m amazed at how many young mothers walk around with their children while talking on the telephone.  I’m sure that they tell everyone that they just spent a few hours with their child.  How great that would be if true."  

Seems our timing is serendipitous as on Wednesday there was an article in the paper titled, "Silicon Valley Says Step Away From The Device." One Facebook exec offered a warning:  log off once in a while and put them down.  "In a place where technology is seen as an all-powerful answer, it is increasingly being seen as too powerful, even addicitve.  The concern, voiced in conferences and in recent interviews with many top executives of technology companies, is that the lure of constant stimulation-the pervasive demand of pings, rings and updates-is creating a profound physical craving that can hurt productivity and personal interactions."  OMG, and here I thought it would be years before I'd read something like this. You guys know my feelings but it'll take more than just this article to get people taking action and reducing their dependence on "constant techaction" (vs. human interaction) with each other.  Now with young grand children in my family it'll be interesting to see how their parents (i.e. my sons and their wives) handle this challenge.  

Congratulations:

• Marty Reid, Executive Vice President and CFO Chambers Street Properties 
• Jason Chiang joined the investment team at Madison International Realty

RetailMLS.com has launched it's new blog called The Retail Report.  

"A Deluxe Apartment In The Sky." I stayed in an incredible vacation rental apartment this past week.  Walking in you're immediately struck with an absolutely insane view through the floor to ceiling windows looking south and east from midtown Manhattan.  It was almost surreal.  And, the 'night light' that woke me up during the middle of one night was actually the glow from...the Empire State Building!  If you or someone you know is looking for a special place to stay in New York I strongly suggest you check this out. 

Looking Southeast

My personal nightlight

Restaurant of the week:  Degustation Wine & Tasting Bar, 239 E. 5th Street, New York (212) 979.1012.  When you walk by a restaurant and don't see any customers it gives pause.  But for some reason, when I peeked into the tiny window last Sunday night I thought, "Hey, this looks cool."  More than cool, when my friend met me, he said that this was one of the hot new places in NYC and that he had wanted to try it too.  We had a great meal; small plates; each one hand-crafted right in front of your eyes.  But make a reservation.  It was only empty because it was the first Sunday night that they were open for dinner.

The Felix Consulting Group:  Case Study

Client:  Opportunity Fund

Assignment:  Presentation skills coaching

Solution:  Staged a 'role play' session at the client's office (boy, was this fun for me!).  

Their goal:  Introduce their firm and pitch a product.

The Result:  Feedback from the client was excellent.  They have asked me to personally coach some of these individuals.

The Felix Consulting Group

If your company is at an inflection point contact me for a free phone consultation to determine if we should be working together.  

On the road...

July 30-31: Asheville, NC

Aug. 2-3:  Greater Los Angeles Area

Sept. 3-11:  New York

Sept. 6-7:  Ithaca, NY for my Careers in Real Estate-Connecting the Dots discussion with students at Cornell University.

Sept. 13:  Los Angeles to host an event for one of my clients.

Sept. 14:  San Francisco to host an event for one of my clients.

Sept. 16-18:  Chicago to attend NAREIM's Legal & Compliance Meeting and Human Resources Roundtable

Sept. 21:  Boston to host an event  for one of my clients.

Oct. 3-5:  Amsterdam for the launch of a very special event which I will be announcing shortly.

Oct. 14-16:  Chicago to attend the NAREIM Fall Executive Meeting

Oct. 17:  Chicago for my Careers in Real Estate-Connecting the Dots discussion with students at DePaul University.

Oct. 18:  Chicago for my Careers in Real Estate-Connecting the Dots discussion with students at the University of Chicago.

Oct. 22-24:  Los Angeles to attend the PREA Conference

Oct. 25:  Portland, OR for my Careers in Real Estate-Connecting the Dots discussion with students at Portland State University.

Oct. 26:  Portland, OR to facilitate a senior team strategy session with a company at an inflection point.

Nov. 7: Washington, DC for my Careers in Real Estate-Connecting the Dots discussion with students at Johns Hopkins University.

Nov. 8-9:  New York to attend & serve as chairman for the PERE Summit

New Terminology / Somewhere Over The Rainbow / New Tech Wave

"You've Got A Friend," which Carole King wrote and James Taylor had a huge hit with, has been having some significant meaning in my life lately.  As I travel around and talk with people about what I'm doing, some of you have blown me away with your interest in seeing me succeed in my consulting business.  And, while, when I was younger I didn't really take anyone's advice (because I thought I knew everything...was I the only one?), as I've gotten older I am very open to advice. Like the excerpt from the book "The Go-Giver," that I shared with you last week, "All the giving in the world won't bring success, won't create the results you want, unless you also make yourself willing and able to receive in like measure.  Because if you don't let yourself receive, you're refusing the gifts of others-and you shut down the flow."  Well people, I have been the recipient of 'the flow' of giving and it is both tremendously helpful and heart-warming.  Like any project, it's a continual work in progress, "life is an unfinishedness," as I read many years ago in a book about Type A behavior.  So, please accept my public "thank you" for your help.


While I'm on the subject of The Felix Consulting Business, here is my revised "elevator pitch" based on input from "my advisors."  


"So, Steve, what kinds of stuff are you doing?"  
1.  Moderate Senior Team Strategy Sessions
2.  Presentation Coaching/Personal Coaching
3.  Teaching people how to raise institutional capital
4.  Investor conference event enhancement and report card


Of course, there are brief case studies that go along with each of these but in testing it out in literally dozens of meetings this week, I've found that it works.  I've been able to do for myself what I've helped others do for years:  simplify their message!  

My vocabulary has been increased recently:  

• "Central Urban Core."  CBRE Econometric Advisors has taken the age-old label, CBD (Central Business District) and redefined it.  You'll be hearing more about CUC, as they call it, soon and it will have a real impact on real estate investing and site location decision making because, market by market, it expands and antiquated definition and brings it into the 21st century.  
• "Intellectual Leadership."  I'm told that it's the next step up from "Thought Leadership."
• "Executive Functioning Skills:" A set of cognitive abilities that control and regulate other abilities and behaviors.   

This week I spent time both in Boston and New York and noticed a dramatic difference about how people walk on the street.  In New York, the majority of New Yorkers are walking with their heads down, constantly looking and playing with their whatever phone/handheld device.  But not in Boston. although there is some but not to the same degree.  It struck me just how different the scene is in these two cities.  However, in thinking back to my last trip to Chicago, the people on the street, other than virtually all 'young' people, were more like Boston than New York.  But no matter where it is, it strikes me as sad all they're missing as they walk around great cities with their heads down all the time.  Oh well.  


Song of the week:  Eva Cassidy's version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow."  It will give you chills. 


As I've reported to you, there are some terrific new commercial real estate tech companies surfacing.  I met the founder of another one last night at an industry cocktail party on the rooftop of a downtown NY building (btw, there are also a couple of things still in the garage which I'll tell you about as soon as I get permission):  


1.  RetailMLS:  A 'multiple listing service' strictly for retail properties.
2.  Compstak:  Crowd Sourced Lease Comparables
3.  Resimodel:  A web-based tool that generates institutional quality Excel models for multi-family and broken condo properties.
4.  REOL:  While one of the pioneers in the real estate technology world they continue to expand their leading edge services and products to clients (Yesterday, I got a private demo of a very cool new ap they've created).  


"Wait for Me" update:  Thanks to all of you who are telling me what your favorite song is.  Later today I'll be getting professional feedback on one of the songs, "Robot Mannequin," from someone who represents musicians and teaches songwriting skills. From the website, she has great credentials.  It costs $30 bucks so I said, "What the heck."  I also strongly believe in the concept of, "You Never Know." 


Stay tuned!


On the road...


July 23-25:  New York for a "Presentation Coaching" session with one of my clients.
July 26-31:  Asheville, NC to spend time with my grandchildren, Sean and Gavin (oh, yes, and their parents too!)
Sept. 6:  Ithaca, NY-Cornell University for a "Careers in Real Estate-Connecting the Dots" discussion with students.  
Sept. 10-12:  Paris, France to attend the GRI Europe event.
Sept. 18-19:  Chicago to attend the NAREIM H.R. Council Meeting
Oct. 3-5: Amsterdam for the launch of a very special event that I will be able to announce shortly.  
Oct. 14-16:  Chicago to attend the NAREIM Fall Executive Meeting.
Oct. 17:  Chicago for a "Careers in Real Estate-Connecting the Dots" discussion with students at DePaul University
Oct. 18:  Still in Chicago for a "Careers in Real Estate-Connecting the Dots" discussion with students at The University of Chicago
Oct. 22-24:  Los Angeles to attend the PREA Conference
Oct. 25:  Portland, Oregon for a "Careers in Real Estate-Connecting the Dots" discussion with students at Portland State University
Oct. 26: Portland, OR to moderate a senior team strategy session for a client.
Nov. 7:  Washington, DC for a "Careers in Real Estate-Connecting the Dots" discussion with students at Johns Hopkins University.
Nov. 8-9:  New York to attend the PERE Summit (Btw, both Ted Leary of Crosswater Realty Advisors and I are working closely with PERE on this event and it's exciting to see the agenda coming together).  

NCREIF / The Go-Giver / Fraggle Rock

I've spent the last two days with 260 folks at the NCREIF Summer Meeting in Virginia.  There is no more passionate group in the industry than this crowd.  It's a great group of people, representing a who's who of the institutional real estate investment management business. Also, NCREIF announced a few very exciting new initiatives which you will be hearing about very soon.  Stay tuned!

One of the speakers was from the European organization, INREV which I proudly have been affiliated with in one way, shape or form since the second year of their existence (almost 10 years ago).  A couple of interesting things from their most recent survey of European institutional investors.  

The #1 reason for investing in non-listed real estate funds?  Access to expert management.

The #1 & 2 reasons (tied) for not investing in non-listed real estate funds?  Availability of suitable products and market conditions.  

The most important criteria for fund selection:  Managers track record; fund style; target location; managers local presence.  

A few other tidbits:

-International investors are still very interested in the U.S.

-The Nordic countries seem to be immune from the European crisis.

-Spanish banks are not prepared to take the pain in dealing with distressed assets.

-It'll take European banks several more years to come to terms with their problems.  

"We used to say for real estate: location, location, location. But now I learn to say three other words: timing, timing, timing."  Udi Erez, CEO of The Elad Group owner of The Plaza Hotel & Condos in New York (which they're selling) and New Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, which Elad bought for a record $1.2 billion five years ago (a deal where the timing may not have been the best).

The Go-Giver.  Thanks, Rick, for sending me this wonderful little book.  You're right:  I have followed many of the principles set forth in the book but it's always good to read something that reinforces what you believe in.  Allow me to share some of The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success:

• Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.
• You have to develop a network.  Not necessarily your customers or clients.  A network of people who know you, like you and trust you. They might never buy a thing from you, but they've always got you in the back of their minds.  They're people who are personally invested in seeing you succeed.  That's because you're the same way about them.  They're your army of personal walking ambassadors.  What makes this kind of network work?  Stop keeping score!
• All the giving in the world won't bring success, won't create the results you want, unless you also make yourself willing and able to receive in like measure.  Because if you don't let yourself receive, you're refusing the gifts of others-and you shut down the flow.
• Ultimately, the world treats you more or less the way you expect to be treated.  The point is not what you do.  Not what you accomplish.  It's who you are.

Fraggle Rock News!  A New Fraggle Rock spinoff is in the works.  Fraggle Rock was a very popular Muppets spin-off when my kids were growing up.  I loved it too so this is great news (especially for my grandkids!).

Something new:  CBRE just released the latest version of it's Global Occupier Office Occupier Guide.  Anyone can sign up to get access to it here.  In looking through it I was reminded of how unique the Manhattan office leasing style is than anywhere else in the U.S.  Can you say "Porters Wage Formula?"

Things beyond business:

The Gnu Foundation:  Jim Sempere is a real estate guy.  At least until recently.  Last year, Jim decided to follow his passion and is now working full-time at the foundation he started some years back.  The name and concept for Gnu Foundation was born on the Serengeti plains, while observing the annual migration of the ignoble Wildebeest (Gnu’s). The provide capital for and help develop effective microfinance programs, primarily in Kenya.  Good for you Jim!

Congratulations....

• Kevin Norton, Director of Investment Management, Archdiocese of New York
• Jeroen Verheijde, Senior Vice President-Capital Raising-Clairon Partners (London).
• Alex Jeffrey joining PruPrim.

And, the new acronym of the week (relating to certain assets that opportunistic investors are buying):  SNEW=Stuff Nobody Else Wants

College roadshow:  I'm about to announce more dates for my fall roadshow to speak with university students about Careers in Real Estate.  I've added another phrase to the title of these talks:  Connecting the Dots.  It'll include some tips on how to network, how to get the most out of attending an industry event, the best way to build relationships, how to build your industry visibility and brand and other cool stuff.  If you're involved with a real estate club or are a member of an advisory board to a real estate program and would like to talk about having me visit your school please email me.

The Felix Consulting Group update

First, thanks to everyone who told me that they like this name better (I do too).  Second, these are the services that I offer that are of most interest to potential clients right now:

1.  Presentation coaching:  Suggestions about how to improve marketing materials and the way they're presented.

2.  Annual meeting advisory.  Ideas about how to take your annual investor/client meeting to the next level, show your bench strength, etc.  As part of this I will  will attend your meeting and provide feedback on what I thought you did good and what you could do better.

3.  Strategic Meeting Facilitation:  Bring me in to facilitate a senior-level business strategy discussion about things like succession planning, organizational change, taking your company into the next decade.  

4.  Accessing Global Institutional Capital:  the preparation, process and resources needed to attract institutional capital to your firm for the first time.

Finally, today is my birthday. I don't pay attention to what birthday this is because I think that age is not a number, it's a state of mind.  But I regularly remind myself not to be complacent and take things for granted so I've been working at being more diligent of documenting stories about experiences as I was growing up, just for the record.  Perhaps my grandchildren would like to read these some day and, if I don't write them when I think of them they may slip through the shadows of my memory and not make it on to paper (more exactly Google docs!).  There are two other industry guys whose birthday is also today and to them I say, "Happy Birthday."

On the road...

July 14-17:  Boston

July 18-26:  New York

July 27-31:  Asheville, NC

August:  Thinking about taking a special 'on the road' trip

Sept. 10-12:  Paris for the GRI Europe Summit

Sept. 18-19:  Chicago for the NAREIM Human Resources Council Meeting

Oct. 3-5: Amsterdam for a special event to be announced next month...stay tuned!

Oct. 14-16:  Chicago for the NAREIM Fall Executive Meeting

Oct. 17: Still in Chicago for my Careers in Real Estate:  Connecting the Dots talk with real estate students at DePaul University.

Oct. 22-24:  Los Angeles for the PREA Fall Meeting

Nov. 7:  Washington, DC for my Careers in Real Estate:  Connecting the Dots talk with real estate students at Johns Hopkins University.

Nov. 8-9:  New York to attend and chair PERE's Forum.

The Road Not Taken

When I was the editor of my college newspaper I instituted some major changes.  One was the actual way the weekly paper was printed, another was recruiting a cartoonist that I came upon in the cafeteria, increasing concert listings and music related stuff and opening up the opportunity to work on the paper to anyone, rather than the small clique that had run it for years.  Those of us on that team put our hearts and souls into it every week just like when any of us is involved with something meaningful to us.  But in walking around the campus I had the feeling that not enough of the students were reading the paper or if they were reading it then they didn't appreciate it.  So, one week I made a unilateral decision to not publish.  My purpose was to see if anyone missed it.  Well, one person clearly did:  Barry Dancy, the Dean of Students, who called me on the carpet for it.  I won't bore you with the results of that inquisition but merely bring up the story to show how much times have changed.  


Why didn't I just run a survey asking students all the usual survey questions?  Today, everywhere you look, including sometimes in this column, people are looking for others to respond to something.  Do you 'like' this photo, book, movie, pizza joint, rooftop luggage carrier?  If elected, will Obama or Romney be better for your business?  Do you agree with this statement or opinion?   It seems we're constantly looking for validation or interaction or connection.  We should:  we're human.  But why have we become such a needy society?  Don't we trust our own opinions or what or who we like?  


I can't seem to turn my brain off and always think about how things can be done differently.  Just because something has always worked doesn't mean that there's not another way.  But 'new' requires taking chances, setting yourself out from the crowd, being labeled 'different.'  And doing things differently doesn't always mean it will work or it will be successful (whatever success means).  That's why I'm excited when I can share something with you about someone who is doing something differently or something new or something that could change the status quo.  And, even though the underlying business of making money from real estate is still pretty much the same as it's always been (Buy low, sell high!)   there are those who have changed the way we do things and others who will change things.


But you know what I mean.  It's the people who get an idea and aren't worried about failing.  Their gut instinct is that they believe that what they've come up with will be something that others will find useful, even valuable.  And when you have an idea, it's good to bounce it off positive-thinking people.  Not 'yes' people.  You know who they are.  They're the folks we know who have a 'can-do' approach to life and who, when they hear your idea, will give you their honest opinion.  


As always, one of my missions with this column is to be your eyes and ears at the events that I attend and share what I'm hearing with you.  You, gratefully, have sent me your thoughts as well.  It's a wonderfully special dialogue that has been established and flourishes through this weekly space.  That's why I'm excited when I meet or am introduced to someone who is doing something new, different and exciting.  


Robert Frost, great American poet, wrote The Road Less Taken.  I read it when I was a kid and it made an indelible impression on me.  It's not for everyone but it has worked for me.  And, when I soon have the opportunity to tell you about some new things that I will be doing, it will make all the difference. 


The Road Not Taken
By Robert Frost


Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;


Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.


And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.


I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, 
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.




On the road...
July 10-13:  Lansdowne, VA to attend the NCREIF Summer Meeting
July 14-17:  Boston
July 18-26:  New York
Sept. 10-12: Paris to attend the GRI Europe Summit
Sept. 18-19:  Chicago to attend the NAREIM Human Resources Council Meeting
Oct. 3-5:  Special event in Europe...stay tuned!
Oct. 14-16:  Chicago to attend the NAREIM Fall Executive Meeting
Oct. 17:  Chicago, DePaul University to speak with students about Careers in Real Estate
Oct. 18:  (t) Chicago/Uni of Chicago to speak with students about Careers in Real Estate
Oct. 22-24: Los Angeles to attend the PREA Plan Sponsor Conference
Nov. 7:  Washington, DC/Johns Hopkins University to speak with students about Careers in Real Estate
Nov. 8-9:  New York to attend the PERE Forum

Congratulations....

Kevin Norton, Director of Investment Management, Archdiocese of New York

Jeroen Verheijde, Senior Vice President-Capital Raising-Clairon Partners.

Alex Jeffrey joining PruPrim.

Thanks to all of you who have bought or checked out our new album, 'Wait for Me.' It's available on iTunes (search 'felix wait for me').  I've signed up for this interesting service that helps match up songwriters and bands with people looking for material for TV/Movies, etc.  

RCA Capital Trends / Real Estate Foresight / RetailMLS

RCA's U.S. Capital Trends for May 2012 was delivered to their subscribers this week.  Here are a few key stats:

Office: Sales volume $4.1Bn-down 31% vs. 2011

Industrial: Sales volume $2.5Bn-down 19% vs. 2011

Retail: Sales volume $3.3Bn-flat vs. 2011

Apartments: Sales volume $5.5Bn-up 15% over 2011

Hotel: Sales volume $1.8Bn-down 20% vs. 2011

Baseball/Softball Tip of the Week:  I've been watching a friend's son play 15-year old baseball.  I've also noticed this around softball fields.  When the ball is on the ground, either moving very, very slowly and especially when it's standing still, pick it up with your bare throwing hand, not your glove hand.  You lose valuable seconds if you pick it up with your glove and then have to transfer it to your throwing hand.  It could be the difference between letting a run score.

Anyway....this is a wonderful piece from the New York Times this past week that I just had to share with you:

The Old Neighborhood

If you’ve lived for long in New York City, chances are you’ve lived in several different places. On the map of where we dwell now is also where we used to dwell, just across the park, a borough away, a few subway stops farther north or south. That is one of the peculiarities of this city — the proximity of our geographical past. Some people move from Ohio to Oregon. We move from 93rd to 13th, from Alphabet City to Carroll Gardens, all over town.

And what becomes of the old neighborhood? In one sense, nothing. You were only a minor molecule in its chemistry. Go back a week after you’ve moved, and the same dogs are pulling their owners to the park, the same stoop-sitters sitting out. Let enough time pass, and things become a little ghostly. It begins to feel as though the neighborhood has forgotten you, instead of the other way around. When you lived there, nothing changed without your noticing it. Now the changes accumulate unperceived, and you begin to realize that a part of you has vanished into the past.

New York is a grand and public city. But it is also immensely personal and private. There is really no visiting someone else’s old neighborhood. You can walk past the shops and admire the brownstones. You can hear about the bodega or diner that used to be on that corner and what happened that one night. Try as you might to be a tourist in someone else’s past, you end up seeing only the present. That’s how the new neighborhood looks at first — the one you’ve just moved to. You settle into the present, and it ages around you until one day you end up with a new old neighborhood.

One of the cool new things of the week:  Recently launched,  Real Estate Foresight is the brain-child of my friend, Robert Ciemniak.  I met Robert a number of years ago when, while working for Thompson Reuters, he had just launched an intrepreneurial venture called Reuters Real Estate.  From their website, "Real Estate Foresight has been designed primarily for international institutional investors and fund managers active in private and public real estate markets, in their management, research, risk, business development and strategy functions." Through a number of services they help real estate investors assess strategic risks and develop new opportunities through foresight development, thematic research and analytics.  I encourage you to check it out.

Real Estate Foresight is just one of the next new things that I've been observing as they unfold.  It's great to see people thinking about what the industry needs and then building it.  Another one is RetailMLS.  When I was introduced to the service last week it reminded me of the Internet start-up that I was with in the mid-90's.  We were too far ahead of our time and undercapitalized.  Classic dot.com symptoms.  But RetailMLS has applied it's technology to a smaller niche than some of the other more generic 'listing' services.  If you're involved in retail real estate, or if you are curious as to what one of the relatively new entrants into commercial real estate technology have created, you should take a look.

Nora Ephron died this week.  While she was not a household name to everyone, many knew of her work:  Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail.  But those are a couple of the more mainstream pieces of work in her portfolio.  Not too many years ago (which means I can't remember exactly when), my wife and I and some good friends were in New York.  We wanted to go see a show but Broadway tickets were simply too expensive.  I did some checking around and got us four tickets to an off-Broadyway (perhaps off-off Broadway) show that got some great reviews:  Love, Loss and What I Wore.  It was a chick play written by Nora and her sister, Delia.  The women in the audience loved it but it was also very entertaining for any man who has accepted his feminine side.  Anyway, Nora was a very, very talented woman who left us too soon at 71.

When too much is simply too much.  Recently, I've seen several violations of 'information overload' and it's made me say to myself:  "What are these people thinking?"  I don't understand why some firms believe that the more information they push out the better as if they expect people (i.e. existing or prospective clients and the industry in general) to say, "Gee, these are smart people; look at how much they write."  I don't think so.  My belief that less is more (a phrase sometimes attributed to blues guitar great B.B. King) grows stronger every day.  So, please, when you think about publishing something, put yourself in the recipient's shoes.  What is really important for them to know?  If you are considerate of their time, they will appreciate it (and there's a better chance they'll remember you for it).

Webcasts galore!  Have you noticed that there seem to be more and more webcasts being promoted around the industry?  Many of them are sponsored (like advertising); others are offered by an individual company, usually with some type of research as the theme.  I wonder:  are you watching these things?  

I was going through my own archives recently and found this piece that I wrote somewhere in the early 2000's:

Standing Out:  Tips on Differentiating Your Business

Can people tell the difference between your company and your competitors?  Are you sure?  In the world of commercial real estate, with all due respect to data and technology, I believe the difference is people.

How do you decide which person you want cutting your hair?  Is it because that person uses the Roffler Model Z-28 scissors?  I don’t think so.  It’s because if a particular person cuts your hair, you will look better when you leave the salon than when you got there.  You trust your stylist, and you are loyal in return.

If I were looking to grow market share in the investment real estate transaction business I would:

• Hire the best people.
• Compensate them fairly.
• Invest in training on an on-going basis.
• Let my actions speak louder than words.
• Be memorable.

Here’s what you can do to differentiate your company from others: 

• Take stock of your assets and your liabilities.
• Find out how the market perceives you.
• Think about the future, not just today’s deal.
• Be helpful.
• Know what you’re talking about.
• Be known as someone who is on top of what’s going on.

Then one day you’ll overhear someone talking about your company and they’ll say the magic words you’ve hoped for all along:  “Those guys know the business.  They did what they promised.  I’ll be doing business with them again.”  And all the work will have been worthwhile. Then you can go out the next day and keep working at it.  Why?  Because that’s what the other guys are doing.

Congratulations to Peter Steil who has been named CEO of NCREIF.

Interesting conference:  IMN is having their second annual Real Estate General Counsel Forum in New York on September 10-11.  There aren't too many events that I know of that bring together this practitioner group.  In my mind, one of the good outcomes from the dialogue amongst in-house counsel and outside counsel could be how fees can be reduced.  It looks like the kind of event where you can really get to have substantative conversations with people.  

"Is Core Over-valued."  I've had some question about all the money that's been and still being invested in core real estate.  My thought is that, while it has been considered a 'safe' investment there will be some surprises down the road.  Be that as it may, NCREIF has posted a thoughtful piece by Jeff Fisher here. But, more than 'core' the words that I am hearing people utter more than any others these days:  Student Housing.

My new favorite video

On the road....

July 11-13:  Lansdowne, VA to attend the NCREIF Summer Meeting

July 14-17:  Boston

July 18-26:  New York

Sept. 11-12:  Paris to attend the GRI Europe Summit

Sept. 18-19:  Chicago to attend the NAREIM H.R. Council Mtg.

Oct. 14-16:  Chicago to attend the NAREIM Fall Executive Mtg. 

Oct. 17-19:  Chicago including speaking with DePaul University students about careers in real estate.

Oct. 22-24:  Los Angeles to attend the PREA Plan Sponsor Conference 

Nov. 7:  Washington, DC to speak with Johns Hopkins University students about careers in real estate.

Nov. 8-9:  New York to attend the PERE Summit

If you are at a university or have a connection to one with a real estate program and you'd like me to visit to speak about "Careers in Real Estate" please reply to this email.  Thanks.

I hope you enjoy your Independence Day holiday.