Good Ole Days, Nick Tyrell, Dreams and ice cream

Matt Slepin and his colleagues at Terra Search Partners publish a regular piece called Viewpoints.  Yesterday their most recent issue hit my mailbox.   I thought you'd find this section particularly interesting.


"At the beginning of this year, it felt like we were exiting the darkness of the recession. There seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel, a glimpse that maybe we would indeed return, although cautiously, to the realm of the Good Ole Days. CMBS 2.0 was gaining momentum, investment sales volume seemed to be returning, and indeed our search business felt back on a roll. But the second quarter brought us back down to reality as employment remained flat, CMBS 2.0 fell apart, and the ripples of the failed debt reduction talks, the S&P downgrade, and the parallel dysfunctions in Europe sunk in. Now it feels as though the first quarter was the effect of pent-up demand and the settling into the New Normal versus a return to the Good Ole Days.  Real estate in the US is saying crazy, contradictory things. Multifamily is the one sector with largely positive long term drivers. The other sectors all seem more affected by secular changes – technology, globalization, and corporate efficiencies all have deep and obvious impact on the other major real estate “food groups.” Hospitality is, as always, more volatile and the bottom in the residential sector sadly still seems to be several years out."


Special Event:  The Nick Tyrrell Memorial Seminar : Applying Research Insights to Real Estate Investment Management: 


Nick was a friend of mine as he was of many in the industry.  This looks like a great program with some of the leading Research/Investment Strategists in the industry in attendance.  Unfortunately, I will only be able to attend in spirit.  The seminar will be used to raise money for the Nick Tyrrell Memorial Fund, which will present awards to papers that combine academic discipline with practical insights for the real estate profession. The event is being hosted by JPMorgan Asset Management, Nick's last employer and is being held on October 12 at 4pm to 8pm at Victoria Embankment, London.  I will include more details as I get them.


This quote, sent to me yesterday by a good friend, really hits home:  "We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is already disappearing." Ronnie Laing


I don't dream all that often.  I've been trying to corollate my dreaming being associated with when I eat ice cream just before going to bed...but I'm going to have to keep testing that thesis!  But early this morning I woke up from a dream and just couldn't go back to sleep.  I dreamed about getting up and calling my father.  Just to see how he was doing.  The problem is that he died in November 2009.  I guess in my dream he was still reachable by phone.  But, I remember what one of you guys wrote me when I was spending a lot of time with my Dad in his final months:  you can talk with him anytime you want.  I remembered that just now and decided to close my eyes and have a chat with him.  He really didn't want to talk much about how he's doing and what type of things he's involved with...perhaps he's not allowed to divulge that kind of stuff.  But he did listen to what was on my mind and these days there are a few things that should be keeping me up at night.  It's been a good early morning for me, simply the ability to reach out to my Dad and also to write about this to you.  Actually, the more I think about it, I'm pretty sure the dreaming is due to ice cream but maybe it's only specific flavors.  More research is definitely in order.


Enjoy your weekend.


Steve


P.S.  My cousin, Jeff Smiley, went to the Air Force Academy and flew B-52's in Vietnam.  More than 20 years ago, at age 41, he died of some type of leukemia.  After the funeral ceremony, attended by hundreds of people whose lives he had touched, I went back to his house and found the following poem, framed and hung on a wall.  My old classmate, Peggy Noonan, drew from this for President Regan's speech after the Challenger disaster.  Even though  it's been adopted as a mantra by pilots, I thought it also had meaning for those who had innocently boarded those airplanes on September 11, 2001.  I offer it to you in honor of their memory. 

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.


Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941





On the Road:


September 11-16:  New York (Yes, I am flying to New York from San Francisco on Sept. 11)
September 20-21:  Amsterdam to moderate a panel at the PERE Global Forum
September 26-28:  Colorado Springs to attend the NAREIM Executive Officers Meeting
October 4-6:  Las Vegas to be a panelist at CBRE’s Americas Summit on “The Commercial Real Estate Industry of the Future: A 5-10 Year Outlook.”
October 17-19:  Chicago to attend the PREA fall meeting
November 1-4: Washington, DC to attend the CRE Annual convention
November 9-10: New York to moderate a panel at the PERE  Forum-North America
November 17-18:  Frankfurt to moderate a panel at the PERE Forum-Europe

Congratulations to my friend, Peter Lewis, who has just joined the consulting firm Towers Watson as head of their U.S. consulting business.

These are my views and not that of my employer.

Labor Day 2011

So, the big news this week was the announcement that The Townsend Group had sold a 70% interest in their firm to a start-up private equity group.  Congrats to Townsend on what appears to be an excellent deal.  Also good to read was that the remaining 30% still to be controlled by Townsend has been divided amongst a number of their current 'internal' partners.  A classy move I'd say as there have been too many of these type deals, not necessarily in our industry, where a few people get really rich and the rest of the employees basically suck wind.  I guess one thing that crosses my mind in reading the news is whether Townsend will continue to focus on growing their investment management business vs. their advisory business and how their advisory clients are going to react (if at all) to this deal.  I guess, there's a lot more buzz amongst the consulting community who may be licking their chops feeling that Townsend's advisory client list is ripe for picking off.  It could be an interesting story unfolding right before our eyes.


Well, the summer is over...can it possibly be?  But, I see it in some ways as a time of renewal, or perhaps renewed energy.  In some ways Europe basically shuts down as people are off on their holidays and it's difficult to either get to someone or get an answer on something.  In the U.S., from where I sit, it was a confusing summer and perhaps we all should have taken the summer off as well.  But with the crisp mornings and clear skies (at least in Napa) it's energizing.  Those who are looking for new jobs are hoping that the fall brings with it more clarity; those that are looking to raise capital hope that the uncertainty that has constrained some institutional investors from making commitments, is over completely, that it's understood or accepted enough to allow them to move forward; those of us who attend fall conferences are finalizing our travel schedules and those who need to be 'on the road' to get their job done are looking at how to arrange everything they want to accomplish without going nuts.  There's a lot going on!

I guess that by next week virtually all public school systems in the U.S.  will be back in session.  I remember those years, going shopping for school supplies which included loose leaf binders, dividers, pencil cases (I know, sounds nerdy but we all had them), book straps (dangerous elastic things that allowed us to carry a number of textbooks to and from school; book bags have made that easier).  It all sounds antique now.  But other than during the years that I went to summer camp and the end of the summer (for those of us teenagers and older) meant teary good-byes, I don't remember ever feeling bad about going back to school.  In fact, I wouldn't mind going back now but perhaps as a teacher (although aren't we always students?  A friend recently told me, "When a student is ready, a teacher will appear").  I've approached my local community college about teaching some classes on improving presentation skills (aka how to live without PowerPoint slides), networking skills and managing a contact database, public speaking skills, you get the idea.  I don't think too much of this is actually taught these days although I do know that some schools do offer interview skills classes.  Anyway, I wrote to the President of the school this week and I'll let you know if anything transpires.

My life is people.  I love learning about people, not just what they do but who they are, where they grew up, went to high school, etc.  .  And what's great is that people love sharing stuff about themselves; all you have to do is ask them. It really brings us closer together.  When I was running an RTC contractor office and had hired 55 people in short order to work out hundreds of troubled loans and assets, I started a Friday morning "Bagels and..." session.  At these, each week, three people would tell the group about themselves; stuff we might not know and also about their background in the real estate industry and skills they'd developed.  Not only did we learn more about each other as people we also learned who had specialized experience in this, that or the other thing so that when something came up regarding one of our assets, we knew who the 'go-to' person was.  It's the true value-add.   Do you know who in your shop knows more than they may be asked to do on a day-to-day basis?  It might be interesting finding out, don't you think?

"Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City.  The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker."

The preceding is from the U.S. Government website.  It seems a little self-serving, perhaps typically American.  Another way to look at it might be simply that it's time to give each other a little pat on the back because, when you come down to it, all of us who work for a living are connected. Perhaps it's time to revisit the definition of Labor Day and use it as a way to bring America together again.


On the Road:

September 11-16:  New York
September 20-21:  Amsterdam to moderate a panel at the PERE Global Forum
September 26-28:  Colorado Springs to attend the NAREIM Executive Officers Meeting
October 4-6:  Las Vegas to be a panelist at CBRE’s Americas Summit on “The Commercial Real Estate Industry of the Future: A 5-10 Year Outlook.”
October 17-19:  Chicago to attend the PREA fall meeting
November 1-4: Washington, DC to attend the CRE Annual convention
November 9-10: New York to moderate a panel at the PERE  Forum-North America
November 17-18:  Frankfurt to moderate a panel at the PERE Forum-Europe


Congratulations to my friend Wietse de Vries who has joined Almazara Real Assets Advisory as a partner. The firm advises pension funds, insurers and other institutional investors on their investments in real estate and infrastructure.


These are my views and not that of my employer.

Labor Day 2011

So, the big news this week was the announcement that The Townsend Group had sold a 70% interest in their firm to a start-up private equity group.  Congrats to Townsend on what appears to be an excellent deal.  Also good to read was that the remaining 30% still to be controlled by Townsend has been divided amongst a number of their current 'internal' partners.  A classy move I'd say as there have been too many of these type deals, not necessarily in our industry, where a few people get really rich and the rest of the employees basically suck wind.  I guess one thing that crosses my mind in reading the news is whether Townsend will continue to focus on growing their investment management business vs. their advisory business and how their advisory clients are going to react (if at all) to this deal.  I guess, there's a lot more buzz amongst the consulting community who may be licking their chops feeling that Townsend's advisory client list is ripe for picking off.  It could be an interesting story unfolding right before our eyes.


Well, the summer is over...can it possibly be?  But, I see it in some ways as a time of renewal, or perhaps renewed energy.  In some ways Europe basically shuts down as people are off on their holidays and it's difficult to either get to someone or get an answer on something.  In the U.S., from where I sit, it was a confusing summer and perhaps we all should have taken the summer off as well.  But with the crisp mornings and clear skies (at least in Napa) it's energizing.  Those who are looking for new jobs are hoping that the fall brings with it more clarity; those that are looking to raise capital hope that the uncertainty that has constrained some institutional investors from making commitments, is over completely, that it's understood or accepted enough to allow them to move forward; those of us who attend fall conferences are finalizing our travel schedules and those who need to be 'on the road' to get their job done are looking at how to arrange everything they want to accomplish without going nuts.  There's a lot going on!

I guess that by next week virtually all public school systems in the U.S.  will be back in session.  I remember those years, going shopping for school supplies which included loose leaf binders, dividers, pencil cases (I know, sounds nerdy but we all had them), book straps (dangerous elastic things that allowed us to carry a number of textbooks to and from school; book bags have made that easier).  It all sounds antique now.  But other than during the years that I went to summer camp and the end of the summer (for those of us teenagers and older) meant teary good-byes, I don't remember ever feeling bad about going back to school.  In fact, I wouldn't mind going back now but perhaps as a teacher (although aren't we always students?  A friend recently told me, "When a student is ready, a teacher will appear").  I've approached my local community college about teaching some classes on improving presentation skills (aka how to live without PowerPoint slides), networking skills and managing a contact database, public speaking skills, you get the idea.  I don't think too much of this is actually taught these days although I do know that some schools do offer interview skills classes.  Anyway, I wrote to the President of the school this week and I'll let you know if anything transpires.

My life is people.  I love learning about people, not just what they do but who they are, where they grew up, went to high school, etc.  .  And what's great is that people love sharing stuff about themselves; all you have to do is ask them. It really brings us closer together.  When I was running an RTC contractor office and had hired 55 people in short order to work out hundreds of troubled loans and assets, I started a Friday morning "Bagels and..." session.  At these, each week, three people would tell the group about themselves; stuff we might not know and also about their background in the real estate industry and skills they'd developed.  Not only did we learn more about each other as people we also learned who had specialized experience in this, that or the other thing so that when something came up regarding one of our assets, we knew who the 'go-to' person was.  It's the true value-add.   Do you know who in your shop knows more than they may be asked to do on a day-to-day basis?  It might be interesting finding out, don't you think?

"Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City.  The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker."  

The preceding is from the U.S. Government website.  It seems a little self-serving, perhaps typically American.  Another way to look at it might be simply that it's time to give each other a little pat on the back because, when you come down to it, all of us who work for a living are connected. Perhaps it's time to revisit the definition of Labor Day and use it as a way to bring America together again.


On the Road:

September 11-16:  New York
September 20-21:  Amsterdam to moderate a panel at the PERE Global Forum
September 26-28:  Colorado Springs to attend the NAREIM Executive Officers Meeting
October 4-6:  Las Vegas to be a panelist at CBRE’s Americas Summit on “The Commercial Real Estate Industry of the Future: A 5-10 Year Outlook.”
October 17-19:  Chicago to attend the PREA fall meeting
November 1-4: Washington, DC to attend the CRE Annual convention
November 9-10: New York to moderate a panel at the PERE  Forum-North America
November 17-18:  Frankfurt to moderate a panel at the PERE Forum-Europe


Congratulations to my friend Wietse de Vries who has joined Almazara Real Assets Advisory as a partner. The firm advises pension funds, insurers and other institutional investors on their investments in real estate and infrastructure.

Congratulations to my son, Brian and his wife, Bridget on the birth of their second son, Gavin who is being kissed by his older brother Sean.  A very sweet picture!

These are my views and not that of my employer.

Are you getting OTR into your inbox?

Hi.  Two people wrote me to say they wondered if I had stopped publishing as they hadn't heard from me in the past two weeks.

Could you please reply and let me know 'yes' or 'no' if you've received OTR the past two weeks?

Thanks a lot.
Steve

Deal slowdown, Prequin survey, Alzheimer appeal, Steve Jobs, Gavin Muldoon Felix

With so much tumult in the world these days is it any wonder that commercial real estate transactions are slowing....again?  

RCA reported this week:  Sales of significant commercial property totaled $13.0b in July, roughly the monthly average for the first five months this year, excluding the stand-out June volume. Nevertheless, on a year-over-year basis, the 16% increase in transactions is the lowest recorded since growth turned positive in December 2009, likely reflecting the greater economic turbulence and pullback in CMBS conduit originations that have emerged this summer. The tempering of activity was widespread.  

Also, I found some of the published results of Prequin’s 2Q11 Quarterly pretty interesting and offer them to you here:

1. Survey of Investment Consultants
1. more than ⅔ of respondents believe that North America will present the best investment opportunities over the coming 12 months.
2. Half of respondents believe that Asia, with it’s developing markets, will offer attractive opportunities in the next year, while around one third believe Europe and South America present good prospects.
3. Asked to rank fund types on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the most attractive):
1. Opportunistic: 3.7
2. Distressed private real estate: 3.6
3. Value add real estate: 3.6
4. Core-plus: 3.0
5. Core: 2.6
4. Key-est issue right now?  Valuation of investments
2. Fund of Funds
1. fundraising remains a challenging prospect
2. fewer funds being launched
1. targeting less capital
1. amount of capital raised has fallen dramatically
3. Strategy demand of investors?
1. core, debt and distressed strategies
4. Accessing top-tier funds and global diversification not as compelling as in previous years
1. investor appetite for fund of funds has declined
1. number of new investors investing in real estate for the first time via fund of funds has declined

Appeal to help to end Alzheimer’s Disease:
The other day, just after getting off a call with a long-time friend who told me his mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, I received an email from a very good (and generous) industry friend telling me that her sister and a friend are raising money for the nation’s largest “walk”sponsored by The Alzheimer’s Association to raise awareness and supply funds for Alzheimer care, support and research to take place on October 22, 2011.  I have made a donation and hope you can find it in your heart to donate as well.  I believe that there are not too many of us do not know someone who has this really crummy disease.  Please follow this link .  Every little bit helps.  Thanks a lot.

We are living in a world that has a lot on its’ mind.  Perhaps too much.  And, because of the proliferation of irresponsible media, there are things that should not get ‘air time’ that do.  Why are reality shows so popular?  I believe that, like sports, they are an escape from reality and perhaps they are truly what entertainment is supposed to be....a way for us to detach from the day to day things we have to deal with and transport ourselves into ‘their’ world for 23 minutes.  But I am worried about us as a society.  I am really worried about the world that my grandchildren will inherit.  Will we leave it better than we found it?  I am worried that we won’t.

I just learned that John Ingram died in July.  John had been, for many years, the real estate guy at Marshall's Department Stores.  He also was the Chairman of the ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers).  John and I got to know each other, not through deals that we made, but through the ICSC.  John was a good man.  He had integrity and a big grin.  He was a class act and a guy who exemplified a real professional.

With Steve Jobs stepping down this week as CEO of Apple there were a number of articles and blog postings , some sounding like obituaries.  I’ve been using a Mac since 1998 and while not a Maciac, I’m glad I made the switch from PC.  I’ve pulled a couple of lines from one of the postings that  I think are particularly  poignant: “He said we will carry our music in one place, and we did. He said we will download our entertainment, and we did...Steve Jobs hasn't merely created technology for us. He has created the way we interact with it, and in so doing he's recreated the way we live.   We've evolved because of Steve Jobs. We see technology the way he sees it, and that's because he, like almost no one else, has always had a unique ability to see the world as we see it.” This guy has changed our world. How many people, in all of history, can we say that about?

Serious sushi of last week:  My ‘special’ sushi place in New York for more than 20 years has been Sushi Zen on 44th Street just west of Sixth Avenue.  And, while other sushi fans have invited me to ‘their special place’ it wasn’t until last week that I ate at a serious contender:  Sushi Yasuda, 204 E. 43rd Street, New York.  (P.S.  If you decide to try it out please invite me :-)

Welcome to the world:  Gavin Muldoon Felix; August 25; 7am; 8.9 lbs; 22 inches!

On the Road:

August 29-September 9:  Northern California
September 11-16:  New York
September 20-21:  Amsterdam to moderate a panel at the PERE Global Forum
September 26-28:  Colorado Springs to attend the NAREIM Executive Officers Meeting
October 4-6:  Las Vegas to be a panelist at CBRE’s Americas Summit on “The Commercial Real Estate Industry of the Future: A 5-10 Year Outlook.”
October 17-19:  Chicago to attend the PREA fall meeting
November 1-4: Washington, DC to attend the CRE Annual convention
November 9-10: New York to moderate a panel at the PERE  Forum-North America
November 17-18:  Frankfurt to moderate a panel at the PERE Forum-Europe


Congratulations to my good friend Gunnar Branson on being named President/CEO of NAREIM (National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers).





These are my views and not that of my employer.

CalPERS; organizing your email; concert stage collapse

CalPERS has often been looked at as one of the leaders that many other pension funds follow.  just this past week they announced plans to launch a new emerging manager program.  in a world that likes labels, the definition of 'emerging manager' has been somewhat of a moving target but the CalPERs definition is one that i personally subscribe to:  "managers with (a) less than $1Bn of assets under management and (b) no more than three prior commingled funds or separate account investment vehicles."  like with anything, there will be objection to this definition from some managers who think of themselves as still emerging. as stated in the public record of the recent investment committee meeting, the proposed five-year program will not exceed $200MM and will focus on investment in managers and assets located in urban California markets.  CalPERS retained Crosswater Realty Advisors (aka ted leary and his posse) to present a report to the investment committee on this subject.  while a number of public pension funds already have an emerging manager program in place, it'll be interesting to see if others follow.


i apologize for overloading your inbox with three OTRs this week.  without boring you, after two weeks of failing to deliver OTR to you, i finally found out what the problem was (i hope).

update on my new email management system.  a few months ago i wrote you about a new way to manage emails that i read about.  i decided to implement it immediately.  i'm here to tell you that it is working for me.  simply, it's the same idea that was suggested years ago when all we had was paper.  when something lands on your desk or in your in box, do one of three things with it:  act on it, delegate it or toss it.  this email system is similar but with a couple of extra wrinkles.  yes, every day, i do use that system (although i don't have many situations where i can delegate stuff) but i also created email folders with the following labels:  tickler (which i check first thing every day and which contains items that need attention soon); reference (for stuff that i want to 'file' that could be research stuff or things i feel i will be able to use somewhere down the line); waiting for (as it says, for things that i'm waiting for from somebody); future meetings (where i want to remember to schedule a meeting with someone at a future date); someday/maybe (needs no explanation).  i also have labels for each month where i do save a number of emails from that month but then, at the end of each month, i purge those files wondering, "why the heck did i save this one or that one?"  anyway, it's working for me although we all have different ways of keeping our lives organized and, it's whatever works for you that counts, right?

as the media tends to behave, when one disaster, natural or otherwise happens, they scour the world looking for other things that resemble the first disaster.  but, i can't let this week pass without mentioning the horrible stage collapse at the music venue in indiana.  watching the one video on you-tube which captured the horrific scene brought tears to my eyes and chills to my body.  i haven't read anything in the past couple of days but as you would expect, there is finger pointing and stuff that comes along with it, looking to place blame.  and, just from going by what has been reported, some are suggesting that there were advance warnings of very high winds approaching.  should they have been heeded immediately?  were they even communicated to the stage manager and audience?

looking at the size and elaborateness of the stage/sound/lighting and everything that goes along with producing a big, live music event, i was thinking about how it's all grown, so big, from the good old days when the beatles played shea stadium in ny with their vox amplifiers and simple stage arrangement (of course, no one could hear them due to all the screaming!).  and, as ticket prices for live shows have soared, promoters and the bands themselves have escalated the elaborateness of the delivery (i saw the stones in germany a few years ago when their stage recreated an ocean liner and U2 and bon jovi and pink floyd which also had huge set ups).  this tragedy won't change things but i think that given the great advances of technology, especially in sound engineering, music can be delivered to certain size crowds with less gigantic structures (although a lot of what's on those structures is lighting related).  i remember when MTV first launched.  my reaction was, "this is music, it's an audio sensory thing, not a visual sensory thing." of course, history has shown that that has all changed.  but in my simple way of looking at things, it's still all about the music, the sound, the human beings performing rather than the ancillary entertainment that almost serves as a distraction from the music.  but (big sigh), i'm probably exposing the fact that i yearn for some of the simpler things and yet, i know that they will most likely never return.  those killed and hurt in indiana could have (and may actually be) our sons or daughters or our friends who had just gone there to groove on the music.  what happened is just so, so sad but just like lots of things.  it seemed like it was mother nature, once again flexing her muscles, perhaps warning us in some ways that she's concerned about the direction society is moving.  who knows?

who said “size matters”?  there are two published pieces i receive that are in an interesting format (is it a trend?).  they’re about half the size of an 8 ½ x 11 piece of paper and are very cute.  one, called the decisive eye is published by Internos Real Investors and the other called the property perspective is published by Frogmore.  I like the “kindle” size as it makes it easy to take with you.  Nice to see some people thinking differently.


restaurants of the week (first time at both):
1.  fig & olive, several manhattan locations.  i ate at the one on 52nd street between madison and fifth.  thanks zoe.
2.  fresco by scotto, also on 52nd between park and madison.  thanks jerry (my accountant for longer than we both want to admit) who published a periodic blog called, achieve great things!

OTR was listed as #7 in the best real estate/finance blogs in a just published survey in The Institutional Real Estate Letter-North America.  thanks for all your support and encouragement over the years.

 photo:  nj balloon festival, august 2011. thanks jerry

on the road….

aug. 22-26:  new york
aug. 29-sept. 9:  northern california
sept. 12-16:  new york
sept. 20-21: amsterdam to moderate a panel at the PERE Global Forum (flying aeroflot from jfk-moscow-amsterdam).  first time on aeroflot.  Called them numerous times to try to reserve as seat.  They either don't answer or have no one who speaks English!  Should I be concerned?
oct. 4-6:  las vegas to be a panelist at CBRE’s Americas Summit on “The Commercial Real Estate Industry of the Future: A 5-10 Year Outlook.”  (oh no, that crystal ball thing again!) thanks to asieh mansour, CBRE’s head of research americas for inviting me to join ray torto of CBRE and geof dohrmann of IREI in this discussion.
oct. 17-19:  chicago to attend the PREA fall meeting
nov. 2-5: washington, dc to attend the CRE Annual convention
nov. 9-10: new york to moderate a panel at the PERE forum



These are my views and not that of my employer.

August 5, 2011

in a harvard business school case, “bono and U2”, professor nancy koehn discusses business lessons to be earned from the famous band.


key concepts include:

• ·     take stock of how you are using your funds, your authority and your people.
• ·     a leader’s mission and purpose isn’t static; it evolves.
• ·     the mission of the ceo should be related to the organizations performance.
• ·     who you are and what you stand for as an organization have great relevance to the people who buy your product (or service)

“in the bigger picture, U2’s journey reflects our own moment here in the early 21st century.  U2’s appeal has always been about our common humanity and the yearning we all experience to follow a higher path. people are looking for the light and U2’s music has spoken to that since the band started.”

“any ceo who thinks his or her job is primarily about maximizing shareholder value is living in the past.  the game of what kind of capitalism will define this century has changed very quickly and dramatically.  creative capitalism, conscious capitalism, stakeholder capitalism, call it what you will.  the larger social footprint and role of business are here to stay.”

it’s a very interesting piece which i’ll be happy to send you.  and, while it’s written towards ceo’s of companies, when you think about it, we are all our own ceo’s of ourselves and the way we choose to live our lives matters to us, if to nobody else.  we have those choices to make.  i have made it my mission to try to bring the world closer together, one person at a time.  one of the wonderful byproducts of all the travel I’ve done is getting to meet people and understanding them better and hopefully leaving them with a little better understanding of americans.  we're talking about people here, not countries, not religions as we are all the same....human beings.  from the time very early one morning that I talked with a paris policeman who was guarding the palace of the president of france right after we invaded iraq and americans were ‘personna non gratt’ in france and we agreed that we did not hate each other, we just hated what america had done to meeting people in liberia and bringing back the challenges that they face, these experiences have been really meaningful to me.


like many of you, i’ve been planning what industry events to attend this fall and winter.  and as you can see by my schedule below, i’ve made some decisions already.  but it got me thinking:  what are my expectations from attending a conference?  are they met?  exceeded?  what is it that you’re not getting that you’d like to?  after all, attending almost any conference (and some in particular) is expensive and time consuming and when you combine those you’d like to leave a conference feeling that not only was it worth spending your time and money but that you would recommend it to a friend.

if you have some time, i’d really appreciate you sending me your thoughts, perhaps wish list,  when you say, “ I wish there was an event which provided this (whatever this is to you).”  thanks.

thanks to drew genova of cbre in washington, dc who sent me an article called “secrets to better networking.”  the suggestions come from a book called “never make the first offer” by donald dell, founder of the proserv sports agency.

1. make friends.  create opportunities to get to know people out of the office, out of the normal parameters of the business relationship and outside mutual comfort zones.
2. make friends of their friends.
3. find mentors.
4. give advice (carefully)
5. don’t keep score.
6. massage your network. send personal notes.
7. show no fear.
8. do good works. charitable endeavors

i’ve built a wonderful network of people which is now global.  this column is read (or at least received J by people all over the world.  i consider it both a privilege and a responsibility and have always treated the people i know with respect and consideration.  my connectivity has never been calculated.  i just love people and love helping people.  i realized, not all that long ago, when I was trying to identify what made a good day for me, it was when i was able to help someone, not necessarily in a big way.  it feels good.  i endorse some of the points that dell makes above but a couple of things i’d add is ‘be yourself’, ‘be natural’, 'don't take people for granted' and 'don't abuse your network.'  

On the road….

aug. 15-26:  new york
sept. 12-16:  new york
sept. 20-21: amsterdam to moderate a panel at the PERE Global Forum
oct. 4-6:  las vegas to be a panelist at CBRE’s Americas Summit on “The Commercial Real Estate Industry of the Future: A 5-10 Year Outlook.”  (Oh no, that crystal ball thing again!) Thanks to asieh mansour, CBRE’s head of research Americas for inviting me to join ray torto of CBRE and geof dohrmann of IREI in this discussion.
oct. 17-19:  chicago to attend the PREA fall meeting
nov. 2-5: washington, dc to attend the CRE Annual convention
nov. 9-10: new york to moderate a panel at the PERE forum


these are my views and not that of my employer.