Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. Hustle as a Strategy

The day was April 17th, 1997 and I took an elevator ride that would change my life.

“Mark Christopher was a very senior and well-respected broker at Cushman & Wakefield, and I was – well, I was wet behind the ears. I had been in the real estate business less than two years and I was banging my head against the wall cold calling small industrial tenants in a grungy Atlanta industrial submarket.”

I was beginning to make some traction, but like so many young people in our business I had a strong fear of failure and an unhealthy case of self-doubt.

2. The Very First Office Building In The World

It was March and James Berkeley was under considerable pressure. His boss, George who happened to be the King of England, was upset that both Holland and France seemed to have a better navy. Germany was gaining as well.

“It was cheaper to ship goods by water than over land, which had long been known. But King George the First was much more concerned with political power and the ability to grow his empire than shipping costs. The King didn’t just want to rule England, he wanted to dominate the known world. ”

As Spring approached in that year – 1722 – the King knew he had to get the Navy right for his ambitions to be fulfilled. But he had some disadvantages. The archipelago that is England was rainy, lacked natural resources and was largely irrelevant in world politics.

3. 300 Months

I was about to turn 28 years old and I was in a hurry to get home. I jumped in my car and pointed north towards our small town. I had to tell my Karen the good news.

“After talking to 13 different commercial real estate firms over a series of months, I’d gotten an offer from the only one I REALLY wanted to join: Cushman & Wakefield. I was elated and bursting with pride. ”

Karen and I had dinner in our very small house in a suburb of Atlanta. She didn’t know my news, but I was positively giddy, so she knew something was up.

4. 12 Things I’ve Learned During the Quarantine

At the bottom of one of my recent blogs during this pandemic I shared a list called 12 things I’ve learned during the quarantine.

“I got a nice response back so I thought I would republish the list in a stand-alone in hopes that it might brighten your day. ”

My learnings during the great quarantine of 2020.

5. Reboot: What I Will Do Differently Post Pandemic

I’ll remember March 13th, 2020 for the rest of my life. I had my last business lunch that Friday, just as the realization was hitting America. The World Health Organization had finally used that ugly word on Wednesday, March 11th - ”Pandemic” - but in the U.S. we had less than 1,000 diagnosed cases that week. It still felt like the sickness was in foreign lands, but boy you could feel it coming.

“My guest at lunch was a business executive who leads a large workforce. We were both worried about personal safety, about people, about our economy, and about our own families. It was a morose lunch and I confess that we were both going through the motions on autopilot. I had the distinct feeling that evil was headed our way and quickly.”

I’ve now had 14 weeks to think and reflect – three and a half months. Most people are past the sheer terror of Covid-19, but it’s impacts on us individually will be something we talk about and remember for the rest of our lives.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great and hugely impactful week!