Tag: commercial real estate

I have tried my hardest to work with tenants that are in tough situations. Most still refuse to do what’s right, most of those can’t see that doing what’s right is also in their own best interests. It’s a sad thing to talk about during this Thanksgiving week.

Seth Godin is the king of the vanillas. He likes groups that agree about everything and sit around giving group hugs singing kumbyya. I don’t. I love conflict. I induce conflict. Conflict is good. Conflict is productive. Conflict is interesting. And the only way anyone learns anything in a discussion is when people disagree on something. And you can take a flying leap if you don’t agree with me.

Had a great meeting this morning with a great friend and colleague about raising private equity to buy commercial investment real estate; I’m meeting with my banker this afternoon because they want to host a wine and cheese book signing with me and their high net worth clients; and I’m meeting with another small group of investors this afternoon to talk about raising private equity. So life is great! And then there is Lulu.com. Ugh.

More and more in the workplace I’m seeing activity take the place of accomplishment. We have meetings where nothing gets decided and no conclusions are reached. I’m fighting this in my real estate business as well, and it’s a constant battle, because these social media tools can be a waste of productive time if not used effectively.

Although my USC Trojans are having an “off” year on the gridiron, I LOVE the fact that they consider a 3 loss season a complete and utter failure and a “rebuilding” year. Contrast that with the Lions that have been complete and utter failures for 50 years, and they would think that a 3 WIN season was a success. Who would you rather emulate in your business?