Little Things Make Big Things Happen (especially on e-mail)

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Brett Cossairt

Today it’s hard to imagine a day going by without being connected.  We rarely put down our cell phones and mobile devices for a minute, even while on vacation.  Many of us feel as though we constantly need to know what’s going on in the world around us. We can access a wealth of information on the internet, even through e-mail and on our mobile devices when we’re away, tired or busy doing other work. 

I recently read an article on the Harvard Business Review website by Jodi Glickman about blurring the lines between our personal and professional lives in the work place.  She goes in depth into the frequent mistakes people make when e-mailing their peers.  It really got me thinking about the similar mistakes that are being made in real estate without people noticing them. 

E-mail, no matter what platform you’re using to send the e-mail, should ultimately appear as seamless as possible to the intended recipient. For instance, having a variety of e-mail accounts operated from different platforms can create a lot of room for error.  Especially for those of us who are constantly attached at the hip to our cell phones and media devices, ever presently conversing through e-mail.  We’re crunched for time in on-the-go situations and we don’t always have access to work computers to send e-mails that require our immediate attention.  A slight slip of the thumb can change the effect and meaning of a message for its recipient.  It’s crucial to know from where and from which account the message is coming from when using any mobile or portable device.  Most of the new digitally enabled devices possess features that will protect their users from making crucial mistakes and its important to take advantage of these.

The fact is that these mistakes could potentially come back to haunt you or your employer-broker.  Take into account how important it is to have your Real Estate License number in your signature line.  It’s something that can easily be overlooked when switching between e-mail accounts on our portable devices.  We should all think about the possible implications an e-mail can have to our employer-broker. 

Lastly, there is something to be said about personalization of corporate e-mails as well.  The “you” aspect of any e-mail formatting should be taken out of the equation to promote consistency across platforms.  Consistent corporate branding includes your email along the website, printed material and any other forms of communication.  Any personalization or differences in any employee’s e-mail format takes away from the overarching corporate image and brand.  This should also be a key difference to recognize between your employee’s personal and professional e-mail accounts.  Professional e-mail is not about personalization as it does not represent the company at large.   

In a business where image is everything, John Wooden said it best, “it’s the little details that are vital.  Little things make big things happen.”  You will find that these little details may be the attributes that drive site traffic as well as add focus and clarity to your brand.


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Should Your Company Be Social?

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Brett Cossairt

In recent years technology has made it easier for us to shift from face to face meetings to the more distant aspect of phone and conference calls, e-mails, and now social media.  Are we gaining efficiency or moving further away from our contacts and connections?

Technology brings all forms of communication to our fingertips whether we’re using cell phones, iPads, or other digitally-enabled devices.  In a world where both technology and social media are rapidly evolving it’s important to stay current with the latest trends or risk getting left behind. 

For the past several months we’ve put a lot of thought and collaboration into using social media to better engage our employees, clients, tenants, and vendors.  Social media is something that is often overlooked by the commercial real estate industry.  Many companies struggle to understand whether social media is relevant to their business.  Our RiverRock conference table often had many creative and interesting ideas from very different viewpoints.  There were critical questions to be asked. Some of us were filled with excitement while others shared their skepticism. 

In the end, collaboration was key.  We discovered many issues to consider before jumping in and establishing a social media presence.  Two major concerns were apparent.  The first was how to establish brand consistency across all platforms while staying true to the company’s current image.  Second was maintaining a recognizable style to build positive corporate familiarity.  The social media needed to tie in seamlessly with all forms of external corporate communication including the company website, e-mails, and possible future mobile web applications.

While the social media platforms we interact with don’t require us to reinvent the wheel, creative input is necessary to get noticed.  It’s important to actively engage a following while not crossing “the line.”  If you’re too active, you risk alienating your followers.  Speak too softly and they won’t notice you.  Establishing boundaries is something that should be handled internally before any serious output or progress is made towards building a social media presence.  Make sure there is a cohesive message and image for your product.  Also, be sure to incorporate controls, rules, and guidelines for employees who are involved in these projects to follow so that your primary brand is clear.

So what’s the value in using social networking in commercial real estate? How do you analyze your ROI?

The hidden value in social networking is virtually free marketing.  Social networks can tell us a lot about the people who are following us.  Your audience could include potential clients. Even our phones are now recording data about us including our usage, our mobile web applications and tracking our physical location.  Researchers and scientists use smart phones to predict human behavior. Read more in this Wall Street Journal “The Really Smart Phone”.  Sites such as Google and Facebook have analytical programs that will provide you with detailed reports on visitor traffic to your individual sites and pages.  They provide statistics in daily, weekly, monthly and yearly formats.  You can use these statistics to gauge whether the material you are producing is effective or if you should refocus your efforts in another direction.

When it comes to business development, ask yourself if free social media service and a little extra effort from a small team of employees are worth just one management contract.  What if it led to two?  Companies are always looking for ways to challenge their employees and encourage their participation.  Most employees already have personal accounts with these social media outlets and are familiar with them. What better way to encourage employee interaction than with social media projects that allow employees to be creative and take part in a meaningful effort.  Employees can now feel some ownership in their company.

Social media has other ways to engage people in the industry in addition to driving new business.  Sites such as LinkedIn have become a resource to find other industry professionals and recruit new employees.  Facebook’s “Pages” feature can be an extension of your website giving your site access the world’s largest network of 500 million friends. Twitter takes micro-blogging to the extreme and allows for mass communication among peers from anything ranging from recent happenings to corporate achievements.  All forms of social media are fairly adaptable.  Although they are constantly evolving they allow for the flexibility to say, do and show the people who want to see it, what you are doing.

If you’re interested in the latest information on social media and technology, check out Mashable and TechCrunch. These are great resources to stay up to date with the latest trends and tricks.

Brett Cossairt is a project coordinator and social media advocate at RiverRock Real Estate Group, Inc.


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Earth Day 2011: Celebrate With Us

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Peggy Sanchez

The 1970s were the peak of the hippie and flower-child culture. Protesting the Vietnam War was a common occurrence. Then, nobody thought much about the environment.  Americans were still riding around in their gas guzzling cars and saving the planet was not on their minds.  

Earth Day Founder, US Senator Gaylord Nelson, believed strongly that education was the key to changing people’s attitude about the environment and wanted to put the environment into the political limelight. He encouraged awareness of the growing problems of air, water, and soil pollution. He used the anti-war passion of the students to raise awareness of the environmental degradation and to put environmental concerns front and center. The cause exploded throughout our country.  Earth Day was born April 22, 1970. That effort activated 20 million Americans, raising concerns about our environment.

1990 marked the 20th celebration of Earth Day. That year it went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and putting environmental issues onto the world stage.

Earth Day 2000 marked the first year that the day was organized through the use of the internet. The internet allowed for better networking and as a result, thousands of activists were allowed to interact with one another and create a more organized event.

More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.

In 2011, our nation and its people have become much more conscientious about taking the necessary steps to help the environment.  Government is now fully engaged and there are many more environmental codes and policies concerning carbon emissions reduction.

At RiverRock, we agree with Gaylord Nelson. Education is the key to changing people’s attitudes.  We educate tenants, vendors, and managers through environmental standards and guidelines.   Several of our managed buildings hold Earth Day events to provide information on the building’s environmental efficiencies and highlight the building’s green practices. Some buildings hold E-Waste Day on Earth Day. Others give out earth day gifts to create awareness and distribute information on how tenants of our properties can help improve the environmental performance of our managed buildings. 

RiverRock also acknowledges the value of purchasing sustainable products and encourages its vendors and tenants to support that effort whenever possible.  We promote green cleaning with our janitorial vendors by using environmentally-friendly cleaning solutions and methods for reducing dust and dirt.  Our priority is to maintain a healthy indoor environment for all occupants.  

Earth Day created the first “Green Generation.” RiverRock will continue its commitment to environmental approaches in building operations and maintenance to ensure this generation and future generations remains green. For more information www.epa.gov/earthday/tips.htm and www.earthday-2011.com

Peggy Sanchez is Director of Property Management at RiverRock. Sanchez brings 27 years of diversified and progressive commercial property management to the RiverRock team. She spearheads the Rock U educational and training programs, working with the junior team members of RiverRock and leads RiverRock’s growing sustainability commitment working closely with service partners to implement green practices in line with BOMA 360 Performance Program and EPA’s Energy Star programs. Underscoring her commitment to excellence, Sanchez has received eight BOMA TOBY Awards on a local, national and international level. She was also awarded a BOMA Orange County Lifetime Achievement Award and has earned BOMA 360 Performance Excellence and Energy Star awards.


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When Generations Collide: Leveraging Talents of Every Generation

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Kathy Valentine

Type in “multi-generational” in any search engine and you’ll come up with results like, multi-generational living, multi-generational housing, multi-generational vacation, multi-generational training, and multi-generational workforce. The term multi-generational is becoming more common in all aspects of life.  With the downturn in the economy, we’re seeing more multi-generational households, “boomerang” kids flocking home, and people helping care for grandchildren or aging parents. The workforce is no different. Never before have we had so many generations, each with their unique view on life and the workplace, working together. Many of us have listened to seminars and presentations on the four basic work force groups, but how many of us have really tried to use those principles in the day-to-day practices of our businesses?

I find myself being myopic at times, looking at situations through my own experiences and generation. I have to force myself to step back and remember that not everyone has my same expectations and modes of communication. For example, I like to write handwritten thank you notes. I like to think that the person receiving my note will appreciate the time and thought it took to handwrite the note and send it through the post. But does someone in their 20’s get the same message or do they think I’m old fashioned and out of touch? So, I’ve had to re-think things as simple as communicating a simple thank you. I now send emails to younger employees and clients, giving them that immediate response they expect and appreciate.

We recently had a situation in our office that at first didn’t seem to be a big issue, but once we saw the generational differences, it was even easier to solve. We needed to shuffle offices and work space to create a workstation for a new employee. We wanted to move an employee into the office of a Baby-Boomer employee and have those two employees share the office. What we didn’t realize at first, was the strong satisfaction that this Boomer held in having their own office. As Lynne Lancaster and Davis Stillman say in their book, When Generations Collide, “For this generation of strivers, rewards came to be about money, title, a better shift, seniority, the corner office, the up-front parking spot, and any other marker that let you and especially others know how you were doing.” This employee had been resistant to sharing their office but once we identified the reason, we found a simple solution and one that has actually worked better than our original idea. We took two Generation Y employees and asked them to share an office. The Gen Y employees enjoy working and collaborating together in the same office.

We’ve also come to recognize a huge pool of talent in our Millennial generation. This came out of a discussion we were having about multi-generational work groups and what talents each group brings to the company. Afterwards, we formed a new group of these talented Millennial employees. E-cubed, as they call themselves, researches and helps implement new technologies, social media, and other tech driven tools to keep RiverRock an up-to-date and an enticing environment in which to work. We may have missed out on this great resource if we hadn’t been looking at specific talents each generation brings to the workplace.

Check it out: For more information on bringing a multi-generational viewpoint to your business, I recommend you read this timely AARP article.


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Delivering on Client Expectations. Every Property. Every City.

Posted on February 22, 2011 by John Combs

Delivering multi-market client service seamlessly and consistently requires checks, balances, and controls just like the circuitry in a machine. When you set a car’s air conditioning to a certain temperature, the driver sees the temperature setting but doesn’t care or is aware of the circuitry required to deliver that temperature.  There is an expectation that the desired temperature will be delivered.

Compare that to working on multiple assets in multiple markets in property services. The client has an expectation of seamless and consistent service without any involvement in how it happens. The client doesn’t want to have to train each new team member in each office but instead expects us to train the team across all markets.  The owner doesn’t care what it takes to effectively communicate to all team members a request. However, they do expect to get a timely response and in the same format.

Companies commonly have different cultures across different regions and sometimes even within the same office because of different personalities in any particular group. However, while “stepford wives syndrome” is not required by a client, they do expect a basic culture, way of doing business, ethics, responsiveness, and transparency from their service provider no matter the market or property a Company’s Core Values must be the same everywhere for true success.

We were recently awarded a large industrial portfolio in the Silicon Valley from a client who we also manage for in Arizona.  There are multiple properties owned by the same client in both markets.  Why did they choose us in both markets?

CONSISTENCY: Accounting is either right or wrong but using the same program does not guarantee consistency.  Reports should be written in one format and one style appropriate to the client’s needs. Review should also be done by one central person to drive consistency in style and format.

STYLE: Property Managers are an extension of the ownership representing the owner’s qualities and style.  We’re not talking fashion, we’re talking about tenant relations. This means the way the phone is answered, responsiveness, dates for collections and notices, reports, and more.

FOCUS: The true measure of great management is focus – anticipating the customers’ needs and fulfilling them before they ask. I call this WOW Customer Service. (See Tom Peter’s book, The Pursuit of WOW for ideas). How do you start the morning? Some managers think about the property and the day’s work after they arrive at the office, get a cup of coffee, and say hello to everyone. Great managers arrive knowing what their goals are for the day and have already prepared for the day’s appointments in advance. Managers should have client goals typed and visible on their desk. At RiverRock, our managers carry a laminated client services goal card with them every day. It may seem like a small thing, but it can make a significant difference in reinforcing purpose and keeping the management team focused.

So how do we make this happen? All of this effort requires leadership and oversight to ensure teams are coordinated and delivering excellent service. Even collaborative managers can sway from consistency without realizing it. This must be caught before the client sees it.

Our new Silicon Valley team implemented all of these components. We brought in a portfolio manager (client liaison) and our COO to recruit the new team. They also toured all the properties and, together, met all of the tenants. One week later we brought the portfolio manager into Silicon Valley again for two days of training. The Senior Manager, now in Arizona, also came in to discuss day to day delivery.  We call it a “Big Brother” or “Mentor” program.

Is this overkill?  Hardly!  Through constant training and monitoring we can exceed the customer’s expectations. Plus we can work on winning another region very soon!


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2011’s New Normal – Set Your Compass for Success

Posted on January 12, 2011 by blogadmin

Much has been said about the New Normal. Some pontificators have been right on as time marches on with surprising implications. Others have been far too negative. So what is the new normal? It appears there are a few calibrations required to set your compass for success in 2011. I’ve been looking at a few market indicators:

I expect to see continued increases in tenant activity in office, retail, and industrial leasing in California this year. Available office space over 50,000 sq.ft. will have increased activity as these spaces become supply constrained. Investment sales in Orange County increased by 38% in office and 33% in industrial as an example when compared to the first 3 quarters of 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009 (as noted in the December 2010 360 Commercial Partners Market Intelligence Report).

Port activity impacts California more than many US markets. Port container traffic went from 1.4 million units in 2007-2008 to 2.5 million units in 2008-2009. And we are continuing to see improvements. Two thirds of all containers coming thru the Ports head to retail stores. Retail is showing modest recoveries which will in turn improve Port activity. 40% of all US imports travel through the Long Beach/LA Ports. However 40 to 50% of imports that come through these two Ports are never warehoused in the LA Basin. Instead they are moved out to other areas by rail. It is amazing to realize that the Long Beach Port support 30,000 jobs and the Los Angeles Port supports 230,000 jobs. (as noted in the December issue of Real Estate Forum)

Job growth continues to be the main component needed for full recovery. Last September the US finally stopped bleeding jobs after losing close to 8 million jobs from 2007 to 2009. In order for the US to return to 6% unemployment it must add 135,000 jobs month after month (as noted in the January 17, 2011 issue of TIME magazine on Where the Jobs Are?) Where will the new jobs come from? The technology sector is a big leader for job growth. And that’s before we’ve seen the impact of new product offerings such as the Apple TV set-top box as well as other new devices and services. New innovations combined with implied valuations announced last week of up to $50 Billion for Facebook bode well for the future of consumer technology.

Who’s in charge in CRE? The landlord, the tenant, or jobs? The answer is jobs. Job growth creates real estate demand and that puts the tenant in charge of CRE as long as there is supply. Supply sets the market and landlords succeed by making decisions to take advantage of market movements. When you look at the market and economic indicators, the fact is we can expect slower growth over a longer period before we see full recovery. Even so, today’s risk takers will be tomorrow’s winners.

What about business trends? Much is being written about the “Triple Bottom Line.” This focus on people, profit, and purpose is what separates top performing firms from the pack. When it comes to people potential I believe that never before has there been such opportunity to attract talent that is motivated to work with reasonable compensation expectations. We just hired our sixth USC/UCLA real estate graduate at an hourly rate with a commitment to focus on their career growth in commercial real estate. I’ve never seen that type of opportunity to recruit this sector and then as soon as they are trained move them into our organization into market competitive paid positions. We are even attracting law school graduates who recognize that there is more opportunity to work with us than to go through the full education and clerk work to become an attorney!

One common characteristic of our team is a “Fear of Failure.” Fear of failure is a great motivator. If channeled properly, it makes everyone more competitive and drives a firm to outperform its peer set. Creating and running a purpose-driven firm is something I have blogged about before. Whether your organization’s purpose is community involvement or “green” leadership, every firm must find its driver beyond profit to also include purpose. If every team member understands and commits to the company’s purpose, then records will be set when racing for the finish line.

Looking across both business and economic trends, there are many “new normal” indicators. To succeed in 2011 may take some risk. It will also be an amazing year of opportunity. Ultimately by making the right calibrations to your personal and business compass, success will be yours in 2011.


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Investing for the Next Phase

Posted on December 16, 2010 by blogadmin

As one of my business mentors, John O’Donnell, the founder and managing general partner of Newport Beach-based O’Donnell Group, Inc., taught me, when your business hits new milestones you then have to decide whether you will invest to get to the next phase, remain status quo, or sell.

At RiverRock, we’ve had very active growth in 2010. We were fortunate to grow in every market we service.  Truly our team exceeded the customer’s expectations and we invested heavily to add talent and new systems.

However each new milestone creates new decisions. When it comes to managing the business, where I spend my time is of constant review by me and our executive leadership.  As president, I have to judge where I should invest my time to encourage greater innovation and encourage the results that our clients and teams expect.

As of January 1, I will be spending 50% of my time in our Northern California offices.  I’ve leased a place in SOMA and will be working out of our Cornish and Carey RiverRock Newmark office three days a week. 

We have so much opportunity and growth potential throughout our 13 offices in the Bay Area. To make it all happen, I need to be at the epicenter, closer to our clients, our growing team, and the properties.

The truth is I’ve spent more than 20 years in the Bay Area, but always commuting rather than residing. And this has been a strain on me.  It’s time to make this investment to get to the next phase. Plus I’m excited to try urban living as well as be a part of the Bay Area real estate community.  Evaluate, invest, and commit.  The competition is stiff.  Be in the game or go home.

As the founder of our enterprise, the responsibility is with me to ensure our brand and market differential is understood and delivered.  I’m looking forward to working with our team and the many additional professionals we are recruiting.

I look forward to seeing you next year throughout Northern and Southern California as well as Phoenix.

Happy Holidays!


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An Artist on Career Advice

Posted on November 11, 2010 by blogadmin

I recently had the wonderful and rare opportunity to dine with American Pop Artist Wayne Thiebaud and his wife.  At near 90 years old, Wayne shared very colorful stories of artists and celebrities he had met over the years spoken as though he was talking to a canvass. 

I invite you to read a recent NY Times article profiling the artist. Here is a quote from the artist on why he paints, “you feel the brush, the plumb line of your body, the misalignment or the joy of feeling it’s right.”

During the evening conversation, Wayne shared meeting with another great painter, William de Kooning.  He said that Kooning gave him some advice about his future career in painting that he has followed his whole life. I think this advice is applicable for everyone who is serious about their career – whether that career is in art or real estate.

Don’t copy other’s work.  Be original. Thiebaud found his signature style with brightly colored still-life paintings of food and other objects. In our work world, differentiating your product and service is critical. Copying only makes you a commodity. A unique offering holds value. This is also true for the individual. Creating your own brand helps to build your value proposition as an employee and as a service provider.

Figure out your own stroke.  Each person has different interests and styles that work best for them and should be hard to reproduce. In Thiebaud’s paintings the cakes look real because the artist handled his paint like frosting—slathering it in rich creamy strokes. So what is the unique style that you possess? Could someone tell your work by your signature style? By allowing yourself to be identified by a signature style you can become sought after as a resource and expert.

Don’t listen to critics, historians or art dealers. In 1960 Thiebaud had his first one-man show in San Francisco. These shows received little notice, but two years later, a gallery exhibition in New York officially launched Pop Art, bringing him national recognition. If you want to be an original you’ll likely be met with criticism. When I first launched RiverRock, there were those who told me I was crazy to start a management company, that the Third Party Management segment was shrinking, and that the “Big Guys” had all the business. Thank goodness they were wrong! After seven years we are at 14 million sq.ft. and our portfolio and billings will double this year.  This is a record year of growth and we are beating the “Big Boys.” That’s because I ignored the critics and followed what I knew – that a service-oriented, hands-on Third Party management team could succeed and that owners would appreciate a firm where the executives know the team and tour the properties regularly!


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Bed Bugs and the Real Estate Recovery

Posted on October 20, 2010 by blogadmin

The media is driving me crazy!

The mass hysteria on bed bug infestations has created a new paranoia just like the headlines for the commercial real estate industry. The bed bug headlines? They’re keeping people from staying in hotels or even going to the movies to avoid the bed bug. The real estate headlines are keeping lenders from lending and causing investors to wait on the sidelines. 

I don’t know about you but I’m confused by all the reports.  An October 5 Wall Street Journal story reported “Office Market Starting to Stabilize.”  Then on October 13 the Wall Street Journal reported, “Two Indexes, Two Views on Commercial Real Estate.” In the article Green Street Advisors reported that REITs believe prices of commercial real estate hit bottom in mid 2009 and have been slowly rising ever since. Moody’s Investors Service said it is still too early to call a bottom and advises caution. I especially liked the quote from Green Street’s Director of Research who said, “We believe it is better to be roughly right rather than precisely wrong.” 

At RiverRock, we’re in constant contact with special servicers, lenders, bankers, pension fund advisors, asset managers, and investors.  They all tell us next year is going to be a huge year for acquisitions as well as foreclosures of commercial real estate. And yet you see major asset sales are happening now. Why is it that despite headlines of doom and gloom, Kilroy purchased a top building in Orange County and San Diego, the Irvine Company is close to acquiring The Arts Plaza near South Coast Plaza, and a Hines partnership with Spyglass Realty Partners has won the bid for a multi-billion dollar 11-project State Government portfolio? 

More positive news is Mission Energy leasing 80,000 square feet at 3 MacArthur in Santa Ana.  Orange County office sales increased 64% in July.  All of this prior to the new SBA improved programs.  The Orange County Register reported October 12 that “Orange County Offices Filling Up.”  The story states that, according to Voit, vacancies fell from the prior month for the first time in four years and the amount of space leased exceeded the amount vacated for the first time since 2007.

Now it’s true that the distressed property/loan volume is currently at $275 billion of which $190 billion has still not been addressed. Plus the total of 1,654 individuals  and businesses filed for bankruptcy in Orange County in August 2010 was up 19.3% from August 2009. 

It may only be the economists who anticipate a recovery similar to Japan’s where it took 10 years to return to previous peaks in the economy. I think there are many bright and promising opportunities in real estate. Tenants who are downsizing their offices are moving to better space that is more affordable.  Investors are able to recalibrate debt buying distressed real estate and spending TI dollars to improve the space bringing it up in class as well as providing capital improvements. Our Construction Management Department is building record volumes this year – driven from this very activity. So do you follow the headlines or follow reality? I’ll take the proof around me everyday rather than let headlines keep me on the sidelines. Oh – and sleep tight – don’t let the bed bugs bite.

One final note – I’m looking forward to speaking at the Sunwest Bank 2nd Annual Economic Outlook on November 1st at the Balboa Bay Club and Resort. Hope to see you there.


Posted in The Economy | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Now That Summer’s Over, What Should Your Top Priorities Be To Finish 2010 Strong?

Posted on September 8, 2010 by John Combs

Fall is typically the busiest time for a property manager. There are budgets to prepare and submit.  It’s also when investors push for year-end closings both on the buy and sale side of the equation. This means more estoppels, operating expense analysis, tours, meetings, and property transitions.

This Fall, focus your efforts beyond being busy to prioritizing what you need to do before year-end. Following are my Top Five Priorities for Property Managers in the 4th Quarter!

ONE. Get closer to the tenant, not the computer.  Tenants control the space and future of your building. Do you know how their business is doing? What are their 2011 plans? Will they be hiring, downsizing, changing their requirements, etc?

TWO. Become an enterprise leader, not a property maintenance and service request order taker.  Do you understand the debt on the property? Know how the HVAC works? What are the financial implications of strategies and decisions made by the investor? The more you know, the more value you bring.

THREE. Sustainability.  What systems, measurements, and benchmarking can be established at the property to monitor and improve operating performance?  With a demand for green leases and zero cost practices, every manager must implement sustainability practices. Now is the time to budget for Energy Star, BOMA 360 Performance Measurements, TOBY award recognition and more green programs and tools.

FOUR. 2011 Operating and Capital Budgets. Put a plan together that clearly demonstrates strategies for reducing operating expenses along with the appropriate capital expenses that long term improve the marketability of the building and operating performance that drives either value or cash flow.  Know the impact of these costs and savings to the tenant in operating expense recovery billings. More importantly, develop plans to gain tenant agreement and support for these 2011 initiatives.

FIVE. Focus on the Property Owner and his/her objectives. There is a growing split allegiance that should not cause a split dedication.  A manager’s employer may have competing objectives with those of the owner, who is the customer.  Just because a manager answers to both the boss and the client, a manager’s dedication to service the client is the undisputed highest priority. Therefore it is imperative that managers understand what the client needs and provide it before they have to ask.  At RiverRock, this is how we define legendary customer service.  And that should be a priority year-round!


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