Welcome President Obama.
What a speech!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PuHGKnboNY&eurl=http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/inaugural-address/
What a program!
Check it out...
http://change.gov/
Now its time for action.
Over the next 100 days the Obama administration will be making the most ambitious changes in America since the New Deal. I look forward to seeing the results of these changes; I am a big believer that he is going to bring us out of the economic mess that we are in. It will not be easy and will not be a quick process but what happens over the next 100 days will set the pace for our country for years to come and possibly for the next generation.
We at NWJ/Signature Community need to do the same. I don't do elegant speeches with hope and fear in them, but I can present challenges to you. Challenges that I am confident you can reach. Goals that will set the course for our company to sail through these difficult economic times and into the future as an industry leader.
My challenge to you for the first 100 days:
Overall stabilized portfolio occupancy rate 97%. I know the market is lower, economy is bad, residents are losing jobs, etc , etc but at Signature Community we don't understand the word NO so lets not have this word hold us back now. Today we are operating at 94% occupancy which is a few points above our competitors and is impressive, but lets make use of these bad economic times to show our strong positioning as a value lifestyle brand and grow our occupancy.
Acquisitions -$50,000,000 in new deals closed in the next 100 days. Many companies are being governed by fear and have stopped all their growth. I don't think this is the time to stop the growth, its time to start the growth. As Warren Buffet says, "you buy when there is fear and sell when there is optimism on the street". Now more than any time in my career do I see fear in the eyes of our competition and opportunity for growth.
Stabilization group - As I look around our portfolio I see amazing profitable results from all but just a few assets. My challenge to you is to find ways to bring these assets to full occupancy which will turn these assets once and for all into profit centers. We are down to just a few assets with these problems and with a concerted, focused effort we can accomplish this goal.
Wilshire Portfolio - This is my big rock to move across the finish line. Over the next 100 days I intend to close this deal. It’s my job to Make It Happen.
Finance division - $45 Million in new funding within 100 days. Simple enough, we can make that happen.
Equity investments - we are in the unique position within our industry of having a group of investors still committed to funding our new acquisitions. We have $20 Million on the sidelines ready to deploy into new deals lets deploy it now.
I heard a great Abraham Lincoln quote over the weekend - “If I am given four hours to cut down a tree I would make sure that the first 2 hours were spent sharpening the ax."
Let's start planning to hit these goals over the next 100 days.
We can Make It Happen.Thanks.
Nick
Monday, January 26, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Miracles Do Happen
Last week, just a few blocks from our offices in Manhattan, a plane loaded with 148 passengers and several crew members, made an emergency landing in the middle of the Hudson River and everyone survived! It is the first time in 50 years that a major airliner has landed safely in the water. What I take from this amazing event is the miracles do happen if you are prepared. The pilot's response to all the publicists has been pretty simple - "It's my job. That is what I have been trained to do and I did it." He saved the lives of all 148 passengers and his crew by simply doing what he was trained to do and by doing it right.
See link -- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123205422465987023.html
On a more somber note, last week marked the passing of Trammel Crow, the Dallas real estate developer who's model was instrumental in how NWJ/Signature Community has been structured. He was the first US developer to step outside of his backyard to create a real estate empire. Until his time developers would only develop in their local markets. He created a system of bringing young men into his organization (typically just out of the army or college), training them in his ways, and then setting them up in various cities through out the country (and later, internationally) to grow his company. In return they would receive a partnership interest to share in the upside. Trammel was a leadership figure to me when I first started in the real estate business. I can't emphasize enough, the need for everyone to find someone like Trammel to read about, and use as a model for your own career and aspirations. Some of his quotes that were instrumental to me - "Become an owner and things improve," Mr. Crow told the Journal in 1986, adding, "I guess that's the way human beings are created." Trammell Crow Co.'s energy reflected its owner's temperament.
He was not immune to to the forces of the economy either and case in point is this - Dubbed the largest private landlord in the country in 1971 by Forbes, Mr. Crow too, was sensitive to the business cycle.
Mr. Crow was forced to liquidate his ownership position in several landmark properties, including the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco and the Allen Center in Houston. In its October 1975 issue, Forbes magazine had a headline that read: "Crow Eats Crow." In a legendary meeting with creditors in 1977, Mr. Crow offered them a choice: new terms or a stack of keys and deeds to his properties he'd placed on the table in front of him. He got his terms, and also agreed to replace himself as CEO of his company with a protege, J. McDonald Williams. But he was able to hang on to some of his more cherished assets, including Bryan Tower and the Dallas Market Center. In the late 1980s, the Crow family again faced foreclosure of the 125-acre Market Center complex near downtown Dallas and the nearby Anatole Hotel when some high-interest loans went into default. After months of negotiations with lenders, the property was recapitalized with cash and new loans. Mr. Crow considered risk-taking part of the business.
One other key belief of his was that you had to hold long term to create real wealth - Determined to hold on to what he built -- a personal mantra was "the one who sells is wrong" -- he also became what The Wall Street Journal described at the time as "America's biggest landlord." "I once heard it said that the cat that is burned on an oven range will never touch a hot one again," he said in a 1980 interview. "True enough, but that cat won't go near cold ovens either. The same is true for business. Failures that transform a businessman into a super-cautious individual can cripple", as taking calculated risks are essential to our business.
He was one of the only real estate developers to realize that people are the true assets of a real estate company. Mr. Williams, a protege of Mr. Crow, who later became CEO of Trammell Crow, began his association with Trammell Crow in 1970 when he was doing legal work for the company. Out of the blue, Mr. Crow sent him to Hong Kong to oversee development of a new hotel. "He was willing to take a bet on me at 30 years old," Mr. Williams said. "That inspired me, just as it inspired so many other people in our company. "That's a much greater legacy than just his buildings," he said. "Throughout the world, there are ex-Crow people – that's his legacy."Here is another link -
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/011609dnbuscrow.653f113.html
Planes landing on water and poor boy becomes worlds largest developer, remember with hard work miracles do happen.
Thanks for making it happen here!
Nick
See link -- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123205422465987023.html
On a more somber note, last week marked the passing of Trammel Crow, the Dallas real estate developer who's model was instrumental in how NWJ/Signature Community has been structured. He was the first US developer to step outside of his backyard to create a real estate empire. Until his time developers would only develop in their local markets. He created a system of bringing young men into his organization (typically just out of the army or college), training them in his ways, and then setting them up in various cities through out the country (and later, internationally) to grow his company. In return they would receive a partnership interest to share in the upside. Trammel was a leadership figure to me when I first started in the real estate business. I can't emphasize enough, the need for everyone to find someone like Trammel to read about, and use as a model for your own career and aspirations. Some of his quotes that were instrumental to me - "Become an owner and things improve," Mr. Crow told the Journal in 1986, adding, "I guess that's the way human beings are created." Trammell Crow Co.'s energy reflected its owner's temperament.
He was not immune to to the forces of the economy either and case in point is this - Dubbed the largest private landlord in the country in 1971 by Forbes, Mr. Crow too, was sensitive to the business cycle.
Mr. Crow was forced to liquidate his ownership position in several landmark properties, including the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco and the Allen Center in Houston. In its October 1975 issue, Forbes magazine had a headline that read: "Crow Eats Crow." In a legendary meeting with creditors in 1977, Mr. Crow offered them a choice: new terms or a stack of keys and deeds to his properties he'd placed on the table in front of him. He got his terms, and also agreed to replace himself as CEO of his company with a protege, J. McDonald Williams. But he was able to hang on to some of his more cherished assets, including Bryan Tower and the Dallas Market Center. In the late 1980s, the Crow family again faced foreclosure of the 125-acre Market Center complex near downtown Dallas and the nearby Anatole Hotel when some high-interest loans went into default. After months of negotiations with lenders, the property was recapitalized with cash and new loans. Mr. Crow considered risk-taking part of the business.
One other key belief of his was that you had to hold long term to create real wealth - Determined to hold on to what he built -- a personal mantra was "the one who sells is wrong" -- he also became what The Wall Street Journal described at the time as "America's biggest landlord." "I once heard it said that the cat that is burned on an oven range will never touch a hot one again," he said in a 1980 interview. "True enough, but that cat won't go near cold ovens either. The same is true for business. Failures that transform a businessman into a super-cautious individual can cripple", as taking calculated risks are essential to our business.
He was one of the only real estate developers to realize that people are the true assets of a real estate company. Mr. Williams, a protege of Mr. Crow, who later became CEO of Trammell Crow, began his association with Trammell Crow in 1970 when he was doing legal work for the company. Out of the blue, Mr. Crow sent him to Hong Kong to oversee development of a new hotel. "He was willing to take a bet on me at 30 years old," Mr. Williams said. "That inspired me, just as it inspired so many other people in our company. "That's a much greater legacy than just his buildings," he said. "Throughout the world, there are ex-Crow people – that's his legacy."Here is another link -
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/011609dnbuscrow.653f113.html
Planes landing on water and poor boy becomes worlds largest developer, remember with hard work miracles do happen.
Thanks for making it happen here!
Nick
Monday, January 12, 2009
DuPont's Swift Response to the Financial Crisis
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_03/b4116036891021.htm
In Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainty: The New Rules for Getting the Right Things Done in Difficult Times (McGraw-Hill), renowned management consultant Ram Charan offers chief executives a detailed guide to surviving the worst financial and business crisis since the Great Depression. The key, Charan says, is "management intensity"—deep immersion in the operational details of the business and the outside world, combined with hands-on involvement and follow-through.
Plans and progress must be revisited almost daily. Big-picture, strategic-level thinking cannot be abandoned, but every leader now must be involved, visible, and in daily communication with employees, customers, and suppliers. In this world, CEOs need detailed, up-to-date, and unfiltered information. And they have to act decisively when trouble looms. "If you don't prepare for the worst," says Charan, "you will put both your company and career at risk."
What follows is an excerpt from Charan's book that describes how one of his major clients, chemical and life sciences giant DuPont (DD) , has responded to the crisis. CEO Charles O. Holliday Jr. reacted with maximum speed, rallied his entire company to confront the emergency, and put a sharp focus on maintaining cash flow, which Charan considers the lifeblood of any company in a severe downturn.
The first clear sign that the economic crisis was spreading globally came to DuPont CEO Chad Holliday in early October of last year, while he was visiting a major customer in Japan. The CEO of the Japanese company, among the largest and most highly regarded in its global industry, told Holliday he was worried about his company's cash position. The Japanese boss had ordered his executives to conserve cash in case the financial contagion affected his ability to raise capital.
That conversation was a wake-up call. When Holliday's plane landed back in the U.S., he immediately summoned the six top leaders in his company to a meeting at 7 a.m. the next day. He asked them the following questions: How bad is it now? How bad could it get?
The answers that came back over the next few days were grim. The financial industry's problems were pervading many aspects of DuPont's business both at home and abroad. What had seemed to be a crisis of confidence on Wall Street had the potential to become a global crisis as panic swept Western Europe, Russia, and most of Asia. Credit was disappearing, leaving companies struggling to finance their operations.
Evidence of how serious the problems were becoming appeared in different places. Wilmington, Del., where DuPont has its headquarters, is usually a hotbed of legal activity: Many companies are chartered in the state, and corporate lawsuits are routinely filed in Delaware Court of Chancery in Wilmington. Yet bookings at the hotel DuPont owns in the city's downtown had plunged more than 30% in 10 days. Lawyers handling litigation for companies had canceled their reservations when their clients decided to settle their disputes and stop incurring legal fees.
SPRINGING INTO ACTION
More telling was the rate at which production at many companies was slowing. DuPont paint covers more than 30% of all American automobiles, and the company generally manufactures the paint less than 48 hours before it is sprayed on new cars. To maintain such a short lead time, the automobile companies share their production schedules with DuPont. Suddenly there weren't any production schedules. The automakers didn't know what they were going to produce in the face of collapsing sales.
Clearly it was time to take action.
DuPont has long stressed the paramount importance of contingency planning. Its Corporate Crisis Management plan, if invoked, instantly brings together senior managers to appraise the cause of the crisis and put appropriate disaster control procedures in place. The plan is seldom activated. It was used in the wake of the September 11 attacks and in the aftermath of major hurricanes.
Holliday had to weigh whether the gathering financial storm was serious enough to warrant implementing the plan or whether declaring a crisis might frighten the company's 60,000 employees needlessly. As the evidence of a deepening economic downturn quickly mounted, he decided that activating Corporate Crisis Management was right.
Immediately, 17 standing teams met at DuPont headquarters. Over four days of meetings, it became clear that the nature of the crisis was strictly financial, and eight teams—those that dealt with such issues as security and plant safety—stood down. At the end of the four days, the remaining nine had determined what needed to be done to ensure DuPont's viability. It was time to let the troops around the world know what was going on.
Holliday enlisted the company's chief economist and the head of its pension fund, both of whom are highly regarded in the organization, to explain in nontechnical language the roots of the crisis and the way it was affecting DuPont. The pension fund manager also took time to develop some instructional material advising employees about investment options for their $18 billion in retirement funds.
Within 10 days of the crisis plan's creation, every employee in DuPont had a face-to-face meeting with a manager who explained what the company needed to accomplish. Employees were asked to identify three things they could do immediately to help conserve cash and reduce costs. Within a few days after the communications program was rolled out, the company conducted polling to see how well employees understood the nature of the crisis and to determine their psychological reaction. Were they scared, or were they energized and ready to confront the crisis? The company also wanted to see whether the rank and file were doing what they needed to be doing.
TOO CONFIDENT?
Overall, the employees seemed to get it. It helped that the news media were full of stories about the developing financial crisis. The actions aimed at conserving cash took hold quickly. Travel was curtailed sharply, internal meetings were canceled, and consultants and contractors were eliminated where possible.
Yet Holliday felt people still didn't grasp the urgency with which they needed to be acting. "In hindsight, maybe we were too good at giving them the reassurance and confidence that we could come through this," Holliday says. "We gave them so much confidence that they just weren't responding as fast as the slowdown demanded."
Together with his chief operating officer and chief financial officer, Holliday took the time to spend an hour and a half with each of the company's top 14 leaders. They were asked to explain what they were doing to cope with the crisis. They all brought long lists, and it seemed they were doing a lot. But the problem was how fast it was getting done. "They were talking about things that would be implemented by January or February, but they were things we needed implemented in October," Holliday says. So Holliday and his senior team assigned the executive vice-presidents sharply revised targets for cost, working capital, and other metrics for the rest of 2008 as well as the first quarter of 2009.
Even as immediate measures were being taken, DuPont had three top executives looking at longer-term actions the company needed to embrace. It would take a while to figure out which production facilities could be closed permanently or shut temporarily to reduce costs. So the fastest way to save the most cash was to cut back as much as possible on the more than 20,000 outside contractors the company was using. In most cases a contractor could be released with one week's notice and without any severance costs. Where possible, employees whose operations were slowing or would be closed were shifted into what was formerly contract work.
DuPont's initial reaction to the spreading crisis took place in less than six weeks. There will be much more to do, depending on how the global economy fares over the next year or two. And when the slowdown ends, Holliday predicts that inflationary trends will reassert themselves. But DuPont will be ready for resurgent inflation—and any other emergency—if and when it happens.
The lesson CEOs should draw from Holliday's experience: You must recognize reality. This is the single most important task confronting a CEO, and it is extremely difficult to do in this environment. Facing wrenching uncertainty, many become fearful. Others indulge in wishful thinking: "We'll soon be back to normal." Don't believe it. Though we don't know what the new world will look like, we can be certain it won't look the way it did before.
In Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainty: The New Rules for Getting the Right Things Done in Difficult Times (McGraw-Hill), renowned management consultant Ram Charan offers chief executives a detailed guide to surviving the worst financial and business crisis since the Great Depression. The key, Charan says, is "management intensity"—deep immersion in the operational details of the business and the outside world, combined with hands-on involvement and follow-through.
Plans and progress must be revisited almost daily. Big-picture, strategic-level thinking cannot be abandoned, but every leader now must be involved, visible, and in daily communication with employees, customers, and suppliers. In this world, CEOs need detailed, up-to-date, and unfiltered information. And they have to act decisively when trouble looms. "If you don't prepare for the worst," says Charan, "you will put both your company and career at risk."
What follows is an excerpt from Charan's book that describes how one of his major clients, chemical and life sciences giant DuPont (DD) , has responded to the crisis. CEO Charles O. Holliday Jr. reacted with maximum speed, rallied his entire company to confront the emergency, and put a sharp focus on maintaining cash flow, which Charan considers the lifeblood of any company in a severe downturn.
The first clear sign that the economic crisis was spreading globally came to DuPont CEO Chad Holliday in early October of last year, while he was visiting a major customer in Japan. The CEO of the Japanese company, among the largest and most highly regarded in its global industry, told Holliday he was worried about his company's cash position. The Japanese boss had ordered his executives to conserve cash in case the financial contagion affected his ability to raise capital.
That conversation was a wake-up call. When Holliday's plane landed back in the U.S., he immediately summoned the six top leaders in his company to a meeting at 7 a.m. the next day. He asked them the following questions: How bad is it now? How bad could it get?
The answers that came back over the next few days were grim. The financial industry's problems were pervading many aspects of DuPont's business both at home and abroad. What had seemed to be a crisis of confidence on Wall Street had the potential to become a global crisis as panic swept Western Europe, Russia, and most of Asia. Credit was disappearing, leaving companies struggling to finance their operations.
Evidence of how serious the problems were becoming appeared in different places. Wilmington, Del., where DuPont has its headquarters, is usually a hotbed of legal activity: Many companies are chartered in the state, and corporate lawsuits are routinely filed in Delaware Court of Chancery in Wilmington. Yet bookings at the hotel DuPont owns in the city's downtown had plunged more than 30% in 10 days. Lawyers handling litigation for companies had canceled their reservations when their clients decided to settle their disputes and stop incurring legal fees.
SPRINGING INTO ACTION
More telling was the rate at which production at many companies was slowing. DuPont paint covers more than 30% of all American automobiles, and the company generally manufactures the paint less than 48 hours before it is sprayed on new cars. To maintain such a short lead time, the automobile companies share their production schedules with DuPont. Suddenly there weren't any production schedules. The automakers didn't know what they were going to produce in the face of collapsing sales.
Clearly it was time to take action.
DuPont has long stressed the paramount importance of contingency planning. Its Corporate Crisis Management plan, if invoked, instantly brings together senior managers to appraise the cause of the crisis and put appropriate disaster control procedures in place. The plan is seldom activated. It was used in the wake of the September 11 attacks and in the aftermath of major hurricanes.
Holliday had to weigh whether the gathering financial storm was serious enough to warrant implementing the plan or whether declaring a crisis might frighten the company's 60,000 employees needlessly. As the evidence of a deepening economic downturn quickly mounted, he decided that activating Corporate Crisis Management was right.
Immediately, 17 standing teams met at DuPont headquarters. Over four days of meetings, it became clear that the nature of the crisis was strictly financial, and eight teams—those that dealt with such issues as security and plant safety—stood down. At the end of the four days, the remaining nine had determined what needed to be done to ensure DuPont's viability. It was time to let the troops around the world know what was going on.
Holliday enlisted the company's chief economist and the head of its pension fund, both of whom are highly regarded in the organization, to explain in nontechnical language the roots of the crisis and the way it was affecting DuPont. The pension fund manager also took time to develop some instructional material advising employees about investment options for their $18 billion in retirement funds.
Within 10 days of the crisis plan's creation, every employee in DuPont had a face-to-face meeting with a manager who explained what the company needed to accomplish. Employees were asked to identify three things they could do immediately to help conserve cash and reduce costs. Within a few days after the communications program was rolled out, the company conducted polling to see how well employees understood the nature of the crisis and to determine their psychological reaction. Were they scared, or were they energized and ready to confront the crisis? The company also wanted to see whether the rank and file were doing what they needed to be doing.
TOO CONFIDENT?
Overall, the employees seemed to get it. It helped that the news media were full of stories about the developing financial crisis. The actions aimed at conserving cash took hold quickly. Travel was curtailed sharply, internal meetings were canceled, and consultants and contractors were eliminated where possible.
Yet Holliday felt people still didn't grasp the urgency with which they needed to be acting. "In hindsight, maybe we were too good at giving them the reassurance and confidence that we could come through this," Holliday says. "We gave them so much confidence that they just weren't responding as fast as the slowdown demanded."
Together with his chief operating officer and chief financial officer, Holliday took the time to spend an hour and a half with each of the company's top 14 leaders. They were asked to explain what they were doing to cope with the crisis. They all brought long lists, and it seemed they were doing a lot. But the problem was how fast it was getting done. "They were talking about things that would be implemented by January or February, but they were things we needed implemented in October," Holliday says. So Holliday and his senior team assigned the executive vice-presidents sharply revised targets for cost, working capital, and other metrics for the rest of 2008 as well as the first quarter of 2009.
Even as immediate measures were being taken, DuPont had three top executives looking at longer-term actions the company needed to embrace. It would take a while to figure out which production facilities could be closed permanently or shut temporarily to reduce costs. So the fastest way to save the most cash was to cut back as much as possible on the more than 20,000 outside contractors the company was using. In most cases a contractor could be released with one week's notice and without any severance costs. Where possible, employees whose operations were slowing or would be closed were shifted into what was formerly contract work.
DuPont's initial reaction to the spreading crisis took place in less than six weeks. There will be much more to do, depending on how the global economy fares over the next year or two. And when the slowdown ends, Holliday predicts that inflationary trends will reassert themselves. But DuPont will be ready for resurgent inflation—and any other emergency—if and when it happens.
The lesson CEOs should draw from Holliday's experience: You must recognize reality. This is the single most important task confronting a CEO, and it is extremely difficult to do in this environment. Facing wrenching uncertainty, many become fearful. Others indulge in wishful thinking: "We'll soon be back to normal." Don't believe it. Though we don't know what the new world will look like, we can be certain it won't look the way it did before.
Over the weekend, I read many articles about managing your company for survival in a recession/depression. It was encouraging to see that many of the steps that we have taken over the past few months, are the ones major corporations are doing and the experts (if there is such a thing) are pushing. As everyone knows we made significant cuts in our workforce. This cut along with overhead reductions which include relocating the Philadelphia operations office to a small and cheaper office space, reducing travel, as well as many other items that were suggested by many of you. With those cuts, we are saving almost $2.0 million a year.
Focus on core profitable business- we do not own the nicest, highest end buildings in the markets. We are middle of the road affordable housing with a focus on the customer. We are Dunkin Donuts not Starbucks, McDonald's not Outback Steakhouse. People live in our buildings because they can't afford higher-end buildings but want amenities, they want to be treated like a resident, not a second class tenant. That is our core value. With all the cuts we have made, we are still focused on making the resident experience a good one.
One bright spot in a recession/depression market is the opportunity to make acquisitions. This company was born in the real estate recession of the early 90s. We purchased 400 buildings in a 5 year time span between 1995 - 2000. And that was with very little operational infrastructure. The opportunities available to us now are astounding. Many developers are over exposed and need to sell. Many banks are selling their debt for pennies on the dollar. And then our typical seller who has owned the property for years now realizes that it is going to be significant work to manage the property in these uncertain financial times. Or they can sell to us.
I feel that although the late 2008 cuts were difficult, they were necessary to put our company in a position to survive in '09 and expand our brand footprint.
Thanks for being with us and making this happen.
Nick
How to manage your business in a recession
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/07/magazines/fortune/colvin_managing.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2009010809
“Be greedy when people are fearful and fearful when people are greedy.” - Warren Buffet
Focus on core profitable business- we do not own the nicest, highest end buildings in the markets. We are middle of the road affordable housing with a focus on the customer. We are Dunkin Donuts not Starbucks, McDonald's not Outback Steakhouse. People live in our buildings because they can't afford higher-end buildings but want amenities, they want to be treated like a resident, not a second class tenant. That is our core value. With all the cuts we have made, we are still focused on making the resident experience a good one.
One bright spot in a recession/depression market is the opportunity to make acquisitions. This company was born in the real estate recession of the early 90s. We purchased 400 buildings in a 5 year time span between 1995 - 2000. And that was with very little operational infrastructure. The opportunities available to us now are astounding. Many developers are over exposed and need to sell. Many banks are selling their debt for pennies on the dollar. And then our typical seller who has owned the property for years now realizes that it is going to be significant work to manage the property in these uncertain financial times. Or they can sell to us.
I feel that although the late 2008 cuts were difficult, they were necessary to put our company in a position to survive in '09 and expand our brand footprint.
Thanks for being with us and making this happen.
Nick
How to manage your business in a recession
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/07/magazines/fortune/colvin_managing.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2009010809
“Be greedy when people are fearful and fearful when people are greedy.” - Warren Buffet
Monday, January 5, 2009
Signature Community Recovery and Reinvestment Plan
As the holiday season comes to an end, we are thankful for family and friends and all the blessings that make life worth living. But as we mark the beginning of a new year, we also know that our company faces great and growing challenges - challenges that threaten our industry and most importantly our dreams for the future.
We have eliminated over 20 positions this past year - and many others are working in jobs that pay less and come with fewer benefits. For many of our residents, this new year brings new unease and uncertainty as bills pile up, debts continue to mount and parents worry that their children won't have the same opportunities they had.
However we got here, the problems we face today are not just Signature Community problems they are America wide problems. The dreams of growing a great real estate brand know no boundaries.
These are industry wide problems, and we must come together to meet them with the urgency this moment demands. Economists from across the political spectrum agree that if President Elect Obama does not act swiftly and boldly, we could see a much deeper economic downturn that could lead to double digit unemployment and apartment occupancy rates slipping further and further downward.
That's why we need a Signature Community Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that not only creates opportunity in the short-term, but spurs growth and competitiveness in the long-term. And this plan must be designed in a new way - we can't just fall into the old real estate industry habit of throwing money at the problem. We must make strategic investments that will serve as a foundation on our long-term economic future.
We must demand vigorous oversight and strict accountability for achieving results. And we must restore fiscal responsibility and make the tough choices so that as the economy recovers, our portfolio value will increase. That is how we will achieve the number one goal of my plan - which is to buy 3,000 apartment units, more than 80 percent of them from distressed sellers and lenders.
To put people back to work today and reduce our dependence on credit lines tomorrow, we will double our cost cutting efforts renewable energy production and renovate public buildings to make them more energy efficient.
To build a 21st century company, we must engage in innovative projects across the nation to create opportunities rebuilding our most downtrodden assets, and expand our uniquely positioned brand.
To save not only jobs, but money and lives, we will update and computerize our maintenance response system to cut red tape, prevent mistakes, and help reduce costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
To make Signature Community, and our employees, a success in this new global economy, we will build a 21st century customer centric real estate business model.
I look forward to meeting with Senior Management next week to discuss this plan. I am optimistic that when we come together to seek solutions that advance not the interests of just our company, but also the aspirations of all residents, we will meet the challenges of our time, just as some of the great American Brands have met the challenges of theirs.
There is no reason we can't do this. We are a people of boundless industry and ingenuity. We are innovators and entrepreneurs and have the most dedicated and productive workers in the industry. And we have always triumphed in moments of trial by drawing on that great spirit of Making it Happen - that perseverance, determination and unyielding commitment to opportunity on which our company was founded.
In this new year, let us resolve to do so once more.
Thank you.
Nick
We have eliminated over 20 positions this past year - and many others are working in jobs that pay less and come with fewer benefits. For many of our residents, this new year brings new unease and uncertainty as bills pile up, debts continue to mount and parents worry that their children won't have the same opportunities they had.
However we got here, the problems we face today are not just Signature Community problems they are America wide problems. The dreams of growing a great real estate brand know no boundaries.
These are industry wide problems, and we must come together to meet them with the urgency this moment demands. Economists from across the political spectrum agree that if President Elect Obama does not act swiftly and boldly, we could see a much deeper economic downturn that could lead to double digit unemployment and apartment occupancy rates slipping further and further downward.
That's why we need a Signature Community Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that not only creates opportunity in the short-term, but spurs growth and competitiveness in the long-term. And this plan must be designed in a new way - we can't just fall into the old real estate industry habit of throwing money at the problem. We must make strategic investments that will serve as a foundation on our long-term economic future.
We must demand vigorous oversight and strict accountability for achieving results. And we must restore fiscal responsibility and make the tough choices so that as the economy recovers, our portfolio value will increase. That is how we will achieve the number one goal of my plan - which is to buy 3,000 apartment units, more than 80 percent of them from distressed sellers and lenders.
To put people back to work today and reduce our dependence on credit lines tomorrow, we will double our cost cutting efforts renewable energy production and renovate public buildings to make them more energy efficient.
To build a 21st century company, we must engage in innovative projects across the nation to create opportunities rebuilding our most downtrodden assets, and expand our uniquely positioned brand.
To save not only jobs, but money and lives, we will update and computerize our maintenance response system to cut red tape, prevent mistakes, and help reduce costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
To make Signature Community, and our employees, a success in this new global economy, we will build a 21st century customer centric real estate business model.
I look forward to meeting with Senior Management next week to discuss this plan. I am optimistic that when we come together to seek solutions that advance not the interests of just our company, but also the aspirations of all residents, we will meet the challenges of our time, just as some of the great American Brands have met the challenges of theirs.
There is no reason we can't do this. We are a people of boundless industry and ingenuity. We are innovators and entrepreneurs and have the most dedicated and productive workers in the industry. And we have always triumphed in moments of trial by drawing on that great spirit of Making it Happen - that perseverance, determination and unyielding commitment to opportunity on which our company was founded.
In this new year, let us resolve to do so once more.
Thank you.
Nick
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