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