Doing the math on Obama's 100 days

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama marks his hundredth day in office on Wednesday, but it's hardly the only digit that matters to the new administration.

Here are some highlights of Obama's first 100 days, by the numbers:

$3.6 trillion — Total spending in Obama's proposed federal budget for 2010.

$1.75 trillion — Total projected deficit in Obama's proposed federal budget for 2010.

$787 billion — Cost of tax cuts and new spending in economic stimulus package approved by Congress.

$558.4 billion — Increase in the public debt, from Jan. 20 through April 24.

$235 billion — Tax dollars spent to bail out failing financial institutions, Jan. 20-April 20.

2.055 million — Number of jobs lost, January-March.

908,666 — Housing foreclosures, Jan. 20-April 24.

8016.95 — Dow Jones Industrial Average close on April 27.

7949.09 — Dow Jones Industrial Average close on Obama's Inauguration Day.

106 — U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan since Jan. 20.

49 — U.S. military deaths in Iraq since Jan. 20.

27 — Bank failures.

15 — Bills signed into law.

11 — States visited.

9 — Foreign countries visited.

4 — Visits to Camp David.

3 — Commerce secretaries nominated.

2 — Formal news conferences.

2 — Republicans in the Cabinet

1 — Visits to Hyde Park home in Chicago

1 — Commerce secretaries confirmed by the Senate.

1 — Number of college basketball teams picked by Obama that made it to the Final Four.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

100 Days and Still Fighting Our Way Through

100 Day Update.

100 days ago I put the following challenges out to our teams.

Occupancy - 97%
$50M in new acquisitions.
$45M in financing.
Close Wilshire
Stabilize all 07-08 deals.

And on top of that deal with all our daily icebergs.

So the update -

Occupancy - 93.25%. Great job in this economy. Let's keep pushing to hit 97%. We can do it.

Acquisitions - none - we have a lot in the pipeline but are still waiting for the sellers (lenders) to get realistic on price. We will wait to get the right deals.

Financing - zero - ties into above.

Close Wilshire - still negotiating for the right price and terms.

Stabilize all 07-08 deals - Waldo and Schuyler are holding us up on this goal.

Its been a tough 100 days for us as well as the rest of the world.
We obviously missed our goals but we have made great progress in what seems like a 100 mph head wind.

What we do have after 100 days is direction. We have goals and people are working towards them on a daily basis. Second, we have an understanding that our Icebergs, while solvable, have taken time to turn around. I look forward to removing the Icebergs from our list.

Let's Make It Happen!
Nick

Time to Lease

Spring time is upon us and our biggest opportunities to turnaround our early '09 results. Some markets have seen occupancy and rental decline others surprisingly have seen increases. But Spring time is a real opportunity to shine.

Since more than 50% of our leases expire in the summer months our spring leasing season is of great importance. Our business is like farming if we put in a strong effort in the Spring the Fall harvest will be fruitful. From past history we know that when we lease apartments in the Spring or early Summer we get better residents, higher rents, fewer vacancies and ultimately more profits.

In tough economic times like these a strong lease up season is what many of our assets need to turn the corner.

In preparation of the season I will be touring all markets over the next month or two and meeting with all managers to make sure we have what we need in place to make this our most successful leasing season ever. From the teamwork and early results I have witnessed recently I know that we will be making it happen.

If you feel that anything is holding up your leasing efforts and have a solution you would like to share with us please share it with me directly at jekogian@nwjcompanies.com or as a comment this blog.

I look forward to having a very active and successful leasing season. I am confident that by this time in July I will be able to report that our company hit its goal of 97% occupancy.

Thanks for making it happen.
Nick

GO TO HIGHER GROUND

Seeing things from a "distance". A few days away from the office is a great opportunity to see the company and the opportunities from a 25,000 ft level instead of the day to day grind. It is important for everyone to take a moment every few days and "go to higher ground", step back and see the problems from an elevated level so that you can more clearly come up with solutions to the problems at hand. It doesn't matter if you are one of our maintenance technicians that may be having a problem figuring out a solution to a plumbing problem or in our accounting group trying to reconcile an account, or CEO trying to negotiate with lenders, investors, sellers and buyers all at the same time.

We are living in very turbulent economic times and there is a lot of stress in the air. It takes a moment of rest and relaxation to get focused on the big picture.

A very useful method, that I use regularly, to focus my energy is to take out an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper at the end of the day and draw about 7 - 10 circles on it. In those circles I write the most important issues I am dealing with. My circles - Investors, Lenders, Waldo, Rebecca (my younger daughter), Levelland, Houston, SCM expansion, leasing season. I then put the paper on the floor and look at it for a few minutes from a higher level. I then think for a few minutes about what I will accomplish tomorrow for each of these projects. On the train ride home I continue to go through my mind the big picture of what the issues are and what I plan to accomplish tomorrow. When the following day comes I am prepared for the challenge of these issues and the others that will surely arise.

Try this simple "Go to Higher Ground" technique.
Please share your results with me.

Lets keep moving to higher ground.

Thanks for Making it Happen.
Nick