The PeopleZone

Nov 12 2009 9:17AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rodney Hall

This is the first time I’ve used this blog platform for topics unrelated to the housing industry or human resources, so please bear with me.   Last night I attended a presentation at the American Fallen Soldiers project.  Started in 2007 by artist Phil Taylor, the project aims to provide every family of a fallen soldier with a framed original portrait of their fallen loved one that fully captures their appearance and personality.  There is simply no way I can do justice to explaining it in this space so I encourage you to visit the project's website. The testimonials from the families receiving portraits will give you a sense of the impact it's had on their lives.  Phil receives no payment for his work, contributing up to 80 hours of his time on each portrait.  However, the project incurs other expenses such as professionally printed copies on canvas...Read More

Nov 8 2009 9:12PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rodney Hall

Just returned from the ULI Fall meeting in San Francisco.  The event was well attended by approximately 6000 real estate professionals.  Speakers included a wide range of experts such as Ivy Zelman (a leading research consultant on homebuilding), Ron Terwilliger (retiring Chairman of Trammell Crow Residential) and Bill Emmott (Editor in Chief at The Economist).  If I had to summarize what I heard in two words it would be “jobs creation” as the key to a sustainable recovery.  Here are the quick takeaways:

The Economy

• Non-performing loans continue to rise, trailed by a similar amount of loans “at risk” due to slow/no payment.
• Inflation will rise from 1% to as high as 3-5% in the next five years.
• Of the thousands of ULI professionals surveyed during the F

...Read More

Sep 21 2009 12:58PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rodney Hall

My partners and I continue to field some form of the question “Do you see things picking up?”  If only the answer were as simple as “yes” and “no”.  Here’s some random observations of what we’re seeing and hearing:

Yes... there has been an uptick in activity and to some degree hiring.  Is it an indicator that our industry is heading into recovery?  Honestly, it is too soon to tell.  Let’s face it:  the market went into panic mode a little over a year ago.   Since then, there has been little activity of any kind.  Call it a market paralysis.  Wait long enough and sooner or later someone will have a hiring need or want to invest in something.  That is what I think we’re experiencing now... an uptick spurred by pent-up demand and special programs rather than si...Read More

Jul 23 2009 9:51AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rodney Hall

No doubt most employees are happy (if not thrilled) to have jobs these days, especially in our industry.  Long gone are the halcion days of huge bonuses based on stratospheric profit participations... but no one seems to be complaining too much about the loss of incentive income.  Now that profits are flatlining in most markets, should companies adjust their incentive programs or stay the course?  And, to what degree do incentives (cash or otherwise) drive employee performance in the first place?  Before you try to answer these questions, check out out "Why Incentives Are Effective, Irresistible & Certain to Backfire", from the January issue of Fast Company.  Another one worth checking out is "Punished By Rewards" by Alfie Kohn.  

Jul 13 2009 2:44PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rodney Hall

Within the last week I received calls from two seasoned home building professionals who are experts at what they do.  The first was a former VP of Customer Care for a home builder known for having outstanding customer satisfaction.  The other was a former President & CEO from an award winning green builder.  These guys share two things in common:  they are both leaders in their field and unfortunately, unemployed. 

As a means to an end, both gentleman plan on consulting until permanent opportunities appear again, which could be awhile.  Rather than just hang a shingle out as a "consultant for hire", I suggested each package a turnkey program they could offer to builders.  The entire program might last only 3-5 days and be highly affordable.  Quick, fast & effective.  Sort of like a Navy SEAL for BuilderOps.&n...Read More

Jun 30 2009 10:26AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rodney Hall

I've noticed the growing popularity of capturing recommendations from former supervisors and peers, especially to display on LinkedIn.  Virtually all come across more as a tribute than a professional recommendation, going on and one about what a great person the subject is... how he/she is a superb leader, strategic thinker, self starter, team oriented... blah, blah, blah. 

Two problems with this:  First, what are the odds someone is going to post or advertise anything less than a stellar reference on themself... which makes the recommendation somewhat suspect in the first place.  Second, the recommendations tend to be way too generic, lacking substance and speficity.  How many times do you need people to say you "are a great person"? 

Try this and see if it doesn't lend greater credibility to your recommendations.&...Read More

Jun 24 2009 2:01PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rodney Hall

I read a newspaper article this weekend which included a statement by Phil Rosenzwieg, the author of "The Halo Effect".  Skipping to the point of this blog, Rosenzweig stated a host of psychological studies have shown the extent to which arbitrarily telling a person they have either excelled or failed at a task shapes their memory of the task:  people told they succeeded are far more likely to remember their team as tightknit and their team leader as competent and inspiring. Those told they failed remember team squabbling and ineffectual leadership.

"Shapes their memory" jumped off the page at me.  I wondered how often homeowners have one negative customer service experience with their builder and forever rate his overall product quality as below average?  Or as managers and leaders, one off-handed comment to an e...Read More

Jun 16 2009 9:45PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rodney Hall

The depth of unemployment in our industry keeps my partners and I busy, particularly where emails are concerned.  It is not a stretch to say that a typical day brings over 100-200 incoming emails for each of us, the majority from job seekers.  The balance ranges from industry news feeds and emails from friends to cures for undeclared health problems or great deals on replica watches.  Then of course there are the ones which start with "Fw: ....", meaning a friend has discovered a joke or political commentary which they feel should be shared with at least fifty friends... or, ten close friends who will be blessed if they also forward the email to 10 of their close friends.

Several years back I decided to take control of the situation and asked an acquintance who was prone to forwarding such emails to take me of his recipient list for stuff like t...Read More

Jun 12 2009 5:06PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

By Rodney Hall

As with most builders in the central valley of California these days, Todd Bender has more questions than answers.  As President of Summerton Homes in Merced, the question at the forefront of his mind is “What’s next?”... for both his company and our industry.  After several years as a successful production builder, he’s trimmed down to a skeleton crew of longtime employees.  The only thing he has in abundance these days is extra office space in the shiny new digs he built several years ago.  He misses the dynamic interaction and ideas generated from an office full of people. 

...Read More

May 12 2009 9:52AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rodney Hall

Received this earlier today from a young man who is looking for an opportunity in our industry.  I suspect his circumstances will be shared by many more young MBA grad's as they hit the job market. 

Mr. Hall:   I'm a graduating MBA student who has focused my coursework on real estate development/finance.  My goal is to obtain a position in real estate development or investment.  Unfortunately, right now is a tough time to be looking for these types of opportunities, but I remain committed to the industry I love.  How should I pursue opportunities in this market?   Best, John Doe.  M.B.A. Candidate 2009

My reply to John follows; perhaps it is worth passing along to some of the other young talent trying to enter (or remain in) our industry. 
...Read More

May 7 2009 8:53AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rodney Hall

At a recent ULI meeting I had the pleasure of facilitating a roundtable discussion on "Leadership in Tough Times".  A series of questions were posed to the participants; the blended responses appear below.  Suffice to say, the core message for leading in times like these is "communication". 

What are the top attributes of a leader?   The top answers, in order of votes: 

1. The ability to influence or inspire others
2. Communication
3. (Tie between) Decisiveness or Strategic Awareness/Vision. 

What specific actions have you taken lately to lead your team to success (or survival)? 

• I've increased the frequency of communication with team members.  Make it a point to share news as it h

...Read More

Apr 25 2009 3:14PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rodney Hall

Just returned from the Spring ULI meeting in Atlanta.  It reminds me again how two heads (better yet, 50) are better than one.  I learned much and heard some great ideas.  Here are some of the takeaways:

Light at the end of the tunnel.  We should be headed out of this recession by July 2010.  However, it will take four years for the banks to fully recover and they are a key piece of the puzzle. 

More on banks:  There were over 1000 bank failures during the mid ‘80s recession.  To date, there have only been 54 bank failures in what is considered the worst recession since the Depression.  Reasons:  the U.S. government has stepped in to stem as many failures as possible, in part because of the difficulty of unraveling some of the loan portfolios held by these banks.&nbs...Read More

Apr 9 2009 1:08PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rodney Hall

Thank you, Tim Eller and Richard Dugas.  The announcement of your companies' forthcoming marriage has been a pleasant distraction for many of us.   We finally have something else to talk about besides Obamanomics, stimulus strategies and market-bottom theories.  Lots of talk out there on whether or not this deal makes sense but one thing is certain:  you've given us something new to talk about for weeks to come. Thanks!

Mar 31 2009 1:37PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rodney Hall

Several years ago I interviewed a Director of Sales candidate for one of our builder clients.   At the time, everyone in our industry had been riding the wave of success but it was becoming clear to all that the wave had crested.  Backlogs began to disappear and traffic slowed to a crawl in model parks everywhere. 

This candidate’s resume was similar to most of his peers of that time, with a long list of accomplishments (like 20% year-over-year sales growth, record revenues and profitability).  Let’s face it... everyone looked like a hero two years ago.  As they say, strong sales cover a host of sins. 

I asked if he could point to a specific action or idea that resulted in sales which might otherwise have never been achieved by virtue of market momentum.  His answer, “a Private Sale Program,&rdquo...Read More

Mar 10 2009 1:38PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (3) |

By Rodney Hall

Received this the other day from J Mason, COO of Antares Homes in Arlington.  Thought it worth passing along in this forum: 

When I interview a person who is considering entering our industry, I make it a point to share some of the hard realities of our business.  I've come to believe that this is an environment you really have to want to be in, for reasons that go deeper than economics, the nature of the business or "because I like to work outside".  My spiel with candidates goes something like this:

Back in the ‘70’s, my college biology professor asserted that “humans are the most territorial mammals on earth.”  He said all mammals fight for turf but usually at some point, one gives up and slinks away.” Humans, on the other hand, are willing to wage war over it.  Tough to argu...Read More