Category Archives: Career

Exactly

Career, Life

There is a commercial where a grandfather is going to take his granddaughter for a ride in his old classic Bronco. The granddaughter looks inside and says, “grandpa, there is no touchscreen, navigation, Bluetooth or satellite radio.” He says “exactly.” What the grandpa means is when you drive an old classic, you unplug and are not distracted by all the technology we have in today’s newer cars. Not long ago I was on a trip and stopped for a cup of Starbucks. When I got back on the road I had phone call and an email I needed to answer.  Before I realized it, I was holding the steering wheel with my knee, talking on the phone via Bluetooth, answering an email and,,,,,,, drinking the Starbucks!! I had to laugh at myself just a little because I thought, somebody needs to be driving! Ha

I was thinking about this the other day and went back through my memory of hotels I have sold in the past and realized that before cell phones, email, texts, tweets, Instagram and Facebook, I sold as many hotels then, as now.  Back in the early days when I got in the car, I listened to radio and looked out the windows. No phone, no emails, nothing except being in that moment. What a novel idea. KT

Young and old investors

Career

Several weeks I returned from one of the largest hotel investors conferences of the year. It is held the last week of every January in Los Angeles and generally has around 4,000 hotel professionals in attendance.

 

I saw a bunch of people I have worked with in the past and realized we all look older than we probably think we do. Ha. There were older folks (like me,) some middle age investors but this year there was a plethora of guys in their mid to late 20’s. I enjoy watching people anywhere I go, but none was as enjoyable as watching these young investors. They made me chuckle. They all looked the same. Tight suit with pants that come up around the ankle, gelled hair, fake tan, white teeth and the walk and facial expression of someone who is constipated. I guess they thought it made them look serious.

 

We met with some of these young bucks and all of them had big titles and bid ideas. While I was not trying to make anyone uncomfortable, I did need to drill down to the core issue. So, I would ask them if they currently had the money? I learned many years ago that in our line of work, if a buyer won’t show you the money, they don’t have the money. Pretty simple, right? Additionally, properly funded investors never have an issue with providing proof of funds. When I ask that question, they would squirm and try to get comfortable before answering that question. You have probably heard the term, smoke and mirrors? That is what most of it was. Just a bunch of talking but very little actionable ability.

 

Then I met this one young chap who started the conversation saying that he couldn’t purchase a hotel now but hoped to be in position to within the next year. I loved that guy for his honesty and would welcome helping him in any way I could.

 

There are two schools of thought, (1) fake it till you make it, and (2) always be real. I find that people respond to real honesty much quicker than to fake bluster. So, the message I suppose is to be real, be honest and be who you are. These personal qualities will take you far in this life. KT

Mountains and valleys

Career, Life

When I think of the mountains and valleys in our lives, I believe you cannot go from mountain top to mountain top without going through a valley every now and then.

I think when you are on the mountain top, how you act somehow determines the length of the valley ahead of you. If you act arrogant, elitist, and like you are better than your fellow man, I think the valley may be a little longer walk than if you had acted with humility. You can go from everything to nothing quick and the last recession proved that point very well. The ones who survived were the conservative ones who didn’t over leverage their business and stayed within their means. The ones who lost everything were the highly leveraged ones who never thought a downturn could ever happen.

Humility is a very real and very present choice in all our lives. You will not always be on top, and the deciding factor is usually how you handle yourself when you are. KT

Fortune 500 companies in 1955

Career, Family, Life

The Fortune 500 is an annual list published by Fortune Magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Corporations by total revenue. Its first year was 1955. The average revenue for a fortune 500 company for 2017 was around $5.4 billion. Included in this list are both publicly traded companies and private companies. Since 1955 the 500 companies listed annually are simply the best of the best in the United States.

Why do I bring this up? Of late, I have been consumed in understanding what makes some companies stand the test of time while others fail. I recently ask some family members, what would they have done differently if they were the CEO of Sears 20 years ago? Interesting question. Knowing what you know today, it’s always easy to look back and see where the companies missed it. To make changes when you are in the middle of it, is another thing entirely. That said, some companies can adjust and adapt to changes where most companies can’t.

Did you know that of the fortune 500 companies listed in 1955, that only 60 are still around today? That means in 1955 that 440 of the 500 best companies in America have either failed, sold, closed or merged. That means that over time, roughly 8 out of every 10 major companies, fail. Isn’t that astounding?

I was with my pastor a few days ago talking about this very subject and why some business and some churches make it and some fail. What we discussed was profound. In most of life whether it is financial, marriage, job, exercise, diet, church, relationship, career etc. there seems to always be one main thing that you need to always do and focus on to last through the test of time. One thing that is more important than all the other things. You are the only person that can determine what that one thing is. In our line of work, our one thing is meeting new clients this week that you didn’t know last week. Among all the things we must do, that is the one thing we can never forget to focus on.

So large companies are not immune to this line of thinking. American Motors, Brown Shoe company, Studebaker, Collins Radio, Detroit Steel, Zenith Electronics etc. all have one thing in common. In 1955 they were among the best of the best and today, they do not exist. I often wonder what their one thing was that they got too busy to do. KT

Running the traps

Career, Life

The term, running the traps, is an old saying from back in the 1800’s when hunters and fishermen would set traps for what they wanted to catch. They would “run the traps” meaning they would vigilantly go several times a day to see if they caught anything.

The reason I refer to this is because in business, life, hunting, relationships, religion etc., there are things you can and should do and then there are things you must do if you want to stay in the game. Setting the traps and then never going back to check on them is not a wise way to run your business or your life. Today, in a manner of speaking, that is exactly what many people do. They start something and then lose interest and go on to the next thing. I have term I use called, the lynch pin, meaning it is the most important part. For example, a trailer hitch is held in place by a two-dollar lynch pin. It doesn’t matter how expensive the truck is or how expensive the boat or RV or is. What holds it together is the two-dollar lynch pin.

In our lives there are lynch pins in everything you do. If you are married, telling your spouse you love them is like a lynch pin. Simple, inexpensive, yet very powerful. I heard a guy say one time, if you have trouble remembering your anniversary, just forget it once and you won’t have that problem again. ha

Running the traps can many times be mundane and boring. Many times, people think, well, I will just skip that part. In our business, the lynch pin is talking with and meeting with new clients. If we stop doing that, we might as well roll up the door mat and go on home. Emails, texts, tweets, websites are all good things but the personal phone call or face to face meeting is like the lynch pin on the trailer hitch. It is the most important part.

So, in life, relationships, business, religion, sales etc., find the most basic and most important aspect and always remember to at least do that one thing. If you run the traps, meaning, stay vigilant on the most important parts, you will find more success, balance and meaning to your life. KT