A Remarkable Store of Knowledge
Early in my real estate career, a group of us would play a game with one of our Managing Directors by showing him photos of office buildings or hotels. Big city or small/mid-market – Indianapolis or Kansas City, for example – he often knew the property: current owner, original developer, size, and even major tenants and lender. He was the real estate version of an art history professor. And like any great professor, he didn’t just learn the facts. He sought deep understanding. It wasn’t about getting a degree. It was about being the consummate real estate professional. It was about readiness to create value when the opportunity arose.
Do You Have Your Own Story Like This One?
We were at an impasse. The property was cash-flowing, but the borrower knew he could cost us time and money by simply resisting. We didn’t want the property—we just wanted a performing loan and were willing to reduce the balance to get there. Still, he stalled, objecting vaguely to the new terms but refusing to specify why.
That same boss—the one who knew every building—took a different approach. He read the loan agreement aloud, line by line. “Any objection to this sentence?” he asked. Silence. Then the next sentence. And the next. It became clear: the leverage had shifted. Now the borrower was losing time and money. And we were doing it in a way that would hold up in court.
The point isn’t the tactic—it’s that he likely learned it from someone else, years earlier. He had the insight and wisdom to apply it in a new context.
When Knowledge Leads Us Astray
But experience can also mislead. I’ve passed on deals and missed great opportunities — thinking a cap rate was too low, or a hotel rehab too costly. I let past observations blind me to present potential. My knowledge of history obscured the reality of the present. I was weighed down by my own learning and lacked a vision beyond what I already knew. To truly succeed – to be more than simply a caretaker of the status quo – leaders must stay rooted in the industry while open to what others don’t yet see.
