I had coffee this morning with an engineer who is going back to business school in order to segue into real estate development. This is a fairly typical journey. Lots of people come into development from a related discipline. In my case, it was architecture… Read More
One perfectly sound approach is to just be the cheapest. This often entails lower margins, but hopefully higher volumes. However, the problem with this approach is that it can become a race to the bottom. At some point, somebody will find a new corner to… Read More
One simple definition of risk is that it’s the “possibility of loss or injury.” And that’s generally how most of us think about it — it’s a bad thing that needs to be managed, minimized, and sometimes avoided all together. While true, this recent memo… Read More
Now that some of the dust has settled around Apple Vision Pro, it is clear that nobody really knows if it is going to work. (Though, it’s too expensive and it’s too heavy are missing the bigger picture.) It sounds like it delivered what it… Read More
I admire Warren Buffet’s humility: In the physical world, great buildings are linked to their architect while those who had poured the concrete or installed the windows are soon forgotten. Berkshire has become a great company. Though I have long been in charge of the… Read More
A friend of mine sent me this X post today. It covers two important life questions: (1) How do you define success? (2) Are your actions aligned with that definition? And included in the post is the author’s “ideal end state”, which is a list… Read More
Last week we spoke about how many businesses don’t want to own their own real estate, but that some do. We then spoke about Prada’s recent acquisition of 720 and 724 Fifth Avenue for $835 million. However, they’re not the only ones. According to New… Read More
Yesterday we looked in the rear-view mirror. Today we’re looking forward: And there you have it. My current thoughts for this upcoming year. I should note that I’m not an economist, analyst, or an expert on souvlaki demand for that matter. But I enjoy writing… Read More
As per tradition around here, I like to bookend the new year with two posts: a post that revisits my random predictions for the year and a post that talks about what might happen in the year to follow. Today’s post is the former. So let’s… Read More
Here is an interesting way of looking at risk (via Seth Godin): If you’re trying to reduce risk, do the hard part first. That way, if it fails, you’ll have minimized your time and effort. On the other hand, if you’re looking for buy-in and… Read More
BRANDON DONNELLY 