Strategy for Real Estate Companies

Strategic planning and real estate companies are not word pairings we are used to hearing. Charlie Hewlett is changing that mindset. He is the managing director at RCLCO, a company based in the Washington, D.C., metro area. He co-authored Strategy for Real Estate Companies. Our topics include the definition of a real estate company, a short definition of strategic planning, what strategic planning is not, SWOT, POVs, plan lengths, and who should work on the strategy process.

Episode Highlights

• Would the typical MBA grad pair strategic planning with RE firms?
• Who this book is for – includes family owners with RE holdings as a secondary business
• The definition of a RE company
• Charlie’s favorite and straightforward definition of strategic planning
• Not just SWOT, but POV, too
• The length of the strategic plan, “It depends.”
• The emotions of SWOT
• Risk and analysis – don’t forget this step
• Key people to participate in the planning process

Selected Quotes

Strategic planning is an intellectual-sounding name for a deceptively simple process: determining where a business is going and how it plans to get there.

Hewlett, Charlie; Ducker, Adam; Klasson, Ellen; Ostler, Adam; Willett, Eric. Strategy for Real Estate Companies: The Nine Essential Pillars of Success for Developers, Builders, and Investors (p. 38). Kindle Edition.

It is important to demystify strategic planning—it is not a black box or a magic bullet.

Hewlett, Charlie; Ducker, Adam; Klasson, Ellen; Ostler, Adam; Willett, Eric. Strategy for Real Estate Companies: The Nine Essential Pillars of Success for Developers, Builders, and Investors (p. 38). Kindle Edition.

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of strategic planning is forging a consensus among top managers as to the vision and future direction of the company.

Hewlett, Charlie; Ducker, Adam; Klasson, Ellen; Ostler, Adam; Willett, Eric. Strategy for Real Estate Companies: The Nine Essential Pillars of Success for Developers, Builders, and Investors (p. 59). Kindle Edition.

Forensic Financial Analysis and Quality/Durability of Cash Flows – This is critical to gain an understanding of where company is really making money (and where it is not) and determine how sensitive its revenue sources are to possible changing economic, real estate, or capital market conditions.

Hewlett, Charlie; Ducker, Adam; Klasson, Ellen; Ostler, Adam; Willett, Eric. Strategy for Real Estate Companies: The Nine Essential Pillars of Success for Developers, Builders, and Investors (p. 65). Kindle Edition.

Episode Pairings