Schwarzkopf: "Leaders Lead People!"

What Do Leaders Do? ... "Leaders lead people!" That's the crystal clear message that General Schwarzkopf delivered to NACORE's Symposium last week in Nashville. Welcomed with a dazzling laser show, deafening music and thunderous applause, Schwarzkopf delivered a powerful presentation on "Leadership in Difficult Times." Wow, you could just feel the audience enjoying themselves as they mentally tossed aside their bureaucratic headaches and focused on their common corporate goals.

Packed with amusing anecdotes about his career and sharp observations of our post 9/11 world, Schwarzkopf's talk emphasized two "secrets" of leadership: Rule #13, "When placed in command, take charge." And Rule #14, "Do the right thing." Indeed, everybody within an organization could be a leader. Each individual is equally important to accomplishing a mission. Using Desert Storm as his example, "Not just the pilot, not just the mechanics, not just the airplane manufacturer, not just the teachers of the workers, etc." All are vital to success.

So as corporate real estate professionals return to their workplaces and confront the mundane problems of day-to-day business, my guess is that they will seek to incorporate many of Schwarzkopf's thoughts into their planning. Like, "Leaders inspire others to do things that they would not ordinarily do." And "It's not money or power; leadership is its own reward." ... Good luck to all Dispatch subscribers in pursuing your leadership dreams!

PikeNet Forum... And speaking about leadership and the future, don't forget to mark your calendar for the PikeNet Forum in New York City, May 8-9, 2002. Titled "Reality Check: How Market Leaders Choose Winning Technology Strategies," next year's Forum will focus on brick-and-mortar real estate players (is that redundant?) successfully adopting programs to increase revenues.

--Peter Pike