The CR|D Newsletter 1.12

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Tips-to-reduce-real-estate-expenses-today---CR-D-s-Newsletter.html?soid=1102067250320&aid=AugLgTnw1H0

Five Assumptions that Kill High Performance

Trouble Is Brewing for Office Market

Interesting article in the Wall Street journal underscores the importance for tenants today to not only find the best deal but find the best deal that a landlord can afford to do.

Illinois leads with the most moves out of state

History of World's Tallest Building

History of World's Tallest Building

(from Emporis.com) Here you see an overview of the tallest building in the world since the start of the 20th century. TV towers, masts, and other building types are not included.

Time                     Name                                  City                          Floors     Height

2007 - present   Burj Khalifa                        Dubai                       163         828 m

2004 - 2007        Taipei 101                         Taipei                       101         509 m

1998 - 2004        Petronas Towers              Kuala Lumpur        88           452 m

1974 - 1998        Willis Tower                      Chicago                  108          442 m

1972 - 1974        World Trade Center         New York City        110         417 m

1931 - 1972        Empire State Building     New York City        102         381 m

1930 - 1931        Chrysler Building              New York City        77           319 m

1930 - 1930        The Trump Building         New York City        70           283 m

1913 - 1930        Woolworth Building           New York City       57           241 m

1909 - 1913        Metropolitan Life Tower   New York City        50           213 m

1908 - 1909        Singer Building                 New York City        47           187 m

1901 - 1908        Philadelphia City Hall      Philadelphia          9              167 m

Given a Chance To Be Lone Guns, Most Workers Still Choose the Posse - CoStar Group

Given a Chance To Be Lone Guns, Most Workers Still Choose the Posse - CoStar Group

Will Mobile Wallets Kill Bank Branches?

5 Signs Your Company's Got a 'Penn State' Problem

Another Useful Google Tool

Monitor the Web for interesting new content

Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.

Enter the topic you wish to monitor, then click preview to see the type of results you'll receive. Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:

• monitoring a developing news story
• keeping current on a competitor or industry
• getting the latest on a celebrity or event
• keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams

Talk about pressure at work - think about replacing Steve Jobs

When Steve Jobs announced his resignation as Apple’s CEO, the markets gasped.  Who could possible replace such an industry and international giant, such as Jobs?  The position has been appointed to Tim Cook, and by reviewing the attached link, it is reasonable to assume Apple will remain a market leader.  Take 3 minutes to review the related story, and apply some of these principles to your work effort this week.  Apple's New CEO

Goal Setting vs. Going through the motions

Here's an article from my cycling training gym.  It is about fitness but applies to almost anything you want to accomplish.

Chicago Commercial Real Estate Asking Price Trends

Chicago Commercial Real Estate Sales Up

Sales of Chicago-area commercial properties totaled nearly $5.1 billion last year, a 164% gain from 2009, according to Real Capital Analytics Inc., a New York-based research firm.

See the Crain's article by clicking above

Are Rule Makers Backing Off New Accounting Standards For Leases?

New FASB rules could have dramatic effects on company balance sheets.  Two international accounting authorities appear to be moving to scale down proposed new standards that would require landlords and tenants to account for real estate and equipment leases as assets or liabilities on their balance sheets. Many in the commercial real estate industry regard the new rules as onerous, dramatically increasing the complexity of leases for both landlords and tenants.   Click the title above for the article.

Chicago By The Numbers

World Business Chicago tracks indicators from month to month to gauge the strength of several aspects of Chicago’s regional economy, including employment in major sectors, residential and office real estate data, price and purchasing indexes, rail carloads, and auto and truck sales.  Key trends evident in this month’s (Dec 2010) “By The Numbers” include:

• The regional preliminary unemployment rate dropped to 8.7% in December 2010 before seasonal adjustment, nearly two full percentage points below the December 2009 rate of 10.6%.

• The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index (“Chicago Business Barometer”), a monthly index tracking manufacturing activity based on surveys of purchasing managers, increased in December 2010 to a value of 66.8; this is nearly 8 points higher than the December 2009 and is nearly 5 points higher than the November 2010 value.

• The Chicago Midwest Manufacturing Index, a monthly index tracking manufacturing activity, also rose in December 2010 to 81.5 (from 75.2 in December 2009).

• The December 2010 Architecture Billings Index (ABI) was 54.2, indicating an increase in demand for design services, which can be a positive prediction of future construction activity.

How to get a great deal on your office lease

Now is a great time to dust off your lease and review the possibilities. Here are a few suggestions:


Start Now. There has never been a better time to be a tenant in the market. Even if you have several years left on your lease, some landlords are willing to negotiate better current terms in exchange for a longer commitment, better known as the blend and extend strategy.

Determine your space utilization for as long as practical. The longer you can lock in today's rates, the more money you'll save over the term.

Love a particular building? Find out the landlord's current financial status - they may not be able to finance your deal especially if the space requires significant work.

Government incentives? Incentives from state and local governments may be available to subsidize your deal costs (i.e. TIF funds), especially if you are considering relocating. Explore the opportunities.

Hire a broker. You will get a better deal working with a broker that is familiar with the current market and concessions. The best part is that you usually don't even pay for it (the landlord does). One of the few no brainers left in business.

Call us - we are happy to review your lease and provide some insights.

See the Recent Bisnow Article Featuring our recent transactions

Apple fan or no, good business tip

Whether you're an Apple fan or not, you have to pay attention to what Steve Jobs has done for Apple.  He's tripled Apple's annual sales and increased Apple's stock 1,300 percent.  What most people might not remember is that Jobs was actually pushed out of Apple by a CEO hired by his partner. After his departure, the company lost focus and got into several different markets and teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. However, a string of events brought Steve back to the company. Jobs eliminated every product that wasn't profitable and let go of millions of dollars invested into products, which were not fully developed.  You have to give up certain opportunities in your business, to build a stronger, more profitable business.  Job's once said "Focus means saying no."   Instead of taking on Dell with the cheapest possible computer, Apple would make first-class products to make enough profit to keep developing more first-class products.  (Original Post by Rob Minton http://www.renegademillionaireblog.com/)

See the Crain's Article on our recent transaction

Loyola buys building from nunsBy: Colleen Lobner January 20, 2011

(Crain’s) — Loyola University Chicago is expanding its lakefront campus, paying $9.

5 million for an 11-story building on Sheridan Road that used to be a dormitory for the former Mundelein College....

Morning Momentum

How a well-timed workout can help you get fit and fight cancer.
Looking for new ways to reach your fitness goals in 2011? Shifting your workout to the morning hours will increase your chances of success, experts say.  “You get your workout in before other distractions can intrude,” explains Cedric Bryant, PhD, chief exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise. “Once the day gets going, it’s hard to get off the treadmill called life.”

Sleep better – and reach your best weight
Morning exercisers sleep better, a benefit that also helps with weight loss. In a study of women aged 50 to 75, those who exercised in the morning slept better than those who worked out less. Evening exercisers had more trouble falling asleep, even when they were just as active as the morning group. Good sleep regulates the hormonal balance that governs appetite, study authors note. A brisk morning workout also helps rev your metabolism and inspires you to make better food choices throughout the day, lending even more support for your fitness goals.

Did You Know?  Research shows that regular exercise helps reduce cancer risks. In fact, half of all cancers can be prevented by staying trim, eating wisely, working out often and avoiding tobacco.
Find tips and tools for prevention at cancer.org/healthy.

See the Info Junkie on me in Business Of Life | Crain's Chicago Business

Info Junkie: David Ariola of CR Daccord on Google Earth, Garmin Connect and ‘Shogun’ Business Of Life Crain's Chicago Business

Cross Training: Bikram Yoga

I've tried many fitnes related activities over the years and still worlout in some form about 5 days a week. Weightlifting, marathon ('99), triathlon (Sprint and Olympic distances), skiing, swimming, cycling, climbing.... Looking back and to the future, if I could only do one activity it would be Bikram Yoga and I'd recommend it to everyone. There are official Bikram studios all over the world. Every class, everywhere is identical: 26 poses, 90 minutes in a room heated to 105 degrees. When I first heard this, I was skeptical. I hated yoga and I hate the heat. My wife and I took our first class together. It was very hard and we were not impressed. We stuck it out though and after the first few weeks we noticed great results and felt better. We've both been practicing ever since. Try it for a month. You'll feel better, get stronger and more flexible.

Tracking the Progress

My wife bought me a Garmin GPS unit that i use when I train. It is designed for triatheltes but since I gave that up, I just use it on the bike. It has the ability to upload every detail of every workout on line. You can even play back the workout to see your heartrate, speed, cadence and elevation during the workout. Of course the question is - what do you do with that info? Not much except that I just looked up my stats for the last 365 days. Here they are:

• 129 bike rides
• 2,607 miles
• 171 hours - yikes
• 160,500 calories burned
• 15.2 mph average speed

If you click the title above, it links to a ride I need in Utah for the National ABility Center. So I've found a use for all that data!

Bicycle Commuting to Work

Is it practical to commute to work via bicycle? I've been doing it for the last 2 weeks and here are some suggestions/observations. 1) Storage - you need a place to store the bike at work. Our downtown office has a storage room in the basement that is perfect. Most buildings won't let you bring the bike in the elevator; 2) Shower - you'll need a place to shower. I joined a small fitness center in the building next door; 3) Clothes - I roll my suit into a garment back and pack in a backpack. If rolled properly, no wrinkles; 4) Meetings out of cab range. I joined ZipCar so in case I have to drive to a meeting, I can. The service works great. Downsides? Things change so the biggest hurdle is when I need to meet someone for a drink or event after work. Fortunatley, I only live 3.5 miles from the office so I can cab it or take public transportation easily. So far, I enjoy the bike commute and the extra miles i am able to achieve. We'll see what happens when it gets colder and darker.

Be Aware of Bike Theft!

You can see from other posts that my bike was my prized possession. I had it for 10 years, constantly tweaked it and this year completly rebuilt it. I finished a ride at 7:30 a.m. on a Thursday, locked in in my garage as always, showered and went back to leave for work at 8:30. Some dirtball kicked in the door and took not only my best bike but also my back up touring bike. Incredibly frustrating - still. Worse, I have nothing to ride and found out my homeowner's policy has a 1% deductible which means no claim for me. If anyone sees a white Waterford with black panels and red lettering, please clothesline the rider and hold for my arrival. Also check the Chicago Stolen Bike Registry often.