Size Doesn’t Matter

With the announcement of this year’s broker and developer of the year winners (“Real Estate Awards,” March 15), I am once again amazed that the criteria you use appear to be based solely on the number of deals done, total sales volume, or most square feet developed. While the accomplishments of the individuals who received the awards is absolutely worthy of recognition and accolade, my 15 years of experience in the commercial real estate business as a developer and investor has left me with very different criteria for defining excellence and outstanding achievement.

Excellence and outstanding achievement in commercial real estate, as well as in any other profession and life in general, should not be defined by the material items that one is able to amass. Nor should it be defined solely by the number of deals a broker does, or the sheer size of a commercial developer’s project. Rather, I believe excellence is defined through the demonstration of honesty and work ethic, personal integrity and fairness in dealing with others, creativity in working on transactions, dedication and perseverance through difficult circumstances, and balancing a demanding career with a dedication to one’s family and meaningful involvement in our community, looking for ways to assist those who are not as fortunate as we are.

I also believe that true excellence in commercial real estate cannot be measured solely in terms of quantity. It is the truly excellent individuals in our business who get the very difficult transactions completed and sometimes create an entirely new concept or change the standards of the entire industry.

I know many individuals in the commercial real estate business, including one of your award winners, who exemplify these traits and have used them as a foundation on which they have built their careers and also achieved financial success. These are the types of individuals that your publication should seek out and recognize, because they are the true role models we should all aspire to emulate.

I encourage you to take more of those qualitative factors into greater consideration in making your future decisions about awarding broker and developer of the year honors.

RICHARD WOLFEN

President

Rock Asset Management