"Repositioning during Hard Times "

This is a good read:

Outlasting the economic recession requires a thoughtful business strategy that includes acting quickly and decisively to adjust staff levels, staying within core competencies, conserving as much cash as possible, avoiding any unnecessary expansions, and communicating frequently with employees, investors, and other stakeholders. According to two land use industry veterans and longtime ULI leaders, implementing such a plan can help real estate companies survive the slump and be better positioned to thrive when the upswing begins.

Peter Rummell, chief executive officer of the Nicklaus Companies in Jacksonville, Florida, and J. Ronald Terwilliger, chairman of Dallas-based Trammell Crow Residential, recently shared their insights regarding company repositioning during a ULI webinar moderated by Gadi Kaufmann, managing director and chief executive officer of RCLCO/Robert Charles Lesser & Co. of Bethesda, Maryland. The webinar was part of an ongoing online series sponsored by ULI on topics related to the economy and the outlook for the industry.

Rummell and Terwilliger, both developers, based their advice on experience gained from weathering recessions during the past three decades, with Rummell applying lessons learned while at the St. Joe Company and Disney, and Terwilliger applying those learned at Trammell Crow Residential. While none of the previous recessions, including the last major real estate recession in 1991–1992, was as severe as the current one, the actions taken then provide a solid framework for battening down in today's environment. Having a clear plan, said Rummell and Terwilliger, is the key to moving a company forward—even slowly—in a down market. Read the summary of the webinar (see Webinar blog link below), or to purchase an archived version of the webinar,

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