Clarke-Hook sticks to its plan!

Recently, a friend said they were going to run a marathon in a certain time on a bet….more of a dare.

Being a long time runner myself, I questioned the motive…..actually, I more than questioned it!!

During my early morning run today, I thought about this and drew an analogy to our Loudoun/Fairfax counties commercial real estate market here in Northern Virginia.

Being a Developer…Landlord….Property Manager and Broker in Northern Virginia…in this market….in this economy ….requires a solid plan …..one that is adhered to but infuses a certain amount of flexibility to allow for reacting to unexpected developments.

Kind of like planning to train for the Marathon!

Risk plays a part of all business. Any good biz plan contains risk assessment and strategies to minimize or avert risk and related pitfalls.

A distance runner knows that a solid training plan is one that is balanced….to build endurance (staying power to go the distance)…to build strength (usually hill work  to tackle the ups and downs of the race)….to build speed (to maintain your best steady pace in an effort to reach your target).

Hopefully, you can see where I'm going with this!!

This is all going through my mind as I'm on my morning run in Chantilly VA. I don't listen to music when I run!

Over the years, I have been a competitive runner with a number of topnotch coaches and I have run and trained for countless events and many marathons, including all the majors…Boston, NYC, Chicago, Marine Corps. Additionally, I have coached runners from grade school track and cross-country to adult distance runners.

While my competing days are over, I still train like there's no tomorrow.

It amazes me how similar our Clarke-Hook's business philosophy and strategic planning mirrors a sound, balanced, dedicated and – I dare say – well coached approach …one that has enabled us to maintain our staying power…our strong commitment to the highest level of customer satisfaction…our ability to weather the ups and downs of this economic storm….and our ability to pace ourselves without overextending.

To say that being in our business in this economy is like running a marathon….is a major understatement.

We built our base…..we are strong enough to take on the tough times.

We didn't take on unnecessary debt…..which enabled us to tackle those deadly hills and address – to our best ability – the woes of our tenants.

By being cautious…staying on pace…..we don't fall behind our goals and objectives.

Yes….running the distance requires psychological stamina as well…..which ONLY comes from adhering to a solid training schedule/business plan.

Our tenants have seen us as a source of strength and remain confident in us…..which is very, very important.

Ok….I'll stop!!!!!

But for me, this analogy offers a tremendous amount of strength and satisfaction that I know we are "properly trained" and running the course……the right way!

I challenge my colleagues out there to draw their own analogies …

Anything we do with passion really requires the same mindset and willingness to believe in that which I just wrote about.

There's an old saying that applies to those not properly trained……words of caution…….Don’t' Bonk!

We've seen a lot of businesses not properly trained over the past few years bonking!!!

Make sure you back the right runner!!!