The modern-day company has to have executives that understand logistics, real estate, technology, construction, and more as industrial real estate becomes more sophisticated than just lease rates.
Once you have built up the business, created the vision for future growth, and done your due diligence, it’s time to build a team. You might lease a new building, buy a new building, or renew your existing lease. Now how are we going to get from A to Z? The founder of my long-time entrepreneur coaching program, Strategic Coach, Dan Sullivan, has an insightful concept called Who Not How. The idea is a twist on what most executives think of as delegation. The critical shift in thought here is dealing with the inevitable procrastination that comes after the initial project vision. This moment is when one thinks about how to accomplish the goal. What stands in the way of progress for an entrepreneur’s view, it turns out, is not how they are going to achieve their goal, instead, finding the right person to add to the team that has the unique ability to accomplish the project. Not just adding a person with the correct skillset but having the right person that relishes in the opportunity to take ownership of the project and run with it.
If you aren’t sure, who should be your project champion, start with who is responsible for the overall P&L of the operation? If that is you, who are the next most trusted internal people that you ask when you have an issue? Start with them.
Internal Capabilities
With the idea of Unique Ability in mind, it is time to find your project champion. For some people, their broker is their project champion. For others, the CFO, VP of Finance, General Manager, or the Corporate Real Estate Director. The project champions title is no important. What is essential is their ability to lead, their capability to execute, and their ability to communicate. Once you have your champion, it is time to assess your organization’s “needs and haves” as it relates to capabilities.
The “needs” will directly align with the needs section in the previous article. If one of the main components of your operations revolves around the office, warehouse, docks, truck court, yard, and/or exterior, you’ll want to think through who the internal and external subject matter experts are most able to add value to the conversation. It is not necessary to have everybody lined up immediately, as some people will be external partners brought in as needed, or venders that are brought in by the landlord.
Be aware that each part of your operation likely has someone who has insights and knowledge that you can draw from. For example, from an internal perspective, who has helped the organization buy, sell, or lease industrial property in the past? Who was instrumental in helping move the last time you moved warehouses? Who are the people most knowledgeable about the inner workings in your current operations?
External Capabilities
Once you have identified your internal team, you will want to see, externally, who else might be necessary (click to gain a better understand of how each could add value to your team):
