Consider for a moment the above inquiry. It is merely a simple (if not terribly creative) tactical question, designed to engage a prospect in conversation. Think about it for a minute—even if you don’t use the phrase yourself, have you ever seen it fail to evoke the desired response? Me neither. There’s a similar phrase that’s been circulating through the design and building industry for the last few months; it may sound somewhat different, but, in reality, it’s pretty close to prodding about the weather. The question is “Are you staying busy?” What a layered and peculiar question that is!…

Sometimes news events remind me of the ancient plagues. Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, frogs rain down from the heavens or a comedian gets elected from Minnesota. In a way, that kind of makes sense because after electing a professional wrestler governor, a comedian was the next step. I do wonder if they ever called Jess Ventura the First Wrestler, instead of governor. (Expect to see a clown from Minnesota in the House of Representatives in 2012. There are quite a few there already.)   Florida is one of those states in transition, with elderly residents…

 According to McKinsey & Co.’s recent report, “Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy,” investing in energy-efficient buildings now will lead to $1.2 trillion in savings, as well as reduce the nation’s energy consumption by 23 percent, by 2020. “Green building can stimulate the economy at a level one and a half times larger than the federal stimulus bill,” says Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chairman of the USGBC, one of the 12 sponsors of the report.  “By leveraging existing green building approaches, like LEED, which is rooted in holistic and integrated design, we have the ability and capacity…

OK, let’s be transparent with one another for a while, shall we? How many of you in the service provider industry know anyone who is still working full time who hasn’t taken a pay/perk/benefit reduction of some kind over the last 18 months? For those of you who haven’t, kudos and congratulations, and may the force be with you. For the rest of us, who, from what I can tell, constitute the vast majority of all professionals, sacrifices have been made in the interest of mutually supporting our peers, or in some instances, even our organizations. Here in California, as…

“I think you’re bluffin’.” John Wayne in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, (1962) (C) John Ford In what I can only attribute to political gamemanship, the Right to Rent program is making its way around the Hill, seeking support for what will surely amount to be the epitome of a liberal agenda. According to industry pundits, labor unions and very socially liberal organizations, those renting homes that are foreclosed need protection against losing their housing due to proceedings designed originally to turn the asset and get it back on the market as soon as possible. Rather than just asking…

So it’s come to the end of another gorgeous holiday weekend, right here in the middle of the summer of our discontent. I don’t know what happened—from everything I read and heard, I had come to believe the third quarter would usher in the recovery, albeit mild-mannered, from just whatever it is we’ve been going through. Hey! We’re almost a week into the Q3, 2009! Where’s the recovery? Well, perhaps as Jeff Immelt said, this is not so much a recovery as a “re-set.” To me that always conjures the picture of returning all the Monopoly money, markers and cards…

“Nothing is more damaging to a state than that cunning men pass for wise.” Francis Bacon (1561-1626)   There are an estimated 5 million homes in foreclosure, with the total potentially rising to 7 million. One of the facts coming to light is that as much as 40% of these are investor- or syndicate-owned and leased out to renters. As these houses are falling into default, many of the owners are pocketing the rent payments and letting the renters discover for themselves that they are being evicted, even though they’ve paid their rents on time and consistently. Recent legislation now…