Members Share Experiences from the 80s

Submitted by Patrick Devereaux, Cushman & Wakefield

The June 9th breakfast meeting titled “How We Will Survive This Crisis: Lessons Learned From The 80s,” featured NAIOP Colorado members representing multiple disciplines within the commercial real estate industry.  Presenters included Peter Coakley of Inverness Properties, Steve Clark of Prime West Development, Mary Sullivan of CB Richard Ellis and Mike Cantwell of Johnson Capital Colorado.

The panel was moderated by Patrick Devereaux of the Chapter’s Programs Committee, who revealed some of the presenter’s favorite entertainment memories from the 80s (Madonna, Saturday Night Live, Caddy Shack, and Prince to name a few). Each panel member shared their experiences, war stories and lessons learned from the 80s and discussed how those lessons can be applied to our businesses today. Three members of the Chapter’s Developing Leader group then posed challenging questions to the panel members. 

To conclude some of the lessons learned included:  don’t be greedy, never give up even when it seems pointless, you can be successful on the upswings and downswings of the real estate cycle, don’t live beyond your means, be honest with your family members on your earning potential and ask for their support, and always maintain a positive attitude. 

All that attended enjoyed the presentation and benefited.  We would like to say a special thanks to Charmaine Rodden on the fantastic job she did preparing the sound and video aspects of the presentation.  Click Here to check out the special 1980s trivia provided by Martha Nachman, which were placed on the tables at the event.