THE SKY IS FALLING! by Kwame J. Granderson

Imagine that you’re a pilot and your 747 aircraft has blown out not one, but two of your four engines.  There’s a huge explosion and the plane is unsteady.  Panic has set in…people are screaming and there’s mass hysteria.  What are you doing?  What are the passengers expecting you to do? 

 

If I were the pilot, I’d figure out how to stabalize the plane and land safely as soon as possible.  I would keep focused and not let the chaotic environment take me off track.

 

This is what is means to “think strategically.”  You assess the environment in which you’re operating and make smart decisions that will generate the best results.

 

People who think strategically demonstrate specific personal traits, behaviors, attitudes, and thinking skills. 

 

According to Harvard Business School Publishing, you're on your way to becoming a strategic thinker if you exhibit the following personal traits:

 

·                Curiosity: You're genuinely interested in what's going on in your unit, company, industry, and wider business environment.

·                Flexibility: You're able to adapt approaches and shift ideas when new information suggests the need to do so.

·                Future focus: You constantly consider how the conditions in which your group and company operate may change in the coming months and years. And you keep an eye out for opportunities that may prove valuable in the future—as well as threats that may be looming.

·                Positive outlook: You view challenges as opportunities, and you believe that success is possible.

·                Openness: You welcome new ideas from supervisors, peers, employees, and outside stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, and business partners. You also take criticism well by not reacting in a defensive manner.

·                Breadth: You continually work to broaden your knowledge and experience, so you can see connections and patterns across seemingly unrelated fields of knowledge.

 

Strategically thinking is critical if you’re a real estate investor in today’s market.  You can’t panic based on the hype created by the media.  You don’t listen to your neighbor who knows a friend of a friend who lost his house because the bank “decided” to foreclose on his property.  You don’t allow yourself to be distracted and lose focus on the goal –finding significantly below-market properties in growing areas that will substantially increase your portfolio.

 “Now’s not the time to invest.  The market hasn’t bottomed out yet.”  Don’t listen to these fools.  They will be spouting a different set of excuses next year. There is no good or bad time to invest…only a good or bad strategy.  Now is the best time to invest!  It’s a Buyer’s Market…the best opportunities in over 10 years. 

 My advice:  Stay focused.  Think strategically.  Embrace this buyer’s market with conservative gusto.  Real estate is, and always has been, the best and safest investment strategy.  Don’t let fear prevent you from enjoying a financially secure future!