EDITOR’S COMMENT Last week I wrote here about the need for the real estate sector to do better at its public perception. To stand taller and prouder about the things that it does so this persistent view of Champagne Charlies starts to dissipate.
This week, in the pages of EG and across our website and socials, we do our bit to help. To highlight to you – so you can be proud – the amazing talent there is in this sector already and the high volume of people who want to do more, who care and who are ready to make a difference.
This week we amplify those voices.
The simplest lesson for everyone reading this to take away came from former U+I boss Richard Upton. Those who know Upton will know that he has his own unique style. He is, in the kindest sense of the word, not entirely normal. He thinks differently, acts differently and has an entirely different outlook on the world. He is hard to keep up with when he’s in full creative flow, but it is invigorating.
This week we talk to Upton about his activities outside of the corporate world. With more time on his hands now that U+I is within the Landsec portfolio, Upton is concentrating on his personal projects. Projects where he can deploy his passion, unencumbered by the constraints of corporate life.
He has three main projects. All very different but all with the same purpose: to create a place of belonging. Somewhere where we feel at home. That we own the space. That we are welcome.
He has some unique, really clever and oh-so-simple ways of doing this, and I would encourage everyone to read this week’s EG Interview to find out what they are and how you can do them too. This is step one of showcasing the positive power of property and place.
The biggest takeaway for me from speaking with Upton was this need to actually care. To be bothered about the people and places you are changing, to take the time to understand people, to make promises and to deliver on them.
I see more and more of that in this industry, but still not enough. And it’s understandable. Returns still drive a lot of this business, and taking the Upton approach requires a complete rethink on what level of return is OK. That’s a hard pill to swallow when investors are disparate and demanding. But you can still make a lot of money from doing the right thing and from being bothered. Just ask Upton.
The best lesson for everyone, though, the greatest tool I can give you to change this perception is our growing collection of EG Future Leaders.
Today we share with you all of their fantastic speeches. If you want to show the wider world what real estate is all about, how there is so much change happening, how so many people care about the impact they can have, then watch and share these videos with absolutely everyone you know – and strangers too. I guarantee they will help nudge this dial in the right direction.
These Future Leaders, our growing cohort that now numbers around 40 phenomenal individuals, are key to this industry thriving. Ignore them at your peril. Lift them up, lean in, if you want this sector to succeed.
And then there’s you. I said it last week, but I believe in you. I believe that you know this industry is about more than deals and dollar signs. I know this because I saw it. When we gathered for the Future Leaders Summit, you all wanted to do something more. I saw pride, joy and light in the room. I saw determination to make big changes and little ones, just something, together that makes not just this industry but society (and the economy) better.
So today I ask you – those of you who were in the room on 24 November and those of you who weren’t – to join us in an industry-wide pledge to #seelistendo.
See the world and the environment around you. What does it look like? What does it feel like? Not for you, but for someone else.
Listen. Just shh a little bit sometimes and listen. Listen to what someone is or isn’t saying.
What have you seen? What have you heard? What can you do? What can your business do? And what can we all do to change things?
Then, to steal a line from Nike, just do it.
To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@eg.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @EGPropertyNews
