TEN Takeaways from Chris Tambakis, CEO Adgar Canada
ICYMI: HILO’s David Abrams welcomed Chris Tambakis, CEO Adgar Canada to the TEN Podcast to chat about doing what is right for the customer, and loving what you do. Here are our TEN takeaways:
1. Love what you do
Chris loves what he does and loves the CRE industry. Although he didn’t purposefully choose a career path in CRE, Chris truly enjoys working in the industry. Chris also suggests that, “if you don’t love what you do, or you don’t really enjoy it, then fix it. And that means change it so you do love it, or change from it in my mind, because this is a lifetime. And if you’re going to spend your life doing something that you’re not truly enjoying, I don’t think you’re getting the most out of it that you can.”
2. Be honest with yourself and your work
Loving your work is only half of the equation when it comes to being successful. According to Chris, the other half is to, “be honest, work hard, work smart, listen, listen, and listen. I think seizing opportunities is important, but not every opportunity. I find a lot, you know I’ve had lots of opportunities that come across, I’ve come across in my life, but I was thoughtful and purposeful about the ones that I took. And I think that’s an important thing. Don’t be afraid of them, but be thoughtful and purposeful about them. Treat people the way you want to be treated. And lastly know yourself and be honest with yourself. That’s what my advice would be.”
3. Make decisions based on positive human impact
Chris tries to put people at the root of every challenge and opportunity. In his decision making process, “The human impact is what I focus on. And that’s the part that I always consider first, and looking back over my career, that’s what I’ve always done. I’ve always tried to put the human piece to it. Not just the surgical. I can execute surgically when needed, but I always wanna temper it and manage it around the human impact. And sometimes we forget that, I think.” The most important thing is being rooted in the people whose lives are impacted each and every day by his decisions.
4. Crisis does not always = monetary opportunity
It is true that an economic crisis can potentially create financial opportunities for some, however, Chris suggests that we reconsider types of opportunity. “Not every crisis has led to opportunity the way most people think of it. Most people think of real estate opportunity as it was this much, and now it’s this much. Better let’s buy it now or wait until it gets there. That’s not the only opportunity. Sometimes it’s other synergies. Sometimes it’s partnerships. Sometimes it’s an evolution of your business. So it’s not just about buy low, sell high, or buy low and keep forever or whatever. I think there are opportunities that will come around and that’s one of the core opportunities, buy low, sell high or keep high, but it’s not the only thing to spend your money on.”
5. The value of patience in times of uncertainty
Chris reflects on a similar time, like the financial crisis of 2008-09, and suggests that while there was a major financial crisis which destroyed a lot of wealth around the world, here in Canada, we were relatively lucky. “We paused, there was a lot of uncertainty. It was a very scary time. I remember thinking, Jesus is your money safe in the bank even right? You know, take it out and put it in the mattress. But in Canada we just paused. And once everything sort of, we got back to, back to getting back in business, the rest of the world had amazing, amazing buy and sell opportunities. And there was tremendous wealth disruption around the globe, but again, Canada, we were really fortunate.”
6. Relationships are key
Having interacted with some fantastic people in his life, the people who have helped Chris the most have been those who gave him the time or those who wanted the time. On the importance of relationships, “lots of my friends who have become partners and business colleagues as well, and they have been with me through my whole life. So relationships are, have been key to, to what I do. And by the way, through this COVID time, boy are relationships important.”
7. Fact or Fiction
As we navigate through the world of COVID-19, it can be tough to distinguish between the right and wrong resources. For Chris, “it’s actually fact or fiction, I’m looking for opportunities where we can find the facts and speak to them a little bit. And recognize that we’re all navigating unknown territory right now, but we need to be thoughtful and mindful about that, and less, less exaggerated about it.”
8. We all have the power to ease human suffering
If he could be one superhero, Chris would choose Superman. Besides his weakness for Kryptonite, the Man of Steel has all the strengths. However, Chris also believes that we all have a power within us. It is the power to ease human suffering, which can be done “each and every day, whether it’s getting up and helping your neighbor, or one of your workmates, or classmates, or a friend, someone in need, someone in your neighborhood, or quite frankly someone that may be around the globe. I think we all have that power, and we should use it every day, each and every day to the best of our ability. And quite frankly to the best of our means too.” This is a power that is truly super and one we should use any way we can.
9. Crisis is the revolution within evolution
In a crisis situation like COVID-19, we often hear the extremes being amplified all around us. Chris believes, “things evolve from the revolution. They continue to evolve and the extremes become tempered items. So yes there will be things that we have as an outcome of COVID-19, some that will be unfortunate changes to industries, and to people’s lives and then others, which by the way, will make the world a better place. So we’re having a revolution right now as part of an ongoing evolution.”
10. Do not wait until you’re older to realize the value of time
Chris says he has no regrets over the last 30 years of his career. The only thing he wishes he would have known sooner is how fast time would pass. Time moves quickly and the experience you get along the way should not be underestimated. “I try to learn from everything along the way. I’m sure I haven’t been perfect by any stretch, but just learning and having experience, that’s irreplaceable. Chris continues by saying, “I think time goes very quickly and so it should not be wasted, and we probably all waste too much of it. That would be the one thing. That said, I have no regrets. I’m very happy with my choices and the things I’ve done, and the way I’ve managed my career.”
