Soon after starting the planning for your commercial real estate expansion project, you’ll want to hire a project manager (Owner’s Representative “OR”) as your quarterback. This may be the most important decision you’ll make. Interview several candidates to find the right person who you like and trust.
There are several key personality traits you should look for. Select someone passionate about project management possessing a strong, direct and outgoing personality, who is able to discuss difficult issues with all project team members, who takes control at every meeting, and who loves people! Your OR must be effective at advocating for you and for motivating the entire team to perform well.
Your Owner’s Representative needs to be like a coxswain as described in the book “Boys In The Boat”. Here is an excerpt from this inspiring book.
”From the moment the shell is launched, the coxswain is the captain of the boat. He or she must exert control, both physical and psychological, over everything that goes on in the shell. Good coxes know their oarsmen inside and out— their individual strengths and vulnerabilities— and they know how to get the most out of each man at any given moment. They have the force of character to inspire exhausted rowers to dig deeper and try harder, even when all seems lost. They have an encyclopedic understanding of their opponents: how they like to race, when they are likely to start sprinting, when they like to lie in wait. Before a regatta, the cox receives a race plan from the coach, and he or she is responsible for carrying it out faithfully. But in a situation as fluid and dynamic as a crew race, circumstances often change abruptly, and race plans must be thrown overboard. The cox is the only person in the shell who is facing forward and can see how the field is shaping up throughout a race, and he or she must be prepared to react quickly to unforeseen developments. When a race plan is failing to yield results, it is up to the cox to come up with a new one, often in a split second, and to communicate it quickly and forcefully to the crew. Often this involves a lot of shouting and a lot of emotion.”