The Staubach Company: Mentality of a Champion

Real Estate

Written by Eric Slack

Tuesday, 01 April 2008

The Staubach Company: Mentality of a Champion - American Executive - RedCoat Publishing

Greg O’Brien and John Gates describe this real estate advisory firm’s dedication to the principles of its founder.

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Perks & Provisions

Some companies work for years to establish a brand identity, but that was the easy part for The Staubach Company. Founded by NFL Hall of Famer Roger Staubach in 1977 two years before his retirement from pro football, this real estate advisory company already had name recognition because of its founder’s success in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys and in college with Navy. But company success wasn’t guaranteed simply because of a name. Instead, the company grew steadily over time on the strength of the Staubach philosophy.

Greg O’Brien. CEO

“Roger has always set a high personal and professional standard for our people, our leaders, and our standard of service to our clients,” said CEO Greg O’Brien. “We are a company that empowers its people, but we also hold each other accountable because our expectation is that people will perform at the highest level with a great degree of trust, teamwork, and integrity.”

In the days before gigantic endorsement contracts, Staubach prepared for his career in the real estate world by working during off-seasons for the Henry S. Miller Company from 1970 to 1977. Staubach moved to the position of executive chairman last June, but not before leading another team to greatness. Now alongside his Super Bowl victories and a Heisman Trophy, his company’s growth to $500 million in revenue over its initial 30 years is just one more trophy for the case.

The reason the company is the success it is stems from leadership, not only Staubach’s but also from leadership skills present throughout the company. According to O’Brien, the company experiences very little turnover at the leadership level, which is critical to the success of a firm that now has almost 70 offices in the US, Canada, and Mexico. This is due in part to strict hiring practices designed to ensure job candidates are the right fit for the company.

“Often when people join us, they may go through six or more interviews with the senior people they will work with. This gives them a broad cross section of what our culture is like, and people who are likely to be successful with us love it,” said John Gates, president and COO. Both Gates and O’Brien have been with the company for nearly 20 years.

Once people are in, the company has systems in place to allow staff to focus on assignments, get feedback from clients, and interact with colleagues across the US. This prepares them to better service accounts no matter where in North America or around the world a client needs a real estate solution. The company also rewards its employees for success with local, regional, and national awards.

In-depth knowledge
Separating itself from other leading real estate service companies involves understanding the differences in the needs of its client pool. Larger companies that make real estate decisions almost daily don’t need the same services required by companies making real estate commitments once every five to 10 years. With experience working with big and small clients whose needs for the right office, retail, and industrial real estate solutions vary drastically, the firm has extensive understanding of its service areas as well as local and national economic conditions.

This is one reason the company doesn’t just expand for the sake of expanding. Before the company hangs a Staubach sign in a window in a new city, it needs to know the people on the ground are in sync with company philosophy. That is why much of the firm’s growth has been organic, rather than through acquisition, after establishing relationships with the right person or team of people. Such is the case of the firm’s expansion into Kansas City earlier this year. After working with Glaze Commercial Real Estate Advisors for years, the prospect for future growth became too good to pass up. In this case, Staubach acquired Glaze on the verge of its 20th anniversary, leaving its founder in charge of the office as a member of the Staubach team.

With the current volatility affecting the financial and real estate markets, Staubach is working to help its clients make smart decisions about real estate needs despite the economic slowdown. Real estate is generally the second largest expense a company has after labor. Staubach clients ahead of the growth curve may be looking to invest in new facilities, while those with financial constraints could be looking to divest themselves of underperforming assets. The key for The Staubach Company is to provide clients with the right solution whether a client is looking to buy, sell, lease, or dispose of excess space.

“In the real estate service community there is an investor side of the equation and an occupier side of the equation. There has been a dramatic impact on the investor side because of what has happened in the credit markets,” said Gates. “But the occupier side is industry specific. We don’t see a broad pullback out of traditional office and industrial users, and we have seen limited pull back from retailers.”

With Staubach’s personal reputation behind the firm, prospective clients have long held the belief that working with someone from The Staubach Company probably means working with someone trustworthy. This helped the company get to decisionmakers when Staubach professionals called on potential office, retail, and industrial clients. The reputation of its clients helped the firm even further, as in the last two years alone the company worked with recognizable branded companies such as FedEx Kinko’s, Best Buy, Wachovia, and Old Navy. By capitalizing on the name recognition of Staubach himself, the company can now capitalize on its own reputation by working with some of the premier corporations in the country.

“We’re a very accepted brand in corporate America and in all of the sectors of the economy our business serves. That brand awareness makes people more receptive to discussing solutions with our people,” said O’Brien. “Earlier on, when we were initially growing the business, it was harder to sell the brand. Now we are established, and we continue to grow by differentiating ourselves with the quality solutions we provide to our clients.”

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