Pay It Forward: "With Passion You Can Achieve Excellence At What You Do"
"My mother taught me to think of myself as a work in progress, to always aim higher and to be intellectually curious," says John Usdan of Midwood Investment & Development.
John Usdan, CEO at Midwood Investment & Development
Area of focus: Real estate, investment, development and management.
Over the past 20 years, John Usdan, CEO at Midwood Investment & Development, has grown his grandfather’s business and expanded Midwood’s portfolio to more than 130 retail, residential and office properties in nine states and the District of Columbia.
What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle in your particular role/? How have you overcome those obstacles? Creating an environment where there is an alignment of interests, working collaboratively and interdepartmentally towards shared goals has been a challenge to develop at Midwood. Creating a set of clear corporate, departmental and individual goals is the first step. Compensation both short and long term helps properly align everyone’s interests and finally not being afraid to hold all levels of management to account for their performance reinforces what you always hope as a manager becomes a virtuous circle.
What about your current role/position at the company are you most happy with? Midwood is in a good place today. We have a wonderful group of smart, intellectually curious, and creative problem solvers at all levels of the company. People care about each other and about the quality of their work. We have adopted the mindset that we are a work in progress that requires continual improvement in every facet of how we operate, invest and develop. I am proud of my Leadership Team, and their contribution to creating such a terrific company.
What is the best piece of advice you have received that has helped you succeed in your industry? My mother taught me to think of myself as a work in progress, to always aim higher, and to be intellectually curious. By allowing me to overcome the challenges I faced on my own growing up, I learned the value of perseverance, resilience, and creative problem-solving. From my grandfather, an immigrant who had to overcome the loss of a mother, a brother, a daughter, pogroms in Russia, the depression… understanding the importance of smoothing out the highs and the lows, to respect other people, to give back and to look forward, were life-changing lessons.
Would you advise any younger person to begin a career in CRE? I have three grown sons who are just starting their business careers and the advice I have given them all is to pursue their passion. With passion, you can achieve excellence at what you do. To be true to yourself allows for the opportunity to meet your own expectations and not someone else’s.
Please share with us the best lessons learned or a surprising component about your unique journey. My grandfather passed away when I was 23. Because my mom was an only child and not interested in the real estate business, the business skipped a generation and I had to take over. Working for my grandfather since the age of 10, I was familiar with our assets and the day-to-day requirements of collecting the rent and paying the bills. My grandfather was very wise and always said he didn’t want his responsibility to become my burden. With just a bookkeeper and an assistant, I went to work the day after he died, knowing that I had real responsibility. What I learned though is that with responsibility also comes the freedom to make your own decisions and to learn from the outcome. What is essential to success is to never be afraid to make mistakes and understand that you learn far more from the wrong decision than from the right decision.
In your opinion, what take-a-ways did we learn from the COVID-19 crisis? Covid has reinforced the importance of creative problem solving, to be adaptable and resilient. It has exposed the best and worst of people, their compassion and callousness, and how the threat to one’s survival reveals a person’s true character.
