TEN Takeaways from Lorri Rowlandson, Senior Vice President, BGIS
ICYMI: HILO’s David Abrams welcomed Lorri Rowlandson, Senior Vice President at BGIS to the TEN podcast to chat about how technology drives data insights. Here are our TEN takeaways:
1. Data is data
Lorri loves using a data-driven approach. She says, “when you get to the next frontier of opportunity, you have to use a data-led approach to get past paradigms, to really inform those decisions so that they’re not anecdotal or you’re getting past perception. You’re really making those decisions on facts. And some of the decisions that we’re having to make as part of the next wave of efficiency and benefit, has to do with going into some difficult territory. So anytime you can use data to ground everybody, data doesn’t have paradigms, data doesn’t have bias, data doesn’t have preferences, data is data. And so to get to that next frontier, having a data-led approach really creates a lot of breakthroughs.”
2. Be curious
When asked what has helped her become successful, Lori explains, “I’ve always been really a curious person, I’m a super nerd, I love science fiction. Like I’ve always been really interested in science and technology. So that’s part of it. I joke that, if Alice in Wonderland grew up, that would be me. That’s kind of my mindset. But I think one of the indirect benefits I have, I’m also a Gen X. And Gen X were notorious for being latchkey kids. I grew up with both parents working, and I had to figure everything out myself. So it really turned our generation into excellent problem solvers, and you just had to figure it out. So I didn’t get a lot of direction or guidance. We just had to figure it out. And that’s actually a life skill that has always stuck with me. So as we go through an incredible amount of change, in the next 10 years, by 2030, 80% of the technology we’ll be using hasn’t been invented yet. So we need to be curious about trying things and figuring things out, and just being fearless.”
3. Never stop learning
For someone wanting to follow a similar path, Lori suggests that “this is a time to hang up your shingle and be an expert. All you need to do is develop a love of learning, and be a continuous learner. So if you find something that you really love, let’s say it’s the Metaverse or artificial intelligence, or whatever that area of interest is, just read as much as you can about it, find who you admire in that particular sector, understand how they got to where they are in their position, and then do the heck out of whatever they did to get there, would be my advice. But the foundation is starting with continuous learning. You must be a lover of learning.”
4. Create roles instead of applying for them
Lorri talks about the importance of creating opportunities for yourself. She says, “Within the last several jobs I’ve had, they’ve had to write a new role for me. I would go to my manager and say, hey, we have this challenge or this opportunity, another way of saying problem, and here are my ideas and I’m really passionate about this and I want to own that, and I want to be involved.” She continues by saying, “Imagine having a young talented person come to you with that creative thinking, with that passion and engagement. And that’s how you have roles created for you instead of applying for them. And now more than ever, there’s that opportunity.”
5. Take responsibility for your career
Some great advice from Lorri: “You have to go and get it. So if you wait, if you have career aspirations, I say this too, when I’m mentoring people all the time, is that you can’t expect that your manager, or your manager’s manager are mind readers. You have to take responsibility for your career and be in the driver’s seat, help them understand what you’re interested in, what you need, and have those career coaching discussions.”
6. Communication without email
David asks Lorri what the biggest challenge is that she is experiencing right now. She says, “I would say that communication is a bit of a challenge in a virtual environment, and so I’m researching a lot about virtual culture and virtual technologies that really enhance those communications without email. One of my pet peeves is email, oh my God, I just wish we could get rid of it. I am really happy with some of the tools and technologies that we’ve become more proficient at in the last eight months or in 2020 with things like Teams and Zoom. And we use Teams inside of BGIS. I really love the plugins and all of the different amenities, the electronic amenities that you can use for communications and continue to build my expertise there. But communication is something quite honestly I’m struggling with a little bit right now.”
7. The Metaverse is going to be bigger than the internet
When asked what she would do with an extra one hundred thousand dollars of budget, Lorri says, “I’m really interested in the Metaverse right now. I’m writing that chapter in a book I’m publishing next year on the 21 technologies that are going to change the way that we work. And I think the Metaverse is going to be bigger than the internet, David, like I’m really stoked about it. Augmented reality and virtual reality, and creating another universe that is virtual and only limited by our imagination. I’m so excited about the future of retail and how we will interact.”
8. Read a book a week
Advice for the listeners: “I am a huge book nerd. And before I started writing my own books, I would devour a book a week. I use audio books because I’m busy. And so in my commute, I would listen to or read a book a week that way. And I swear it’s been the secret to my success, what I would do. And I encourage anybody to do this. Pick a topic that you’re struggling on. It could be personal or professional, buy three well-rated books on the topic and read them all. And by that, after you finish them, you’ll feel a lot more comfortable and the ability to go forward.”
9. It’s time to bust out of our traditional thinking
Lorri comments on technology and innovation in the Commercial Real Estate industry. She says, “I think that we have to bust out of our traditional thinking. That would be the one thing I hope to impart on your audience. These disruptions, I think that if I had to be very honest, and I’m in the industry too, I think our industry has been quite slow to evolve and change and adopt technology and progress. And I think that if we think that a number of these disruptive influences, if our industry is going to be an exception, I think we’re in denial, we’re ostriching on this topic. I think what we have to do, is find ways that we could make it work, whether it be 3D printed furniture or parts or there is some application that we can use in the building context and to make our buildings a destination of where people want to work, or enable work in a very, very different way.”
10. Think forward
David asks Lorri if there is anything she wishes she had known when she started out. She says, “I live my life thinking forward, not backwards. And I think that I don’t ever have any regrets in my life, and I made some really amazing mistakes. But everything that you do right or wrong, is part of your learning experience, informs where you are today, both the good and the bad. I don’t ruminate on anything from the past, I only think forward. And even the bad things that happened and trust me, I’ve got my share of mistakes and T-shirts, and all of that, like all of us, David, but I only think forward, so I don’t have any regrets about my past, because otherwise, I wouldn’t be in this plane of reality. Something would be different. And so I’m happy with how things are.”
