SIOR 2008 Fall World Conference a huge success

The 2008 SIOR Fall World Conference was a huge success. According to Andrew Zezas of SIOR, "The keynote speakers at the 2008 SIOR Fall World Conference were by far the most informative and most entertaining at any SIOR event...first class all the way!" "If you missed the 2008 SIOR Fall World Conference in Minneapolis you missed one of our best conferences ever! I have never attended a conference before with a three speaker line up, where they all hit it out of the ballpark. Exceptional speakers, great topics and insightful messages in these challenging times!" said Peter Whatmore, SIOR. Opening General Session: Relationships for Revenue Growth Keith Ferrazzi is one of the rare individuals who discovered the essential formula for making his way to the top -- a powerful and balanced combination of marketing acumen and networking savvy. Both Forbes and Inc. magazines have designated him one of the world's most "connected" individuals. His book Never Eat Alone has been recognized as one of the best business books of 2005, 2006, and 2007. "Take-home Insights" from SIORs: * Move beyond a deal-driven sales approach to unlock the power of relationships, the most important tool in today's competitive market * Build emotional ties that transcend transactions by showing clients uncommon generosity. * Exponentially increase the number of deals closed by adding value through relationships. Friday General Session - The ProLogis Speaker Series Presents: The Acceleration of Technology in the 21st Century: The Impact on Business, the Economy, and Society Ray Kurzweil has been described as "the restless genius" by the Wall Street Journal, and "the ultimate thinking machine" by Forbes. Inc. magazine which also ranked him #8 among entrepreneurs in the United States, calling him the "rightful heir to Thomas Edison," and PBS included Kurzweil as one of 16 "revolutionaries who made America," along with other inventors of the past two centuries. A copy of Kurzweil's latest book, The Singularity Is Near, a New York Times best seller, was handed out to each attendee courtesy of ProLogis and the ProLogis Speaker Series. "Take-home Insights" from SIORs: * Due to the speed of information technology, the current economic downturn will be faster moving and not last for a long period of time. We are part of a worldwide economy. * Commercial real estate will continue to expand, i.e. not limited to downtown urban areas. * The growth of IT is relentless and the pace of change will accelerate. Paradigm shifts will occur every ten years. * We are less than 20 years away from solving our energy needs by harnessing the power of the sun. Solar energy IT doubles every 2 years. Saturday General Session: Annual Review and Forecast - Market Signals: What the Financial Markets Are Telling Us Now "If the majority of people were right, the majority of people would be rich... and they're not!" Following the herd has rarely produced superior long-term results. Tulane University's Peter Ricchiuti shared his informative and entertaining perspective on today's financial markets. "Take-home Insights" from SIORs: * Weak U.S. dollar creates: 1) a surge in American manufacturing 2) a growth in exports by 15-20%, therefore the trade deficit will decrease * Historically, recessions last ten months and the average tenure of an unemployed individual is six weeks. Recessions always end! * Average return from the stock market from 1975-2005 was 10%. If you were out of the market for the best thirty months of that span, your average return would have been 3%. Stay in the game! * From a stock market perspective, financial, healthcare, and leisure stocks are poised to excel. The market is very under-priced. * Whenever the yield curve becomes inverted, it is almost always a signal that trouble lays ahead. This recession has been telegraphed for a long time and corporations have been preparing. We should emerge by the 2nd quarter of 2009.