Name: Alan Shamah
Title: CEO
Company: Shamah Properties
Location: Edison, N.J.
Birthplace: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Education: Boston University
First job outside of real estate: Apparel industry executive
First job in real estate or allied field: Shamah Properties
What do you do now and what are you planning for the future? I am primarily focused on increasing tenant services and communicating with tenants to insure our tenants feel they can access us any time. We are long term in view and continue to make upgrades to our assets. I want to build an organization where it is a great place to work, and also a company that contributes to society at large by improving the living experiences for all our tenants. Then we will have done a good thing!
How do you unwind from a busy day in real estate? Starting out on my commute home I unload my brain and sort out what's happened that day, keeping what I need and discarding what I don't. Then, I either hit the gym, or do some mundane tasks at home in order to change the channel in my head. Then of course there is my wife and children, without whom life would not be as dimensional as it is.
Favorite book or author: "Think and Grow Rich" by Napolean Hill. I read it at least 50 times and listened to the audio tapes as much. The concepts and ideas in the book motivates people to excel whatever they focus on; even life itself.
Favorite movie: "The Matrix." It reminds me of how unfortunate it is that many of us spend more time in a virtual world then in the real one. I think we have mistaken information we get on a non-stop basis from our cell phones, computers and televisions with true knowledge. True knowledge comes from real experiences, not synthetic ones. Although the movie is somewhat science fiction, it has a very important message.
Last song you purchased/downloaded? I have a library of old CD's. I think Keith Jarrett, and Andreas Vollenweider, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington all have good mental references for me, so I like to still listen to them.
One word to describe your work environment: Cooperative
Rules to live by in business: Do unto others as you would want to have done to yourself. Also, your business should be a venue in which to grow as a person.
If you could invite one person to dinner (living or dead) who would it be and where would you go? Frank Lloyd Wright. Falling Water, the home he designed and built for a client.
What is your dream job? My dream job continues to evolve. Right now it's what I'm doing now. But I think my next stop on the train would be "Organizational Management Consultant."
Most people have great ideas, however they lack the power to harness their ideas with the proper disciplines required for success. Tags: