What is Backstory to the Name “Real Estate Garage”?
The Real Estate Garage takes the “garage” term from tech industry usage.
It is partially inspired by Steven Johnson’s book, “How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World”. (The six innovations are lighting, refrigeration, glass, water purification, time measurement, and recorded sound.)
Johnson identified a common thread in these innovations. Typically the innovator was working out of their chosen specialty, or without a specialty, but displayed skill at integrating expertise and related disciplines. It was clear that singular expertise could drive small incremental improvements, but that same focus often constrained big picture thinking and problem solving. Success typically came from an accumulation of ideas.
Which to led to the garage as “…an emblem of the innovator’s workspace….”. These spaces operate outside of the office or boardroom. Tinkering and testing is expected. Hence the goal of the Real Estate Garage: harness interdisciplinary thought and integration, assimilate the best ideas, and sidestep the narrow approach of the specialists.
Steve Ferris’ career work is immersed in the different specialties inherent to real estate: law, finance, engineering, architecture, urban planning, design, construction, regulatory policy, teamwork, and leadership. The Real Estate Garage was established to be the place to vet ideas and solutions to overcome the constraints facing real estate development. We do this while managing projects, plans, and processes, where we constantly work to shorten timelines and save money for our clients.