The Fax Machine, the Rolodex and the Digital Revolution in Commercial Real Estate

I recently had the incredible honor of being interviewed by Tori Nook on The Tori Nook Talk Show, and something unexpected happened during our conversation.

Her questions — and her genuine interest in my journey — brought back memories I had not thought about in years.

I surprised myself as I looked back on a career that started in 1981 and realized just how long this journey has been, and how it has unfolded during some of the most extraordinary technological changes in human history and the immense change in commercial real estate technology.

For those of us who have been in commercial real estate for decades, it is sometimes easy to forget just how different the working world was when we started.

Yes, We Used Our Brains as Computers

When I entered the working world, no personal computers were sitting on our desks.

There were no cell phones.

There was no Google.

There was no email.

There was no LinkedIn.

There was no Excel spreadsheet keeping track of every contact, transaction, and property.

We had our brains, paper, pencils, telephones and, if we were away from the office, dimes in our pockets for the pay phone.

Yes, we really did use our brains as computers because, for most of us, that was the only computer available.

We memorized names. We memorized companies. We memorized telephone numbers. We learned voices. We remembered tenants, buildings, brokers and deals because we had to.

Information lived in our heads, in files, on pieces of paper and in one of the most important pieces of business technology of the day: the Rolodex.

Never Underestimate the Power of the Rolodex

One of the funniest memories that came back to me during my conversation with Tori was the simple Rolodex.

I did not have just one.

I had several.

Your Rolodex was your network. Those little cards contained the names, companies, addresses, and telephone numbers of the people you had worked so hard to meet throughout your career.

And when you changed desks or changed jobs, guess what went with you?

Your Rolodex!

You picked it up and carried your relationships with you.

When you really think about it, is that so different from today?

Today our Rolodex might be LinkedIn, our CRM, our email contacts, or our mobile phone. The technology has changed dramatically, but the value of the relationships inside it has not.

The tools have changed. The relationships have not.

Before Word, Excel and Windows

When I started working, typewriters were technology.

And believe it or not, there were good typewriters and not-so-good typewriters.

If you were lucky, you eventually got one with a correction ribbon.

When I started, I had a regular typewriter. If you made a mistake, you reached for correction products like Liquid Paper.

No Backspace key magically made your mistake disappear.

There was no Delete.

There was certainly no Undo.

Eventually computers began appearing in the workplace, but they looked nothing like the computers we know today.

We stared at black DOS screens and learned commands just to make the computer do what we wanted it to do.

Windows did not exist yet.

Microsoft Word and Excel had not yet become the everyday business tools we now take completely for granted.

Those early computers felt revolutionary at the time. Looking back from today’s world of smartphones, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and instant communication, they seem almost prehistoric.

Then Came the Fax Machine

Another major technological breakthrough in commercial real estate was the fax machine.

Today that sounds almost humorous, but the ability to send a document instantly over a telephone line was astonishing.

Commercial real estate professionals embraced it.

We could suddenly distribute information about available properties without mailing packages or delivering materials by hand.

Broadcast faxing eventually became a marketing tool. A property flyer could be sent to an entire list of brokers and prospects.

At the time, that was digital marketing.

We just didn’t call it digital marketing yet.

From Fax Machines to Email

Then email arrived.

Even email did not begin the way younger professionals might imagine.

There was a time when companies might have a shared email address rather than every individual having their own personal business email account.

Gradually, everything began changing faster and faster.

Computers became standard.

Windows replaced command-line screens.

Word processing replaced the typewriter.

Spreadsheets replaced mountains of handwritten calculations.

Email began replacing the fax machine.

Cell phones replaced the pay phone.

The Internet changed how we researched properties, companies, and people.

And then something else happened that would dramatically change my own career.

LinkedIn Changed My Definition of a Rolodex

In 2004, an architect colleague called me and said, essentially, “You need to take a look at this new website called LinkedIn.”

I did.

I had no idea where it would lead.

Suddenly our professional Rolodex did not have to sit on a desk.

Our relationships could exist online.

We could reconnect with people from previous jobs, meet professionals in other markets, and begin creating networks that were no longer confined by geography.

LinkedIn opened my eyes to an entirely different way of thinking about professional relationships and digital networking.

That journey ultimately helped lead me toward launching theBrokerList in 2010 — an online community created specifically for commercial real estate professionals.

From a Physical Rolodex to a Digital CRE Community

When I think about the progression, it really is remarkable.

I went from carrying multiple Rolodexes from desk to desk to helping build an online network where thousands of commercial real estate professionals could create profiles, connect, share properties, publish their expertise and be discovered online.

The physical Rolodex became the digital profile.

The property flyer became the email campaign.

The broadcast fax became online property marketing.

The phone call became the text message, direct message and video call.

The industry changed.

But the purpose behind all of those tools remained remarkably similar.

Find people. Build relationships. Share information. Establish trust. Do business.

Technology Keeps Changing, but Commercial Real Estate Is Still About People

This is one of the things I found myself reflecting on most after my conversation with Tori.

It would be easy to look at all of this technology and conclude that commercial real estate has become less personal.

I actually believe the opposite can be true.

Technology gives us more opportunities to find one another, learn from one another, and stay connected.

The mistake is believing the technology itself is the relationship.

It isn’t.

A Rolodex never created a relationship.

Neither does LinkedIn.

A fax machine never created trust.

Neither does email.

A website does not create credibility simply because it exists.

These are tools.

What we do with those tools is what matters.

And Now We Have Artificial Intelligence

Today we are entering another major technological transition with artificial intelligence.

I hear many of the same questions and concerns that have accompanied almost every major technological change I have witnessed during my career.

What will this replace?

How will our jobs change?

Do I really need to learn another technology?

I understand those questions because I have watched this movie before.

I watched typewriters become word processors.

I watched the Rolodex become the CRM and LinkedIn.

I watched fax machines give way to email.

I watched printed property books move online.

I watched networking expand from a room full of people to a worldwide digital community.

Now we are watching artificial intelligence become another tool in that progression.

My experience tells me that refusing to acknowledge new technology rarely stops the technology from arriving.

The opportunity is learning how to use it while continuing to preserve the human qualities that made us successful in the first place.

A Walk Into the Past — and a Reminder About the Future

That is why my conversation with Tori Nook meant so much to me.

Her questions caused me to take a walk into my own past.

I remembered the typewriters.

I remembered Liquid Paper.

I remembered those black DOS screens.

I remembered the fax machines.

I remembered the dimes in my pocket.

And, thankfully, I remembered my Rolodexes.

But more importantly, I was reminded how fortunate I have been to experience such an extraordinary period of change in commercial real estate.

A career that began in 1981 has carried me through an era when our brains, a pencil and a telephone were some of our most important business tools to a world where artificial intelligence can help us research, write, analyze and communicate in seconds.

That is pretty incredible when you stop and think about it.

Listen to My Conversation With Tori Nook

I am incredibly grateful to Tori for inviting me onto The Tori Nook Talk Show and for asking the kinds of questions that caused me to remember parts of this journey I had almost forgotten.

If you have been in commercial real estate for a long time, I think some of these memories will make you smile.

If you are newer to the industry, I hope they provide some perspective on just how quickly our industry — and our world — can change.

Listen to the episode:
Linda Day Harrison: The Fax Machine, the Rolodex and CRE’s Digital Revolution — The Tori Nook Talk Show

And no matter what technology comes next, I hope we remember something the Rolodex taught us a very long time ago:

The technology may change, but your network, your reputation and your relationships are still among the most valuable things you carry with you throughout your career.

Today’s commercial real estate professionals have access to technologies I couldn’t have imagined in 1981. Yet learning never stops. That’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate about the CREi Summit, where commercial real estate professionals gather to learn about blogging, podcasting, video, artificial intelligence, social media, and digital marketing.

If you’re interested in where technology is taking our industry next, I hope you’ll join us in Savannah, Georgia, September 23-25.