The Larson Leadership Initiative focuses on the following flagship events:

ULI Leaders of Excellence

The Larson Leadership Initiative will offer a series of three invitation-only, top-flight programs each year to members who accept leadership positions in ULI. Trustees, Product Council and District/Country Council Chairs will be invited to attend small, interactive sessions featuring stellar corporate and civic leaders, along with top experts in the field of leadership coaching and development. ULI asks much of its volunteer leaders. These sessions are designed to “give back” to these individuals by offering them the chance to learn from the best how lead effectively in ULI, in their businesses, in their communities.

Larson Leadership Summit

Each year, the Larson Leadership Summit brings together 50 ULI full members at the Spring Council Forum for a half-day program designed to enhanced personal and organizational leadership skills. This invitation-only event includes a keynote speaker and interactive sessions to provide both substantive content and informal peer-to-peer sharing of experiences.

CEO Summit

The CEO Summit is held each year at the ULI Fall Meeting. A limited number of chief executives are invited to discuss the latest industry trends and share their experiences and lessons learned from managing their organizations in the face of global trends, such as changing demographics, emerging technologies, a new regulatory environment and the complexities of the capital markets. A keynote speaker is invited to set the stage for the day, followed by roundtable conversations about the opportunities and challenges of leading organizations in today’s business climate.

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Regional Leadership Roundtables

These one-and-a-half-day sessions, provide participants with an in depth look at leadership skills, best practices, and lessons learned. Limited participation of 60 people allows for peer-to-peer exchange and optimum interaction with invited experts and corporate and civic leaders. Target audiences vary from one roundtable to another and will include full, local, or public sector leaders, as well as young leaders.

A shorter, two to three-hour version of these sessions – Leadership Modules – will be developed and offered to District Councils, Product Councils, Trustees, and ULI staff.

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The third annual CEO Summit, sponsored by the ULI Robert C. Larson Leadership Initiative and Ferguson Partners was held at the 2011 ULI Fall Meeting in Los Angeles. ULI convened a select group of CEOs for three hours of inspiration and discussion on what it will take to lead a real estate firm in the future. This invitation-only event, was limited to 50 CEOs and other heads of real estate–related companies to ensure the productive use of time and deliver excellent take-home value.
The goal was to bring together heads of firms from all over the world both to discuss global issues as they relate to our enterprises and to look outside the industry for best practices as a guide to dealing with the challenges of the C-Suite.

The highly interactive session began with a Elizabeth Stephenson, a partner in McKinsey, led a discussion entitled “Global Forces: The Five Crucibles for Change.” In a power point presentation “What Happens Next?” she described that in the next decade innovation will come from rebalancing the global economy, especially with India and China; a mandate for improved productivity; a global grid that connects the planet; a pricing mechanism that accounts for all resource usage (UPS was able to cut system wide cost by 2% by eliminating left turns by their fleet of trucks) ; and governments as major players and legitimate partners in the global economy. “In this world, the optimists have it,” argues economist David Landes in the closing paragraphs of The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, his brilliant survey of 500 years of economic development. They have it, he adds, “not because they are always right, but because they are positive. Even when wrong, they are positive, and that is the way of achievement, correction, improvement, and success.” The group was then asked to discuss at their roundtables what they were doing regarding innovation.

Hank Nothhaft, CEO of Danger Inc. and a self-proclaimed “serial entrepreneur,” then spoke about the leadership lessons in his new book Great Again. He made an impassioned plea for the creation of more jobs in the United States, noting that it was far easier to create a start up in China than here at home and criticizing the lack of a national strategy for business development. Technical training is a particular challenge as 60% of students return to their home countries. “We’re not producing enough engineers,” he lamented.

One of the highlights of the summit was an challenge to the audience at various intervals during the morning called “Stump the CEO” where each participant submitted a question and another randomly choose one to answer. The question of “how to recruit the best talent” one CEO answered, “Look for those comfortable in chaos.”


GE Capital Real Estate’s Kathleen Carey, a ULI Robert C. Larson Advisory Board member, commented that she was made much more aware of the critical importance of staying current with new technologies, particularly social networking. “Technology gets old quickly”, she said: “if you and your organization are not cutting edge, you'll miss out and quickly become irrelevant and ignored.”

For Mike Lowe of Lowe Enterprises “the best part was certainly having the opportunity to debate big picture issues and ideas with peers across the industry.”

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ULI hosted a number of leadership sessions at its 2011 Fall Meeting and Urban Land Expo in Los Angeles. From panel discussions to a personal leadership workshop, professionals in attendance were afforded unique opportunities to gain new insights and hone their leadership skills. The leadership sessions included:

New Models for Leadership
The New Models for Leadership session began by looking at leadership in all areas of life and how to apply those examples both in our industry and everyday. A large, diverse panel of ULI trustees shared their experiences and lessons learned over the years while a graphic artist sketched out the major concepts discussed. Examples ranged from mega-sports stars to entrepreneurs to under-appreciated public servants. The discussion soon turned to the audience, creating a beneficial dialogue for all those in attendance. It concluded with a variety of excellent examples and tips represented in a unique visual display.

View from the Top
The View from the Top session brought women leaders to the forefront to share their professional experiences and offer career advice. Marilyn Jordan Taylor, Dean of the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania and Partner at the architecture firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP, moderated a lively discussion. The panel also focused on today’s current environment in which they shared opportunities and challenges of operating in international markets, particularly China and South America. The panel expressed their mutual challenges of assessing risk and understanding cultural differences while agreeing that foreign investment is an extremely attractive opportunity in today’s market.

Crossover
The Crossover session brought thought leaders from outside the industry into a panel session focusing on how to lead your organization to more business through marketing and advertising effectively. The panel pulled out all the stops with a lively, theatrical production with 3D visual presentations and music. By tapping into the creative process, these thought leaders showed an audience of industry professionals how to “think differently.

Who's in Charge of Your Ship?
The session Who’s In Charge of Your Ship? was led by Gordon Davidson and Corinne McLaughlin, founders of the Center for Visionary Leadership. They discussed their core ideals of what becoming an effective leader really means. Davidson and McLaughlin told the audience that it is critical to understand and develop your inner, spiritual self to successfully handle today’s uncertain and ever-changing times. Further, they advised that personal values should play a critical role in defining yourself, as they will help you be a successful leader through times of personal struggle.

Leverage your Strengths for Soaring Success
Other leadership sessions held during the fall conference included Leverage your Strengths for Soaring Success. Author and entrepreneur Devora Zack led the session exploring how to use your natural strengths to achieve success. Those in attendance took a self assessment to help create their own personal leadership action plans. Zack taught and explained how to turn your own perceived leadership flaws into new, unrealized strengths.

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