Yesterday's Innovation Pep Rally

During the CoreNet luncheon panel yesterday at great real estate hangout Maggiano's, we found that talk of reinventing oneself during a recession took a backseat to actually inventing things and changing the way you operate.

Joyce Bros' John Wichman,  Steelcase's Brian Shapland, and Office Concepts' Deborah Barsumian  enjoyed the three-course meal. John was giving Brian a hard time for canceling their Friday golf outing due to guilt over missing work. (Ten bucks says Brian's telling us this because he knows his boss reads Bisnow.)

Ocean Tomo's James Malackowski  and Transwestern's Phillip Utigard were too excited about innovation to touch their three glasses of water. James said the most important thing about innovation was to not try and do it all; focus on things that can be improved instead of reinventing the wheel. Real estate pros have already improved their lives with inventions like online maps of hot neighborhoods. Phillip says Transwestern's greatest invention was to work together instead of in silos or with a hierarchy.

Pederson & Houpt's Joe Brocato, Tribune Co.'s Stephanie Pater, Riis Borg Construction's Paul Riis Borg, and Pappageorge/Haymes'Rachel White dined together at the President's Table. Rachel was pleased to share that her firm just landed a new 200-acre assignment at the Coleman redevelopment site in Pullman, but she couldn't say anything more about it yet. Don't worry, we won't tell.

We found Verizon Wireless's Bruce Poetter, Wright Heerema Architects' Margie Kurkowski,  and Pepper Construction's Tim Weidman  socializing afterward. Margie is working with CoreNet's Emerging Leaders group to help young pros create programs for networking. Upcoming events include a Social Media and Real Estate  seminar on May 19. And, Bruce: way to brighten up dreary skies with a great tie!