By John McManus | Builder
The Taylor Morrison chairman and ceo has a message–and a credible path from survival to thriving–to help others through the disruptive bumps ahead. Here it is.
On March 24, about four weeks after our meeting in New York to share word that Taylor Morrison would be BUILDER’s 2020 Builder of The Year, chairman and ceo Sheryl Palmer and I spoke, as the novel coronavirus pandemic coursed an all-points global pathway of devastation, and brought with it economic upheaval.
Home building and residential real estate, like all of the world’s business sectors, pivoted into a limbo of disruption, the duration and magnitude of which remain unclear. What is known is that the crisis calls for leaders of companies–public, private, large, small, local and national–to step up. They need to beat tough odds on multiple, equally urgent matters–the health and safety of people in the workforce, the continuity of leadership, the capacity to meet near-term expenses, the securing of workflows and supply chains, to bring immediate cohesion to the sudden new home-bound/home-based network of team members, to ignite cultural unity, and, all the while, face the music on the capital investment side of things.
Sheryl, graciously agreed to go on the record for what we believe shines as an example for others, as an honest, brave, realistic, and motivating framework for home building community members. Two critical take-aways: One is Palmer’s unshakable belief in the power of her organization’s–and our society’s–shared purpose in prevailing. The other, simply, gratitude for the underlying meaning of what builders do for a living. Here, verbatim, are a few of the high-level takes from that conversation.
Leading:
[SP] How do I think about life and Taylor Morrison today, tomorrow, I have to start with the fundamentals. None of us have ever been through something like this. But we’ve been through crises, which do alter the way people process information. So, I have to start with taking a step back and appreciating the impact this has so that we can plan for successful communication as we talk about our everyday, our tomorrow’s priorities, how to make sure the company’s okay six months from now, six years from today.
