MIKE
BERMAN believes pre-conceived notions about a business or
industry can get in the way of success. He prefers working with companies that
operate in industries where he has little experience. That way, he’s able to
come in as a true outsider, assess a situation, and make recommendations
without bias.
Long before the 2008 financial crisis resulted in a
worldwide economic drawdown that persists to this day, Mike warned his
then-employer, Meridian Capital Group LLC (the world’s leading commercial
mortgage broker), that the commercial lending and real estate marketplace was
headed for collapse. The signs were all there, he told them. One only needed to
know where to look to find them and then take appropriate actions to weather
the storm. As a result of Mike’s early warnings and subsequent planning, Meridian
felt virtually no effects from the financial crisis.
Mike served as Executive Director and Chief Operating
Officer for Meridian from 2005 to 2007, joining the company at a time of unprecedented
growth and potential volatility. By 2006, through a major overhaul of the
corporate structure, Mike had already helped the company achieve revenue in
excess of $30 billion.
But that was not to be his most lasting contribution to
Meridian’s success. Shortly after arriving, Mike realized that the industry’s fundamentals
“were out of whack” and that the real estate and lending markets were not only in
for a decline, but a potentially dramatic burst.
At first, Meridian owners and board members did not
accept Mike’s warnings, believing his lack of experience in their industry was
the main reason for what they perceived to be a fundamental misunderstanding of
the situation. Meridian executives were convinced there was “no end in sight”
to the growth they and the industry were enjoying. Thus, Mike’s was challenged
with finding a way to manage the company’s hyper-growth, convincing its stakeholders
the looming downturn was real, and creating a plan to address it.
Buoyed by his success instituting companywide standards and
practices and lowering operating expenses, which led to significant growth and
revenue increases, Mike set out to develop and implement a comprehensive crisis
prevention plan. Upon sound and substantiated research and working very closely
with a variety of employees on the company front lines as well as with senior
corporate executives, Mike convinced Meridian ownership to adopt the plan some 9
months before the market collapsed.
The plan was then implemented at the first sign of slow down, nearly 6 full
months before Lehman Brothers failed and the financial melt-down took place.
As a result of Mike’s prescience, the plan he developed,
and an overhaul of the company’s corporate structure, Meridian not only secured
an industry leadership position, but consolidated market share and outperformed
the industry. Not many companies can say that—even to this day. But then again,
not all of them had Mike Berman speaking hard truths and
helping them make the tough choices necessary to manage change and transition
through tough times.
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