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DISCOVER HOW
IS TIED TO DIVERSITY
In the Black offers a compelling account of T. Dallas Smith's experience as a young Black man trying to break into the commercial real estate industry in the 1980s. Against the odds, Smith became the first Black broker at the Atlanta outpost of Cushman & Wakefield and then built a successful career at the helm of his own commercial real estate company. Smith's account is at intervals provocative, humorous, and inspiring. Throughout the twists and turns of his narrative, the central message remains clear: there is much work yet to be done diversifying the faces of the commercial real estate industry. Smith's business success story poses a direct challenge to the very community in which he's cut a path to success: it's well past time to hire, train, and mentor more Black brokers.
This book takes a step in that direction by introducing young Black men and women to a field they may not have previously considered. For Smith, increasing industry exposure is the first in a series of necessary changes that includes sharing knowledge, establishing networks and relationships with contacts and mentors, and, ultimately, moving the industry itself to recognize and reward interest, hard work, and enthusiasm for the field.
List of contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
The Nose of a King
Klan Killer
Black Asset
As Only a Black Man Can Do
Service First
Three Smooth Stones
Mascot
Best Salesman I Ever Met
CONCLUSION
About the author
T. DALLAS SMITH is the founder and CEO at T. Dallas Smith & Company, a commercial real estate firm specializing in tenant representation based in Atlanta, Georgia . T. Dallas Smith & Company has led projects across the country with metrics exceeding seven million square feet of commercial property leasing and acquisitions and five thousand acres of land purchases. Since the company's inception, the team has led transactions totaling over $15 billion in aggregate value.
Dallas is an innovator and thought leader in the commercial real estate community and is intentional about cultivating and developing diverse talent to help shape the commercial real estate industry. He has served as chair of the Real Estate Committee for the Georgia State University Foundation Board and on the boards of the Council for Quality Growth and the Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS. Dallas has been recognized as Atlanta's Most Admired CEO (2017), Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtor's Realtor of the Year (2018), and Empire Board of Realtists Broker of the Year (2018).
Summary
With In the Black, T. Dallas Smith identifies the centrality of honest and open relationships to success within the world of high-dollar commercial real estate deals. His advice to “build relationships before you need them” is complemented by personal stories highlighting the importance of identifying one’s advocates. Smith is keen to recognize the people — some of them sense-making and some of them unexpected — who helped lift him up in a field the primary practice of which has been to reject diversity among its practitioners. Smith shows how making one’s way in an industry that has historically rejected Black men and women may be challenging but is in no way impossible. His own story is proof that one can both be a trailblazer and use one’s hard-won position to open doors for others.
