What Really Counts

In my office there is a framed copy of words which my great grandfather Felix Warburg always kept on his desk. It says : “I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

Without always realizing it, I have been motivated since childhood by the desire to live up to these words.  I hope it is the animating spirit for what makes us unique at Warburg. Because every organization, every office is its own little solar system and within that system the balance between what is being given and what is being taken is always in flux.

In recent months, the son of one of my cousins has been living with my brother Elliot, who is a lawyer in San Francisco. This young man, who has been working with native people in Central America for much of the last two years, is highly focused on social philanthropy and asked my brother if he doesn’t feel badly sometimes about being a criminal defense attorney in a world where there is so much social injustice. Ah, to be 25 again! But Elliot gave him a wonderful answer which has resonated with me deeply ever since we spoke about it. He said: “The work I do frequently keeps innocent people out of jail. But more importantly, it feeds my family and sends my kids to school. Because of the work I do, many people, both at our office and other offices around the Bay Area, are employed. They can feel proud that because of what THEY do, THEIR families are fed and clothed and educated. That is what I believe in.”

I am proud of Warburg Realty for exactly the same reason. Because of what our agents do, our wonderful staff is able to provide for their families and their own well being. Stagers, attorneys, decorators and architects throughout the city are able to work because of OUR work. Developers build buildings because there is a market for them, that market often created and supplemented by our work, our insight, our expertise. So every deal we make begins a cascade of economic benefit. New York hums along on real estate, and we are one of the elements at the center of that vibrant hub.

I admire every one of our agents and employees. Each of us has a story. In all those stories, where we work, where we spend so many of our waking hours, is a starting point for good intentions and acts of generosity. Every time we are helpful to a colleague, every time we give the benefit of the doubt, try to imagine ourselves in the shoes of the other agent, or the client or customer, we are honoring those words in the frame in my office. 2010 has been a terrific year for us. But a good year is not just about money. It is just as important to me to know that our firm’s reputation as fair minded, as highly professional, as setting a standard for integrity, continues to grow from transaction to transaction.