Slowing Down to Go Faster

Nomad Futurist

How does it feel for a seasoned real estate and finance professional with over 25 years of experience to be the oldest member of one coffee group and the youngest member of another? If you are Allen Tucker and your mantra is “Everybody’s Important!” it feels great! Tucker shares his journey with Phil and Nabeel and discusses the importance of authenticity, embracing different perspectives and more on this #NomadFuturist podcast.

Tucker highlights lessons he learned from mentors at CBRE.

“I think the real key is, even as a young professional, being invited into the room and being around really smart people, listening, absorbing, and interpreting.”

Tucker discusses the heyday of the dot-com bubble and the aftermath of its crash. He talks about how one is shaped by the totality of the experiences that one has over the course of time.

“You don’t know what’s happening when it’s happening. That’s the real key…you have to pay attention to those turning points, to those ups and downs.”

He shares how he has learned to not jump to conclusions too quickly but to take the time to digest and assess the events and conditions of the moment.

“When you’re younger, you’re trying to go fast and you’re not necessarily recognizing what’s happening. I think I’m really good now at slowing down to go faster!”

Tucker describes how he has learned to articulate technical concepts to a group of non-technicians, despite not being trained in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).

“There are lots of people in the industry who are non-STEM people. We’re in need of left and right-side brains driving this industry. it just can’t be one side.”

Tucker sees the challenges of AI in terms of impacting jobs in the critical infrastructure space but remains enthusiastic about opportunities for skilled technicians to take part in management and critical decision-making.

“People see things totally differently from different perspectives. That’s probably something that I’ve embraced more than anything else. This is the beauty of our industry. It’s all encompassing. Everybody’s important.”

Allen Tucker is nationally known as a subject matter expert on site selection and mission critical / data center facilities with 25+ years of corporate real estate experience exclusively focusing on enterprise / tenant representation. He is the founder of DC Advisors LLC and DC ConnX and a board member of AFCOM Potomac Chapter and NVTC Data Center and Cloud Committee. Tucker has served 19 years as a Managing Director and leader of the Mid-Atlantic Data Center Solutions practice in JLL’s Tysons, Virginia office.

His speaking and publication engagements include 7x24 local chapters, AFCOM Data Center World Conference and local chapters, Area Development, Bisnow DICE, CapRE, Critical Facilities Summit, DC/AC Live, Data Center Dynamics and more. He has authored numerous nationally notable articles and presentations.

Tucker has a BA in Economics from George Mason University and is a licensed commercial real estate agent in the Commonwealth of Virginia. He has been married for twenty-seven years and has two children.