Robert Futterman

"I remember everything…if you remember everything, then it's easy to pass on what you've learned and relate those experiences to other people…Be a sponge, remember everything and articulate it accurately."

"I always thought that luck was a result of hard work, and the only way you're going to get lucky is if you're at the desk on Friday afternoon in August and the phone rings and you get the call and it's a developer who's building a project that needs your help. If you're working, if you're there, if you're in the game, if you stay engaged and involved, that's how people get lucky. Luck doesn't just happen to people. They have to make it happen. And it's in everybody's power, I think, to get lucky."

"I started out as a canvasser…I walked the streets, I got listings, I called landlords, and I made it happen. And you know what? That mentality has never left me and I'm still a canvasser of new opportunities, constantly trolling for new business and I pass that on to my people every single day."

"Look, I'm a New Yorker. I'm in your face and I'm hands-on…for me, the word tomorrow is not in my vocabulary. I need things done right away. I don't like procrastination. I am very hands-on. I get in people's faces. That's how I run this business."

"I have kids and they're millennials, so I see their patterns. I see how they get their news, I see how they communicate, I see how they socialize and do their shopping and eating habits and patterns. Being an owner of a company and a manager with an enormous amount of millennials in the workforce, my kids have helped me realize how different and how times have changed and how we have to adapt. I find the millennials to be fascinating."

"There's no segment of the real estate market that's more exciting, creative, and forward-thinking than retail."

"Be extremely diligent, stay focused, don’t get off task, and don't forget what you do. If you're in retail leasing, don't try to sell hotels. Don't try to lease some industrial real warehouse in the Bronx. Don't try to do some office deal. You're in retail. Stay focused in retail…Focus on what you do best."

"Follow your passion. Follow your dreams. I know that sounds fluffy, but it's not crazy - I think it's very realistic. If you're doing something that you enjoy doing and you're pursuing your passion, that's the best chance you have of your dreams coming true."

"I live in the moment. The past is the past and I can't change anything about it and the future is all in my imagination. So, therefore, the only thing I can deal with is sitting here right now …by sticking to that and being totally transparent, it kind of tells you who I am and what I'm about. And I think that for me is the essence of life. That's the one thing."