Encouragement from colleagues and friends is crucial to getting a big project like the MIRM case study done. But when one of those friends is the president of IRM, it means you better hop to it! C.J. Rogers, president of the Austin and San Antonio divisions of Toll Brothers, credits his friend Mary DeWalt, MIRM, 2006 president of IRM, with getting him to do his case study...nearly 10 years after getting his CMP.

1. What designations do you have? I got the CMP back in 1995 or ‘96 and just completed my case study for my MIRM. It was just laziness that caused me to put off the case study. Mary DeWalt is a good friend of mine, and she was the president of IRM this year. She’d been pushing me to do it, and I finally had a project that was perfect, so I went ahead and did it. I do have to thank Mary; she was relentless and made sure that I pursued the MIRM designation.
   
   
2. What prompted you to get designations? At that time, I was vice president of sales, and I thought certainly that taking the courses would help me in my career, and they did. I completed the courses within a year.
   
   
3. Have your designations benefited your career? It’s helped me understand more in-depth analysis of projects. It’s helped me to more quickly assess projects, and given me a more rounded view when I’m analyzing a project. So often, people in this business come from either sales or construction, some even from accounting, and I’m not sure how you can realistically analyze a new deal, or rely on others to analyze it for you, if you don’t have some basis to critique their analysis. The courses give you more in-depth knowledge. I’m a regional president with a national homebuilder and development company (Toll Brothers). At this level of my career, I don’t get involved in a project until it’s complete, and then I’m just reviewing it. You’ve got to be able to look beyond the Power Point. My designations have helped me to become a better decision maker.  

"I would like to stress the point that the IRM courses probably have as much or more benefit for people who are not in the sales and marketing side business as those who are. People may look at the program and say, 'Well, I'm not in marketing or sales, so I don't need this,' but as a step on your career ladder, the designations are really invaluable."

4. Tell me a little about the MIRM process. How did you make time to do it? One of the things I did was I started out with a real project I was working on at the time. It helped because, other than the fact that my company didn’t require a lot of the stuff I had to put in the case study, I had a real, ongoing project to work with. So that helped, and that was the easy part, just documenting this particular community all the way through.
   
   
5. What’s your advice for people who have just received their designation? What’s the next step? If you get your CMP, go ahead and start on the case study. Even if it’s not part of your current job responsibilities, I think you should align yourself with the people who do analyze and put together projects. Ask them for help; ask if you can tag along on an actual project. If you do use an actual project, and you use the outline you get to put your case study together, it will give you a whole new slant on how things are done in your company. Whatever area you’re in, this will help you advance your career. After the MIRM, I’m going to get actively involved, maybe do some teaching. I don’t have a lot of time to spare but I think sometimes that when someone with my kind of background gets involved, it gives the program a little more credit, and hopefully I can encourage other people to do it.
   
   
6. Do people ask you what your designations mean when they see those letters after your name? Yes, often times they do and I’ll explain what it’s all about.
   
   
7. Why do you encourage others to get designations? More so now, with the market changing the way it is, I think it’s vitally important that people pursue any avenue they can to help them make better decisions for their company and themselves. I don’t think a lot of people in higher positions, like regional presidents and others, pursue additional continuing education, and they really should.

For more information on IRM designations, contact the Designation Helpline at 800-368-5242 x8154. [ return to top ]