Stephen Roulac

Stephen E. Roulac, Ph.D., a leading authority on the economic productivity and strategic importance of the places in which we live and work, is author of some 20 favorably reviewed books, plus over 400 articles, reviews, and columns appearing in publications in Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas, including Barrons and Forbes.

A respected cultural visionary, Dr. Roulac has achieved a high standard of excellence in and made significant contributions to entrepreneurial ventures, business management, economic policy and analysis, real estate, investing, strategy, teaching, writing, publishing, and professional speaking.

Retained by both governments and highly successful companies, entrepreneurs, and investors throughout the world, Dr. Roulac and his firm have worked in 20+ countries, and have evaluated and invested in more than 100 countries, creating billions of dollars of value for their clients.

“There is nobody righter or brighter and no one more intellectually pure in his approach to real estate,” according to San Francisco Business.

Currently, Professor of Global Property Strategy at the University of Ulster in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Dr. Roulac created and for 10 years taught the Property Development and Investment Strategy course at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

He is the recipient of numerous awards for innovations that have transformed the property sector, as well as for his pioneering research, including the:

• James Graaskamp Award for iconoclastic thinking that advances new paradigms.

• David Ricardo Medal honoring advancing insights about how place choice is the most significant issue confronting 21st century economics.

• Richard Ratcliff Award recognizing pioneering work concerning place perspective and place strategy.

• Warner Bloomberg Award for promoting a vision of the future established on principles of social justice.

• Millennium Real Estate Award by the University of California, Berkeley, recognizing those 100 individuals who had the greatest impact upon real estate in the 20th century.

In addition to a BA from Pomona College, he holds graduate degrees from Harvard, Stanford, and University of California, Berkeley.

He can be contacted at http://www.roulacglobal.com.

Book Reviews by Stephen Roulac

Reviewed by: 

In The Culture Code Daniel Coyle explores and answers two primary questions: Where does great culture come from?

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

Access, Property and American Urban Space is wide ranging and densely packed with intriguing insights, connecting big ideas to illuminating and at times provocative data, expanded upon wit

Reviewed by: 

Neil Leifer discovered "a camera could be my ticket to everywhere. A kind of magic carpet . . . to anyplace I wanted to go." That camera took him to fascinating places.

Reviewed by: 

Introducing Quiet Power, Susan Cain writes to her kids and team audience, “Through the stories and experiences of other young people like you, I’ll address questions that introverts often

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

It used to be the best pro athlete made about as much as an early career MBA. Today, the top professional athlete might make 100 times what a top B-school MBA might earn. 

Reviewed by: 

Without the Federal Reserve Bank, there might not be ecommerce or even an Internet, which both depend on money.  A century ago the country lacked the financial institutions to be globally competiti

Reviewed by: 

According to Roz Savage every day is a choice: You can drift along or work. Drifting can be very pleasant. Work requires purposeful, intentional effort.

Reviewed by: 

“Breaking New Ground can inform and motivate entrepreneurs who want to change the world.”

Reviewed by: 

“. . . an informed, engaging, entertaining, exploration of how capitalism created and then destroyed the ‘middle state’ of society.”

Reviewed by: 

“. . . an extraordinarily valuable compendium of insight and perspective . . .”

Reviewed by: 

In the opening essay of Distant Reading, Franco Moretti advances the provocative question, “Would there be Shakespeare, had England not been an island?”

Reviewed by: 

Urging the imperative “to distinguish between the desirable and the vital as well as between the feasible and the impossible,” Richard Haass forcefully, cogently, and compellingly makes the case th

Reviewed by: 

The Dean of Harvard Law School was famous for his mid-20th century opening day talk to first year law students, proclaiming “Look to the left of you, look to the right of you, one of the three of y

Reviewed by: 

Change applies at so many levels and constructs: culture, society, family, work, business, governments, technology, etc. Even though change is accelerating—so many resist change.

Reviewed by: 

“. . . a richly researched, carefully crafted, balanced history of personal privacy . . .”

Reviewed by: 

Sometimes “woulda, coulda, shoulda” reflections of what might have been concern the most trivial of topics, while on other occasions these reflections concern the most momentous, even majestic of d

Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

“. . . a most useful resource . . .”

Reviewed by: 

Many years ago Peter Drucker proclaimed, “Most American managers don’t know what their strengths are.” In recent years a veritable cottage industry has emerged to help determine strengths through t

Reviewed by: 

“. . . a vividly engaging study of strategy.”

Reviewed by: 

The consequences of the intersection of explosive knowledge creation, tumultuous markets, and perpetual change, are: (1) what might have worked yesterday may no longer work tomorrow and (2) to be c

Reviewed by: 

“. . . history told through the voice of drama and investigative reporting.”

Reviewed by: 

“. . . an accessible, actionable guide for discovering what most matters.”

What is authenticity at the personal and individual level?

Reviewed by: 

“Dealing with big ideas and important concepts, Balance is engagingly and accessibly told . . .”

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

“The Third Coast mirrors the place it chronicles . . .”

Reviewed by: 

“. . . an Internet company can improve life. . . . [raising] the purpose . . . to improving the human condition.”

Reviewed by: 

“The subject and style of Dollars and Sex challenge conventional thinking making it a most stimulating and rewarding read.”

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

Just as the population has increased over time, so has people’s propensity to travel.

Reviewed by: 

“Ernest Freeberg paints a vivid portrait of the hunger for and rewards of creativity.”

Reviewed by: 

“Go ahead and laugh at Detroit. Because you are laughing at yourself.”

Reviewed by: 

“After the Music Stopped is better read for background context than for strategy, programs, or initiatives that might make a real difference.”

Reviewed by: 

“Ben Katchor easily qualifies as an equal opportunity satirist.”

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

Among the many theories about the origins of creativity is that it may be triggered by the confluence of receptivity to adventure/opportunity, initiative to implement a project, circumstance and co

Reviewed by: 

“The target is dirty energy. The cause is freedom, economic opportunity, and environmental responsibility. Danny Kennedy calls to you to join the Rooftop Revolution.”

Reviewed by: 

“Specifically for marketing and sales, How to Read a Client from Across the Room is a game changer. . . . promises to be a marketing classic.”

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

“. . . biography at its best. . . . deserves the widest readership.”

Reviewed by: 

“Congruent with the style he advocates, Peter Cohan’s book is pragmatic and personalized, . . .”

Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

In the 1960s through the 1980s, Americans won gold medals in all Olympic distance races: 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and the marathon.

Reviewed by: 

“. . . merit[s] a wide readership [but] the author’s message will need to be further amplified, interpreted, and disseminated by others.”

Reviewed by: 

“In Hamilton’s telling doping did not make for an uneven playing field but rather was what any competitive racer must do to compete at the highest level.”

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

“. . . part geographical mystery tour . . . invention and innovation history . . .”

Reviewed by: 

Great achievements follow all that has come before and influence all that will come after.

Reviewed by: 

“. . . provides a brief introduction to an important subject with vast significance.”

Reviewed by: 

“. . . anyone concerned about the destiny of a place needs to comprehend and appropriately apply the insights and techniques of this seminal book.”

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

To make informed decisions about our lives, we need to know about places.

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

“an eclectic, evolving, engaging compendium of remarkable art assignments.”

Is a great artist made or taught? If taught, by whom? In what way?

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

“Idealistic and impassioned, wide-ranging and concise, pragmatic and eloquent, . . .”

Nearly a half century ago, the Beatles sang,

Reviewed by: 

“Given the great importance of creativity, especially now, these stories and many more make Imagine an engaging, rewarding, stimulating read.”

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

“. . . an informative, entertaining chronicle not only about Hollywood and its famous sign but also about what makes a place.”

Reviewed by: 

“We Can All Do Better is a book that every responsible citizen should read, reflect on, and consider in determining which candidate to back in the upcoming elections.”

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

“entertaining and eclectic, engaging and informative.”

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

“. . . illuminating telling . . . real drama . . .”

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

“A History of the World in 100 Objects has wide and universal appeal, both entertaining for the broad audience and illuminating for the advanced student of history.

Reviewed by: 

“A must read for anyone and interested in places and how they affect all parts of our lives and cultures. The Greatest Grid calls the reader to browse randomly.

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

“The author’s presentation mixes personal vignettes, urban statistics, metro stories, discussion of larger forces, specific case studies, and policy commentary.

Reviewed by: 

Born to Run is the story of Christopher McDougall’s search for a mysterious character—one part Carlos Castenada; another part super athlete; a third bit society dropout—who had decided tha

Reviewed by: 

“The target audience is ambiguous, as the coverage moves back and forth between the interests of workers, activists, small business owners, investors, and public officials.

Reviewed by: 

“One measure of an extraordinary book is that it prompts the reader to reframe his or her view of the world, to recognize and reaffirm patterns, to consider implications that might not have

Reviewed by: 

“Deftly weaving economics, military strategy, religion, law, culture, evolutionary biology, archaeology, and history, Francis Fukuyama tells his story from the earliest of times up through

Reviewed by: 

“Thinking, Fast and Slow is an engaging comprehensive seminar in print, taught by a wise, careful, deliberate thinker. . . .

Reviewed by: 

“Supported and illuminated by a series of powerful graphic displays of key changes and realigned relationships, Race Against the Machine is simultaneously sophisticated, yet access

Reviewed by: 

“. . . a useful, timely, relevant contribution.”

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

“Decide to Play Great Poker: A Strategy Guide for No-Limit Texas Hold ’em is highly recommended for the neophyte or even for someone disinterested in poker, for transferring knowle

Reviewed by: 

What does it take to make a place lively, a code word for appealing, competitive, sustainable? What choices should those who have leadership responsibility for place stewardship make?

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

The essence of the argument that Tyler Cowen advances in The Great Stagnation is that the U.S.’s prosperity over the last three decades has been derived from “lots of low-hanging fruit .

Reviewed by: 

Most books about major business events tend to focus on the most recent activity, to concentrate on consequences rather than causes, and to emphasize the perpetrators’ personalities more than their

Reviewed by: 

“Willpower combines research descriptions, summaries of findings, and discussion of the application of the research with stories featuring celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey to faci

Reviewed by: 

“Our future depends on the Blue Revolution that Cynthia Barnett advocates, for, as the ancients knew long before modern science did, ‘Water is life.’”

Reviewed by: 

“Hollywood Left and Right is nonfiction at its best: entertaining and engaging, probing and provocative, detailed and comprehensive in coverage, multifaceted and far-ranging in its

Author(s):
Reviewed by: 

Peter Mayle is not only the master of a particular place—his stories are informed by experiences of his beloved Provence, located in the southeast of France, adjacent to the Mediterranean—but he ha

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

“Ultimately, How to Measure Anything is a treatise on decision making involving applied logic and behavioral economics.

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

“Computer science can be accurately viewed as the upriver force that makes possible the phenomenal impact of such entrepreneurs such as Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Howard Schul

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

“[Paul Chutkow’s] story of Zelda is a modern day Pygmalion tale, in which Liza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, who was ostensibly the beneficiary of Professor Henry Higgins’s motivation

Reviewed by: 

“A key take away from this important book is the imperative to ‘know your place,’ both those places where you live, which are in flux and constantly evolving, and also those places with whi

Reviewed by: 

Addressing the role of urban placemaking in the context of the challenges of contemporary society, authors Robert Steuteville and Philip Langdon observe, “While the world has big issues, we should

Reviewed by: 

“a fascinating, illuminating, engaging story of what it takes to be successful at the highest levels.

Reviewed by: 

“Michelle Owens does not ‘presume to dictate something so personal’ as the ‘rules for making a garden.’ Rather, her stated intention in this delightful book is ‘to suggest ways to think abo

Reviewed by: 

“The model that Mr. Marks presents for market assessment alone is worth the price of the book.”

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

Busted is even more poignant and shocking by its being narrated by a well-regarded reporter who is informed, smart, detached—and therefore supposedly immune to the temptations tha

Reviewed by: 

“Mr. Tracy presents solid, substantive material in an accessible way.”

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

The other Sunday, after encountering bitingly cold winds along a Marin Headlands coastal trail, my wife and I elected an urban walk through Mill Valley instead.

Reviewed by: 

Ideas are profoundly important, yet many are innocent of the phenomenal power of ideas. Renowned economist John Maynard Keyes proclaimed:

Reviewed by: 

In 1975 Charles Ellis published an article in the highly regarded Financial Analysts Journal that advanced the provocative proposition that investing is a game dominated by losers.

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

In Harnessing America’s Wasted Talent: A New Ecology of Learning, Peter Smith advances the provocative proposition that the real problem is not enough jobs, but insufficient skilled worker

Reviewed by: 

The United States of America’s higher education system was once a shining example of the country’s global leadership.

Author(s):
Genre(s):
Reviewed by: 

The competing interests of the Big Law game—power, ego, money, competing with sense of partnership, duty to advocate clients’ interests, and pursuit of justice as an officer of the court—are all ex

Reviewed by: 

The Pale King, David Foster Wallace’s posthumous, unfinished novel is a study in ambiguity, anchored in the trivial precision of personal statistical descriptions and the apparent precisio