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In his latest Commercial Observer article, Bob Knakal reflects on the handful of decisions that fundamentally shaped his more than four-decade career in commercial real estate. Rather than attributing his success to one strategy or proprietary formula, Knakal explains how a series of pivotal choices—often made without certainty—determined the direction of his career, his companies, and his approach to leadership.
From choosing commercial real estate over investment banking to launching Massey Knakal, expanding into Brooklyn and Queens, aggressively hiring following September 11, and ultimately founding BKREA, Knakal shares the decisions and lessons that defined his career. The article demonstrates how judgment, conviction, experience, and preparation can shape outcomes when the future is impossible to predict.
While studying at Wharton, Knakal initially planned to pursue investment banking. After spending a summer at Coldwell Banker in commercial real estate, he discovered an entrepreneurial business where effort was directly connected to results and relationships were central to success.
When Knakal and Paul Massey decided to launch their own company, banks were unwilling to finance their vision. Rather than abandon the idea, they spent two years saving money before launching Massey Knakal in 1988 with $400,000.
When Massey Knakal had covered every Manhattan sales territory by 1999, the firm faced a choice between becoming a full-service real estate company or expanding geographically while remaining focused on building sales. They chose specialization and expanded into Queens and Brooklyn.
Following September 11, 2001, while much of the industry was reducing staff, Massey Knakal made the decision to aggressively recruit. The company grew from 21 employees to approximately 150 within two years, positioning the firm for its most dominant period as New York recovered.
A proposed $50 million sale of Massey Knakal to CBRE in 2007 ultimately did not close. Rather than viewing the experience solely as a failure, Knakal used it to understand acquisitions and buyer expectations. Seven years later, that experience helped prepare the company for its eventual $100 million sale to Cushman & Wakefield.
Knakal explains that some decisions are influenced by difficult experiences. After leaving Cushman & Wakefield for JLL in 2018, he initially had no desire to start another company. Years later, greater perspective allowed him to recognize the opportunity to build BKREA.
Knakal founded BKREA in April 2024 after determining that no existing platform could serve his clients as effectively as the platform he could build himself. The decision represented a return to entrepreneurship shaped by decades of experience.
The defining decisions of Knakal's career were not supported by certainty or perfect information. They required judgment developed through experience, pattern recognition, curiosity, and years of learning.
"The Decisions That Changed Everything" offers a broader lesson about career development and leadership: most professional success is built through ordinary, disciplined days, but a small number of inflection points can fundamentally alter the future.
Knakal emphasizes that the most important decisions rarely arrive with guarantees. What matters is developing the experience, discipline, and judgment necessary to make sound choices when the outcome remains uncertain.
According to Knakal:
"The decision may change your direction. Becoming the kind of person capable of making that decision is what changes your life."
That perspective provides a powerful framework for entrepreneurs, brokers, investors, and business leaders navigating their own moments of uncertainty.
The article examines the major career and business decisions that shaped Bob Knakal's more than 40 years in commercial real estate.
While studying at Wharton, Knakal decided to pursue commercial real estate rather than investment banking after discovering his passion for the entrepreneurial nature of the industry.
Bob Knakal and Paul Massey launched Massey Knakal in November 1988 after saving $400,000 to finance the company.
Rather than significantly reducing staff, Massey Knakal made an aggressive hiring decision, growing from 21 employees to approximately 150 over the following two years.
The proposed 2007 transaction gave Knakal valuable insight into acquisitions, buyer expectations, and the considerations involved in selling a company—experience that later helped prepare him for the company's sale to Cushman & Wakefield.
After years away from entrepreneurship, Knakal determined that building his own platform would allow him to serve clients better than any existing platform. He founded BKREA in April 2024.
Successful careers are built through thousands of ordinary actions, but a handful of pivotal decisions can change the direction of everything that follows. Developing the judgment to recognize and act on those moments is critical.
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