Jeff Civian has over 25 years’ experience in real estate development, primarily for senior living communities. He served as vice president of Oakmont Developers, a managing member with Aegis Assisted Living, and a project manager for Oakmont Senior Living, all in Santa Rosa, California. As part of these organizations, Jeff Civian built over 450 senior living homes in the western United States from 1986 to 2012. He was involved in multiple phases of development, including planning, bidding, subdividing, and construction. In addition to building senior assisted care facilities, Jeff Civian has held several roles in local government commissions. He served on the Oakmont Village Association Architectural Review Committee (1986 to 1996), City of Santa Rosa Design Review Board (1990 to 1992), Town of Windsor Planning Commission (1992 to 1996), and Sonoma County Planning Commission (1996 to 2000). Further, Jeff Civian was on the City of Healdsburg Planning Commission from 2010 to 2019, serving as chair in his final year. Currently, Jeff Civian owns the maintenance and pilot/duty room hangar for REACH Mediplane in Santa Rosa’s Charles M. Schultz Airport. He has a BS in renewable natural resources from the University of California Davis and an MS in civil engineering from California State University, Sacramento. Mr. Civian lives in Wailea, Hawaii. In his free time he enjoys flying small fixed-wing aircraft, and has accumulated over 3,200 flight hours. He also enjoys duck hunting.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
I am an early riser with coffee and catching up on the news. Then I swim about a 1000 yards. I eat a healthy diet. I check my investments and do travel research.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Develop a mental image of the idea, then execute the idea with hard work and focus.
What’s one trend that excites you?
Electric aircraft for short distance trips
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Self-discipline
What advice would you give your younger self?
Calm Down
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
That we will have a major economic downturn within the next 12 months.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Exercise and stay active
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
Go for a 20 minute walk
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
To find good business partners to work with, seek out talented people with different skill sets from your own.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
My first job as a civil engineer was extremely tough. I needed a mentor to work with and the consulting company would not provide much help. So it was essentially sink or swim. I hung in there for a little over a year and changed companies. I was very up front and humble in my search for a new work environment. What I learned from the experience was that its ok to ask for help and admit that I was doing poorly.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Financial calculator for determining future value of investments under different assumptions.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
The book Hawaiki Rising by Sam Low. The stories of Polynesian voyages are inspiring.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
Ted Lasso. Hilarious stories about life within the backdrop of soccer in England.
Key learnings
- Don’t take yourself too seriously. And give yourself a break, you don’t have to be everything to everyone.
- Take risks, it’s the only way to get ahead.
- If you demand success, it will come.
- Always “embrace the suck” as it is those that do that will build the tools to excel.
- Fill your day with variety, it is the spice of life!