Long-Range Vision

JOHN WIELAND DOESN'T DAYDREAM about unit count, gross revenue, or profit margin. Instead, his mind's eye focuses on how to continue making the company he founded years, that concentration has centered on building more than houses that happen to sit side-by-side; he spends his days envisioning and creating whole neighborhoods—the way those homes complement each other and are complemented by the community entrances, landscaping, and amenities surrounding them.

“John thinks with both sides of his brain. He can see the big picture and the details,” says Debbie Babb, vice president of marketing, who has worked with Wieland for 29 years.

That attention to both sides of his home building business has helped Atlanta-based Wieland succeed in what he calls “the sweet spot of the market,” between entry-level production and pure custom builders. No doubt Wieland's vision has facilitated much of the company's growth—including into a handful of other Southern markets—but the focus on distinctive design, customer service, and community involvement, administered by many long-serving employees, has solidified Wieland's position as a top builder.

John Wieland (left), chairman and chief creative officer; Terry Russell (center), CEO; Eric Price (right), president and COO

“Our name isn't accidental,” Wieland says of the company that bears his name. “Five years ago we were really good home builders. Now we're very good neighborhood creators and very good home builders.”

That's due in part to a move Wieland made a year ago, when at age 68, he created a new role for himself. Now, in addition to his title of chairman, he serves as the company's chief creative officer, responsible for the big picture: new neighborhood creation. He handed the reins of day-to-day operations to his two long-time managers, Terry Russell, now CEO, and Eric Price, president and COO.

These days, Wieland concentrates much of his effort on the company's land acquisition. His strategy is simple: Find affordable parcels that fit with the company's ideas for new neighborhoods. “You shouldn't buy land you don't have a vision for,” he asserts. “You should close your eyes and see the houses and have a sense of the neighborhood and community that should be there in three or five years.”

Recently booming land prices might have led other builders to overspend on dirt, but Wieland has stood firm, continuing to refuse to pay “super premium” prices for land. Though that strategy might mean buying fewer lots or in less hot areas, not being locked into a certain amount of growth is one of the benefits of being a private company, he explains.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods strives to create destination developments that include attractive amenities.

Price acknowledges that some of those pieces of land have been on the edge of the hot market. But, he explains, that strategy allows the builder to spend less on land and more on amenities and details that enhance the neighborhood, such as a golf course or clubhouse. “We can turn it into something special for the customer,” he says. “Then, if they have to drive an extra 10 or 15 miles, that's not as important as driving through the entrance and having a sense that they've arrived at their home and neighborhood.”