The Strategist

by Rebecca Landwehr
photographs by Greg Murphy

The ’80s got off to a rough start for J. Lennox Scott. Cancer had taken his father’s life two years prior – when Scott was just 25 years old – and on January 1,1980, Scott suddenly found himself in charge of the family business, John L. Scott Real Estate. As he became the third generation to lead the company, Scott knew the job could come with serious responsibilities and major challenges. Still, he had no idea what was about to hit him.

Within three months, interest rates would skyrocket to 16 percent as the country plummeted toward a major recession. Add to that Seattle’s biggest employer, Boeing Co., was also experiencing corporate turmoil, delivering a one-two punch to the city’s economy. It wasn’t a good time to be in the real estate business – anywhere. In Scott’s hometown of Seattle, it was a terrible time to be in real estate.