I previously talked a bit about the continuing importance of where your operations are. But it’s been bothering me a bit because I didn’t really drill into it much. I’d like to break the concept into a few pieces: 1. Why do large companies look to put their HQs in large cities? This one is…
How do you make money?
I recently completed a three year analysis of all the projects that my group has performed and all of the revenue that we received. It was fascinating to align the work side and revenue side and see where things matched up and where (to put it mildly) things just went off the rails. Working in…
Customer versus Client
I find it interesting that retailers use the word customer while professional service firms refer to their buyers as clients. The only real difference is what is being sold. Both retailers and professional service firms strive to deliver wow to their buyers, achieve repeat business, and grow their base of buyers. If both groups are…
Site selection vs. location analysis
The branding of a service can often influence how people perceive it. Using classic language that’s been around says that what you do is proven and tested while your team probably has lots of experience. If you go with a new, modern statement it probably means that you solve the problem in a way that…
Real Estate and the Knapsack Problem
As an industrial engineer, part of my background is how to take normal everyday problems and solve them efficiently and quickly. I solve the same problems as others but have a set of tools at my disposal that your normal practitioners who have been doing it for years may have figured out but never formalized….
Slowing Down
Do you ever notice how many opportunities you miss after the fact? Questions that are raised after the final decision are made are the opportunities that were left on the table. Issues raised that aren’t addressed indicate that there was work left undone. That person from the meeting that asks what your company ACTUALLY does…
Going your own direction and spiting those out front
Sometimes you find yourself in a situation where what is best for you and your budget is the opposite for what is good for the business or the business unit. Signing a 10 year lease for a new business unit with uncertain revenue or growth would be a good example. The longer term lease looks…
Lean Real Estate
You don’t often hear Lean specialists existing in the real estate world. A lean real estate environment has not yet made its way into common thinking. However, I’d like to throw a couple of starting points of thinking lean about real estate: Better alignment of real estate against business goals. Use technology to enable more…
SOPA/PIPA and the online world
Out of curiosity, if you have an online presence and haven’t expressed an opinion on the SOPA/PIPA issue yet you are missing an excellent opportunity to both educate yourself on the topic and see where your own audience lies. It is a highly public, highly divisive issue that impacts anyone who works or plays digitally….
Geography matters
With the growing globalization movement throughout business, I’ve heard a theme recently that it doesn’t really matter where your offices are. They could be in India or China or Brazil and still service US customers. While true, it misses the spirit of globalization. Moving to lower costs can be a valid business move if there…