This title could go two ways, but today it’s all about making things look good. It’s amazing (or not depending on your background) how important the look of a sales presentation or report has on the audience receiving it. A mediocre but good looking report goes further than a thoroughly researched and checked, thrown together…
Decision Making – Define
Defining a real estate problem can be a complex undertaking. Generally, the main driving factor is simply total cost of the space. But this approach completely neglects the impact that real estate has on people, process and performance. I’ve never had a project where the number one criteria wasn’t financial cost. But surprisingly, it turns…
Decision Making
Real estate decisions by nature are drawn out affairs. No matter how quickly you decide what you want to do, there will be a minimum time to negotiate with all parties and eventually get to a final decision. It’s a lot like steering a large ship on the ocean….actions take time to propagate through the…
Real Estate and the Future of Urban Centers
There are two growing trends that are going to drastically impact the future of our city centers: rising fuel costs and telecommuting. Traditional pundits look at rising fuel costs and forecast the return of well populated urban areas. If it costs an arm and a leg for people to drive to work, food and play…
Continuous Improvement
One thing is true of all real estate….once it is put in place and moved into, it’s really hard to change it. Taking a 5 year lease on space in a building for your business is typical, making material changes once you are in it is not. However, continuous improvement is critical to maintaining your…
When Tech Blogs are Talking About it…
You know your industry is having a hard time keeping up with the changing times when hi tech companies begin looking at how to fix your problems (and no….not just by developing some new iWMS system).
Patents and the Real Estate Industry
Things are getting bad when patents begin attacking an industry which generally isn’t regarded as leading edge in technology. CIVIX-DDI is currently focused on the residential industry but how long will it be before they come after those in the corporate real estate space? I can’t think of an industry most in need of technology…
Data is the new Black
Sure, it’s cliche – but true. When making decisions, don’t rely on the proverbial gut. Look to the information that you have at hand that can lead you in the right direction. Making decisions without good data is similar to banging a stick against the hornet’s nest hoping to remove it from the deck. You…
Time to Get Back to Simple
Too much about CRE is being over-complicated these days. Software vendors pushing integrated Workplace Management Systems (iWMS) that tie to finance, HR, sales and marketing. Brokers with financial models showing every possible nickle. Consultants with complicated strategies to reduce footprint 15% over the next 3 years. Sometimes it’s hard to step back and realize that…
The Reason Behind Real Estate
Something to always keep in mind that is too often forgotten: no companies have real estate for the sake of having real estate. Real estate supports a business operation. Real estate is tier 2 and if you don’t understand who is working there or what they are doing you will never get the best solution.