Thinking Strategically... How often do you hear the words "strategic" and "corporate real estate" in the same sentence? Not often enough, according to
George Bouris, who leads Deloitte's Corporate Real Estate Operations and Systems Consulting group.

In fact, as Bouris told me last week, probably 95% of corporate real estate directors don't think strategically. Sure, his rhetoric is a little inflammatory.
But note how he defines "strategic" below.

Bouris does agree that most CRE professionals understand, for example, the impact of rent on earnings per share or how alternative office concepts can save money and increase flexibility.

But that's not really strategic, according to Bouris. He's aiming at something more fundamental. Real estate directors must understand the drivers of each business unit, the DNA of each division.

How does each business unit compete in its marketplace? How does it compare to its competitors? How will its competitive environment change in the future? Wow, that's a tall order.

But there's yet another big challenge. You still have to translate this strategic knowledge into an effective real estate infrastructure. Only if you can do all this, will corporate real estate be truly integral to a company's success.

And the above applies equally to a company's service providers. So both inside and outside the corporation, you must be ready to think strategically. Are you?

--Peter Pike