Adaptability and innovation are essential in an industry as dynamic as commercial real estate. Owners, operators, and investors face many challenges, from evolving consumer behavior and societal shifts to economic uncertainties and technological innovations. Overcoming organizational resistance to change is vital for creating and maintaining a competitive edge.

Let’s explore why change is crucial, particularly for entrepreneurs and leaders in commercial real estate, and explore key strategies for identifying where change is needed, assessing your team’s readiness, and creating a culture that embraces innovation.

 

Why change and innovation are crucial for survival and growth

Change and innovation are imperative for survival and growth in today’s fast-paced business environment. This is especially true in commercial real estate, where market dynamics constantly shift. Entrepreneurs and leaders in this field must be proactive to stay ahead of the curve.

Myriad external factors influence the commercial real estate industry, including economic cycles, technological advancements, and regulatory changes. Failing to adapt to these trends can result in exaggerated expenses, falling revenues, reduced tenant satisfaction, obsolescence, and more unfavorable outcomes. For entrepreneurs and leaders, embracing change and innovation leads to new revenue streams, improved operational efficiency, and a stronger competitive position.

Moreover, the expectations of tenants and investors are evolving. They increasingly seek sustainable practices, advanced amenities, and technological integrations in their commercial spaces. Meeting these demands requires a culture of continuous improvement and a willingness to adapt.

 

Identifying where change is needed

The first step in overcoming organizational resistance is pinpointing the areas that require change. This involves diligently analyzing the various factors affecting the commercial real estate landscape. For instance, social changes, such as the rise in remote work, directly impact office space requirements. Likewise, consumer behavior, such as the increasing preference for online shopping, affects retail spaces. Economic conditions, technological advancements, and regulatory changes also play a significant role.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are valuable metrics for measuring and optimizing these changes. Whether it’s occupancy rates, revenue per available unit, or tenant satisfaction scores, monitoring relevant KPIs offers clues that lead to actionable insights. Additionally, staying updated on best practices, management styles, and methodologies improves awareness and supports optimal organizational performance and a competitive advantage. To build goodwill with investors and stay out of legal and financial trouble, compliance and transparency are essential areas to give attention.

To ensure you’re on the right track, consider conducting a SWOT analysis specific to your commercial real estate operations. This will help you identify the areas that need improvement and the opportunities to capitalize on. Furthermore, monitoring industry trends and competitor strategies can offer additional perspectives on where change might be beneficial. It’s also advisable to consult with stakeholders, including tenants and investors, to gain a tempered view of necessary changes.

 

Assessing your team’s readiness for change

Before implementing any changes, evaluating your team’s readiness is crucial. Resistance often stems from a lack of understanding or fear of the unknown. Conduct surveys or hold focus groups to gauge employee sentiment. Meanwhile, assess skill sets to determine if additional training or resources are needed to equip staff to handle new initiatives, policies, technologies, and processes.

Getting team buy-in is essential for managing and facilitating changes effectively. Understanding the psychological aspects of change can reveal useful insights. Employees may be more willing to adapt if they perceive the changes as beneficial or aligned with their values. The readiness assessment should be a collaborative effort involving the leadership and the employees directly affected by the changes.

Pilot programs can serve as small-scale tests to evaluate the potential impact and reception of the proposed changes, allowing for adjustments before full-scale implementation. These trials can provide valuable data and feedback, helping to fine-tune the change process.

 

Creating a culture that embraces change and innovation

The final step is fostering an organizational culture that actively seeks change instead of tolerating it. Transformational leadership plays a pivotal role here. Leaders should project and embody the values they wish to see, setting an example for the rest of the team.

To sustain this culture, regular communication is vital. Whether through town hall meetings, newsletters, or one-on-one discussions, keeping the lines of communication open ensures that everyone is on the same page. This also provides an opportunity for feedback, which can be invaluable for continuous improvement.

In addition to communication, recognizing and rewarding adaptability and innovation go a long way in sustaining a culture of change. Employee recognition programs and performance bonuses can motivate team members to embrace new ways of doing things.

When leadership sees the need for innovation but lacks the experience or tools, they can bring in outside experts or consultants specializing in change management in commercial real estate. Leveraging Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and the Kaizen philosophy of small but continuous improvements can also be highly effective.

 

Overcoming resistance to change: positioning for long-term success

In a rapidly evolving industry, the ability to adapt is invaluable. By identifying where change is needed, assessing your team’s readiness, and fostering a culture of innovation, commercial real estate leaders can overcome organizational resistance to change. These strategies help operators navigate market challenges and position the organization for long-term success.

Read more about managing change and innovation in my book, Beyond the Building.

Midmarket commercial real estate firms occupy a unique position. They’ve graduated from the emerging stage, boasting a track record of success, a robust organizational structure, and a portfolio of assets. Yet, they also possess significant untapped growth potential. The key to unlocking this promise lies in embracing an innovation mindset.

This article will explore the concept of innovation, the importance of openness to change, and practical strategies for fostering innovation in midmarket CRE firms.

 

More than a buzzword

The word ‘Innovation’ is often exchanged generously in business conversations, but its meaning is sometimes vague, especially in CRE. It’s not just adopting the latest technology or following new trends. It involves strategically leveraging insights, data, and resources to create value and drive growth.

Innovation in the CRE sector includes discovering new ways to enhance operational efficiency, improve asset management, and optimize properties. Operators and investors can rethink traditional practices, challenge the status quo, and find new ways to deliver value to tenants, investors, and stakeholders. This can include reimagining property usage, exploring new financing models, or leveraging data analytics to make more informed investment decisions.

For midmarket CRE firms, innovation is a powerful tool for differentiation in a competitive market. It provides the edge needed to stand out and attract ideal investors, tenants, and employees. By embracing innovation, these firms enhance their competitiveness and performance.

Innovation also requires a forward-thinking approach —anticipating future trends and changes in the market and proactively adapting to them. This demands a sharp understanding of the market, a willingness to take calculated risks, and the agility to pivot when necessary.

 

The catalyst for innovation

Innovation and change are intrinsically linked. For a midmarket CRE firm to innovate, it must first be open to change. However, this can be challenging, particularly for established firms with long-standing procedures and practices. Therefore, it’s crucial to cultivate a culture that accepts change and actively seeks it.

Leadership plays a pivotal role in this process. Leaders must effectively communicate the importance of change and innovation, ensuring that everyone within the firm understands the company’s objectives and key results (OKRs). This entails creating an environment where new ideas are welcomed and employees at all levels feel empowered to contribute to the firm’s growth and innovation strategies.

However, fostering a culture of change is not just about willingness. It also comprises the ability to manage change effectively. This can be a significant challenge for midmarket firms, especially those with numerous employees. Achieving buy-in from all team members requires clear communication, transparency, and a shared vision.

Change management also involves providing employees with the necessary resources and support to adapt to new ways of operating. This includes training programs, mentorship, and shifts in organizational structure to facilitate more collaborative and innovative working styles.

 

Innovation in action

The first step is understanding the value of innovation and the need for openness to change. The next phase involves putting innovation into practice. For midmarket CRE firms, this means leveraging their existing resources and data to generate actionable insights.

One practical approach is developing customer personas for each of their customer categories: investors, tenants, and employees. By understanding these personas’ wants, needs, and fears, firms can tailor their strategies and offerings, attracting customers that align with their focus and capabilities.

Another critical aspect of innovation is the effective use of data. Midmarket firms have a wealth of internal data that can be used to evaluate asset/company performance and trends. By combining their data with market benchmarks, operators can derive more profound insights and accurate projections, enabling them to make the most informed decisions.

Innovation also involves investing in emerging technology and tools, e.g., implementing advanced data management analytics platforms, adopting new property management software, or exploring the application of artificial intelligence.

Lastly, innovation demands continuous improvement. This process entails setting OKRs and KPIs, tracking progress, and adjusting strategies based on the results. This positive feedback loop enables firms to constantly enhance results, generating greater alpha by leveraging data.

 

The transformative path

Innovation is not a destination but a continuous process. Adopting an innovation mindset is a redefining initiative for midmarket CRE firms pushing for growth. It requires understanding what innovation means, embracing and managing change, and starting down the path with the available data, technologies, and management strategies.

The transformative journey toward innovation evolves traditional real estate firms into technology-driven companies that leverage data and insights to create value. This shift enables firms to stay ahead of the curve, seize growth opportunities in a rapidly changing market, and build a sustainable and profitable future in commercial real estate.

 

Learn more about approaching innovation in my book, Beyond the Building.

Data has emerged as a critical asset in the rapidly evolving commercial real estate industry. However, the sheer volume of data can be overwhelming, and without the right skills and tools, its potential can go untapped. This is where commercial real estate data analysts generate value for your organization and stakeholders. These professionals have the expertise to sift through vast amounts of data, extract meaningful insights, and drive strategic decision-making.

Let’s delve into the importance of assessing your data capabilities, the crucial role of commercial real estate data analysts, and how to find and train these invaluable team members.

1. Evaluating your data capabilities: The first step toward growth

Every commercial real estate enterprise, regardless of size, is a treasure trove of data. From underwriting deals to analyzing financials and performance, data is everywhere. However, the ability to harness this data effectively varies significantly across organizations.

To assess your data capabilities, consider the following questions:

• Can your organization centralize data from different sources into one secure place?
• Can you access this data reliably and consistently?
• Can you define and monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?
• Can your organization act on data-driven insights and monitor the outcomes?
• And finally, can you spot and model macro and micro trends, and project their results?

As your data collection systems evolve, your organization needs to keep pace. This involves developing advanced capabilities to leverage all the usable data. This progression often includes moving from having general analysts to employing data analysts, and in some cases, data scientists.

2. The role of commercial real estate data analysts: Why you need them

While not every firm will require data scientists, the importance of data analysis in a CRE enterprise cannot be overstated. Commercial real estate data analysts take structured data and run mathematical calculations and analyses on it, a process that is invaluable when dealing with large volumes of records. However, most emerging and mid-market firms don’t need to dig so deep as to require a data scientist.

Every CRE leader should make data and analytics a core business component. The more data you have, use, and analyze, the more powerful your organization will become. Fortunately, this shift towards becoming data-centric doesn’t have to happen overnight. It can be done gradually or with the help of companies that provide data management solutions.

The key is to combine your data with a business intelligence tool to equip your analysts to tap into the power of your organizational data. Analysts with the right tools are the bridge between your data and the insights it can provide.

3. Building your team of commercial real estate data analysts: how to find and train them

Once you understand the importance of having commercial real estate data analysts on your team, the next step is to identify the skills needed, assess if you have someone with those skills already, or decide if you need to hire externally.

To help evaluate potential analysts, let’s review more about their roles. A CRE analyst needs to understand the business, how data increases the company’s value, and how their duties help the organization become data-centric. Their responsibilities include bringing data in, ensuring its accuracy, organizing it, storing it, and using it for visualization, reporting, analysis, or activation.

Many CRE firms already have individuals with data analysis capabilities. These are often the experts who are proficient in Excel. They can evolve into exceptional data analysts with industry- and niche-specific training. It’s typical to encounter candidates who shine in either data or real estate during the hiring process, but rarely both. In these instances, targeted education can effectively resolve this skills disparity.

Several education platforms offer data analysis, cleaning, collection, and visualization courses. However, it’s advisable to avoid overly technical programming classes, which can be overwhelming and unnecessary for most analysts.

Once trained, your analysts will examine data and use tools such as business intelligence to extract insights from it. The first step is to translate the data, and once structured, a business intelligence tool can be used to understand the data and its implications. Then the third step is implementing a data management platform, either an existing solution or custom-built software.

Building a team of CRE analysts, investing in technology tools, and incorporating data processes into all aspects of your business requires significant time, effort, and money. However, the investment is well worth it.

Becoming a data-centric powerhouse

In the world of commercial real estate, data is a powerful asset. But its potential remains untouched without the right capabilities and people to analyze it. Commercial real estate data analysts are instrumental to unlocking this potential. They allow you to harness the raw data and actionable insights, driving growth and profitability for your enterprise.

The power of your data lies not just in its collection but in its analysis and application. Investing in your data capabilities and building a team of skilled CRE analysts offers rewards far outweighing the costs. Analysts can transform your organization into a data-centric powerhouse with the proper education and tools.

Learn more about the importance of including data analysts in your team in my book, Beyond the Building.

The economy and commercial real estate industry are undergoing a significant market recalibration as consumers and organizations adapt to shifting demand and supply fundamentals, capital market trends, and stakeholder expectations. CRE operators and investors must adapt and leverage innovative resources and strategies to maintain and grow their enterprise value and returns.

Let’s look at seven proven approaches to staying competitive and keeping revenue growing.

1. Build a value proposition around innovation

Our business and consumer culture today is tech-oriented. Whether evaluating a service provider or considering purchasing a product, you’ll likely favor solutions incorporating the most advanced tech.

Why? Because you know you’ll experience the greatest benefits, whether in productivity, cost-efficiency, safety, risk reduction, or future-proofing your operations.

You can put this idea to work by acting like a technology company, i.e., using the most innovative tech and methodologies available to provide top-of-line solutions/offerings to your stakeholders.

In doing so, you can identify opportunities, differentiate your firm, and generate the most enterprise value. Emphasizing innovation in your brand positioning demonstrates your forward-thinking business approach and ensures you won’t become obsolete — in fact or perception.

2. Emphasize creating value for your stakeholders

Building on the first point, we must create the most significant value for our stakeholders, e.g., customers, tenants, investors, partners, vendors, the community, and the environment. 

Coincidentally, generating value for these parties is the top priority in innovation. Stakeholders buy into our organization and vision because we present the promise (and proof) of outstanding financial returns, social and personal upside, experiential benefits (convenience, insight, transparency), and minimal risk.

As soon as value stops flowing, stakeholders will seek opportunities elsewhere. Focusing on giving fosters loyalty and goodwill, reducing churn.

3. Invest in data and analysis

Continuing the message of innovation, let’s talk about harnessing data. Data is among the greatest assets in our organizations. It represents a wealth of knowledge and insight regarding our investment and enterprise performance (track record), market conditions, and growth opportunities.

Investing in data and asset management technology to capture, organize, analyze, and share our data facilitates data ownership/security, situational awareness, strategic planning, decision-making, and collaboration. It also provides transparency and insight to stakeholders, assuring them of our progress and potential.

4. Keep out the water — optimizing expenses

As rent growth has cooled and inflation persists, managing and reducing expenses to maximize NOI is imperative — we can’t rely on rent growth and appreciation to drive value.

While there’s still potential to optimize rents by keeping our assets at peak appeal, economic pressures mandate we also operate at peak efficiency. 

Of course, we should do this anyway to pass on value to our stakeholders. But in choppy waters, it’s a necessity to eliminate even the most minor leaks, i.e., sources of financial waste, that could sink us (and our track record). Data and asset management technology streamlines and automates much of the expense optimization process — innovation!

5. It’s all about the tenant/user

For many firms in the commercial real estate industry, tenants are top-priority stakeholders. Without them, all the capital and talent in the world don’t mean a thing.

Consequently, operators and investors must embody a spirit of service for their users/residents to ensure satisfaction, minimize turnover, and keep lease signings flowing.

Here are a few tips to better serve tenants:

• Listen to what they need and want and give it to them (amenities, terms, flexibility, etc.).
• Offer comfortable, healthy, safe, stylish environments that support satisfaction, productivity, and well-being.
• Provide a portal to interact with management, maintenance, and other residents.
• Hold community events to support rapport among tenants and staff.

6. Develop alternative revenue sources

If we can’t rely on rent increases and appreciation to push up value, what else can we do besides cut our expenses to improve NOI/margins?

We can look for and implement opportunities to generate ancillary revenue, that is, income generated by means other than rent. 

There are plenty of creative options here, including paid:

• Parking. 
• Vending.
• Laundry. 
• Childcare.
• Onsite Retail. 
• Storage Facilities. 
• Meeting Rooms.
• Advertising Space.
• Janitorial/Housekeeping.
• Event Space (clubhouse, rooftop, etc.)
• Premium property-wide WIFI.

Those are just a few ideas, and you can get very imaginative — look at what unique existing and potential opportunities your asset holds.

For residential properties, the work-from-home trend presents many ways to provide value and convenience that residents will gladly pay for. And for commercial assets, particularly those struggling with occupancy rates, these amenities add appeal and function for tenants.

7. Build an A-Team that knows how to handle and harness the economy

Your strategy is only as good as the team that conceives and supports it. Assemble an all-star team of executives, directors, advisors, managers, analysts, and consultants with experience navigating and prospering through market cycles.

Though demand for talent and compensation expectations are high, retaining a team that knows how to plan your approach and get it done is worth the effort and expense. 

Once you have your dream team, give them all the support — vision, transformational leadership, constructive feedback, training, recognition, and rewards — to get their best work and earn their buy-in and loyalty.

 

Market Recalibration = brighter horizons

Indeed, it’s a challenging environment for commercial real estate operators as the market recalibrates in the wake of the pandemic and subsequent inflation and monetary policy.

Yet, those who embrace innovation, generate superior value for all stakeholders, harness their data, manage expenses, go above and beyond for tenants, drive creative revenue, and assemble the best teams will sail through uncertainty and find brighter horizons.

Many real estate development, improvement, and management projects face predictable challenges on the journey from first thought to project exit. What the most successful operators and sponsors have in common is collaborative planning and operations throughout the project lifecycle to address potential obstacles and embrace opportunities.

Let’s look at how the integrative process unifies teams to support operational efficiency and positive outcomes by reducing construction costs, waste, and budget overruns, keeping development on schedule, promoting robust returns, and elevating the owners’, investors’, and tenants’ experience.

1. The integrative process and how it works

The integrative process is a term and methodology rooted in sustainable design. The U.S. Green Building Council uses it as a framework for construction, design, and operations projects working toward LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification. 

However, the concept applies equally well to the process for all real estate projects. Moreover, every business initiative can benefit from organized, collaborative planning, implementation, and monitoring.

At its heart, the integrative process is about the teamwork of every party involved in each phase of a project’s lifecycle. While this seems like an obvious approach to adopt, cooperation and collaboration are often limited to a few teams participating in one or two disparate phases of a project.

Some potential participants include owners, operations teams, tenants/users, investors, community stakeholders, construction staff and architects/engineers, property and asset managers, building/planning/zoning officials, and anyone else involved in the project.

 The integrative process includes three phases:

1. Discovery and pre-design
   1. All the team members/organizations meet and coordinate to look for opportunities to create synergies that reduce cost and waste and increase efficiency/returns.
   2. The building owner, investors, and potential users share their objectives and requirements, and all team members work together toward the specified goals.
2. Schematic design and construction
   1. The project is planned and designed to meet identified objectives.
   2. The development is built accordingly, managing costs, time, and exposure.
3. Occupancy, operations, and performance feedback
   1. The asset is continually monitored for performance, and the parties involved in the operation of the asset collaborate to optimize efficiency and returns.

2. Advantages for CRE firms

We’ve alluded to the benefits, but let’s dig further. When everyone understands the underlying objective of a project, i.e., the owners’, investors’, users’, and asset managers’ intended outcome, accomplishing them is much more likely. 

For instance, if the owners’ and users’ goal is maximum efficiency to achieve optimal NOI — by reducing operating costs and maximizing appeal/rents — the teams involved will prioritize these points in designing, constructing, and managing the project. 

Likewise, if sustainability and occupant health/comfort are top of the list, teams will emphasize these components in planning and operations. The same follows for most goals throughout the project’s lifecycle, including exit, where teams may need to coordinate to secure the best outcome of a sale or other exit strategy.

One of the primary benefits is reducing risks, of which there are many in commercial real estate development and management ventures. As noted, the integrative process effectively manages cost and time constraints. With realistic expectations shared among all parties, and the teams working together to achieve them, the potential for project delays and budget overruns is significantly reduced.

Similarly, this process can mitigate legal and financial risks, including those tied to financing, debt management, onsite liability, and regulatory compliance. And perhaps of most significant value, the coordination and teamwork improve the investors’ and tenants’ experience, keeping the owners’/sponsors’ enterprise viable and on the path to new projects, capital inflows, and increasing returns.

3. How to apply it in your organization

Getting started with the integrative process is intuitive. Resources are available that describe the process in greater detail.

If you’re considering pursuing a green building certification for your project, it’s prudent to hire a LEED AP, an accredited professional trained in the integrative process as it applies to sustainable design, to oversee the project from cradle to grave (conception to exit/demolition).

Otherwise, for general business and efficiency/value-generation purposes, a skilled project manager on the asset management team can direct the relationships, communication, and collaboration among the various groups involved. Select a project manager that understands your asset class, has relevant education, and has demonstrated experience aligning and coordinating multidisciplinary stakeholders to achieve OKRs (objectives and key results).

Technology is tremendously valuable in facilitating the integrative process. Some of the most useful platforms include asset management software. Asset and data management platforms help operators and investors gather and analyze all the data required to monitor and optimize performance and facilitate data and insight sharing across the organization for collaborative decision-making.

Project management software is also crucial. When a project involves dozens or hundreds of personnel, and many different organizations/vendors, managing processes via email and spreadsheet is inefficient and impractical.

To achieve design and efficiency objectives, BIM (Building Information Modeling) is imperative in the design phase to help all the stakeholders visualize the finished product and model performance. And on the operations side, Facility Management (FM) software tracks usage, user behavior, maintenance, and operational expenses to support informed management decisions and optimization.

If your organization needs more support or doesn’t require a full-time person to oversee the process, there are consultant and advisory organizations, such as Thirty Capital and its branches, that have the on-the-ground experience as active CRE operators and investors to provide guidance throughout all phases of development and the project lifecycle.

Cohesive effort

When every party involved in the development and operation of a project is on the same page, the design and implementation process is much more cohesive, efficient, and less prone to risks and unexpected challenges. Work as a unified team and appoint someone with project management experience or consult with advisors to kick-start your initiative, oversee the process, and generate ideal experiences and outcomes and for stakeholders.

What’s coming up next? What’s over the horizon? 

How will it support or hinder the growth of your portfolio and enterprise?

Things in commercial real estate are changing extremely fast. Consequently, we have to stay on our toes to build and maintain a competitive advantage and manage risk. Operators and investors must know where things are heading and be proactive, so they’re in the right place and properly equipped to capture opportunities and skirt threats when they arise.

CRE data, technology, and analysis are the spyglass that allows you to see over the skyline and craft well-informed strategic plans. In this piece, we’ll look at what’s changing, types and sources of data, and tech tools to harness to stay a step ahead.

1. Facets of change in CRE

In the era in which we live, the operating landscape is shifting at a lightning pace. While we’re focused primarily on technology here, the change goes much further. I can’t think of an aspect of the operating environment that is static.

Each year and quarter, we see new developments in:

• Monetary policy.
• The cost of doing business (inflation, taxes, financing costs, etc.)
• Consumer (tenant/investor) behavior, preferences, and expectations.
• Environmental and financial regulation (compliance issues).
• Climate change (underwriting risk, insurance costs).
• Design and construction codes and best practices.
• Advancing technology and aggressive adoption by competitors.

It’s imperative we consider all these factors (and more) as we plan how we’ll acquire assets, create value, and exit prosperously.

As the world becomes interconnected, ways of doing business and the rules that apply to the game are evolving rapidly. Society is struggling to adapt and reach an equilibrium that’s a moving target.

To recognize, monitor, and account for changes in the operating environment and how they’ll impact us, conducting a SWOTT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and trends) analysis at least bi-annually is fruitful.

On the internal side, conducting a SWOTT helps you assess what you do best and where to improve. And equally important, it enables you to spot and maintain awareness of where and what external opportunities exist that will support your objectives — and what factors may be working against you.

To make these observations, generate quality insights, and implement best practices, we need data and the technology to aggregate and interpret it.

2. Types of CRE data and sources

Analyzing the operating environment can be a ponderous task. Fortunately, numerous organizations collect the data we need or offer technologies to assemble it ourselves and make sense of it.

But before we dig into the sources and tools, let’s look at the essential classes of data we need to be aware of in CRE:

• Economic data points: Interest rate trends, cost of capital, inflation rates, materials costs, demand factors, transactions, etc.
• Demographic, lifestyle, and psychographic (behavioral) data for tenants/users/investors.
• Property performance benchmarks (i.e., statistics regarding third-party asset performance, grouped by region, class, features, condition, etc.)
• Proposed, up-for-vote, and passed legislation pertaining to operations, finance, construction, environmental preservation, consumer protection, etc.
• Observed and likely impacts of environmental/climate change.
• Observations of new technologies entering or advancing in the CRE sphere, adoption rates, use by competitors, and typical impact on expenses and revenue.

Now, where can we find this intel?

• Economic/regulatory/social: Trade publications, academic journals, industry analyst firms, and market/industry reports.
• External benchmarks: Trade organizations such as NAA, IREM, and BOMA.
• Internal benchmarks: Collected from your assets, systems, and teams with data/asset management tech.
• Transactional: Brokers, data providers, listing sites, and tax assessors.
• Demographic: Government agencies, institutions of higher education, and private research firms.

With the data in hand, we’re one step closer to moving out front. But to take the lead, we need analytical support and the technologies to implement strategies that yoke the opportunities — and mitigate the challenges — we discover.

3. Analytical tools and implementation strategies

With so much data available across the many functional areas of business, we need tools specific to the nature of the job and the experience and skills of experts to extract actionable insights from the data.

Quantitative data on economic indicators and property performance can be quickly and cost-efficiently collected and centralized with data and asset management platforms. Rather than digging through spreadsheets or isolated property management software, you can implement a data management platform to connect each unit and system and automatically pull and assemble the internal data with minimal labor and expense.

Some platforms, such as Lobby CRE, take care of this continuously in the background, while also collecting and incorporating economic/market and benchmark data from a balanced variety of sources. In one look, you can see how your assets are performing compared to internal and external reference points.

Once the data is gathered, a team of analysts (in-house or advisory) supported by analytical tools can visually report the data to identify trends and data points to fill out our SWOTT analyses.

That leads us to the fun part: leveraging this actionable intel to select the best asset classes and geographic markets for our strengths and weaknesses — and present and projected opportunity and risk. We can further put the data and knowledge to work to structure ventures and deals appropriately, appeal to and optimally serve ideal tenants/investors, and develop contingency plans to leap threats or flip the script and transform them into opportunities.

Aside from data and asset management technologies, which should always be in place throughout the project and enterprise lifecycle, there are a variety of CRE tech tools we can use to carry out data-driven plans to create value for stakeholders and push us to and keep us on top:

• Technologies to improve how we serve tenants and investors, fostering loyalty, satisfaction, occupancy, growth, and capital flow:
  • Tenant/investor portals, digital communication, and automated and convenient visual reporting.
  • Building Information Modeling, Facilities Management, and Building Information Systems to forecast, monitor, and optimize expenses (save energy/water/resources, manage construction costs, and reduce waste).
  • Digital imaging and rendering tech (3D virtual walkthroughs, remote tours, and project/design conceptualization).
  • Automated and AI/machine learning technologies that create cost-efficiencies and returns we can pass on to stakeholders.
    • Automated valuation tools to facilitate due diligence and ensure we acquire feasible long-term opportunities.
    • Automated lease abstraction and rent roll preparation to ensure internal situational awareness.
    • Entity management to keep the machine running and ensure compliance.

With the rate at which new solutions are emerging for CRE operators and investors, there are plenty more data sources and technologies we haven’t discussed. Partner with experienced advisors in CRE tech, performance, and finance to streamline the learning curve and minimize the cost of implementing a data- and tech-driven growth strategy.

Capturing opportunity with CRE data

Reaching the top in commercial real estate is a function of having the right data, knowing what it’s telling you, and efficiently determining how to put it to work to meet your objectives.

Much like the necessity of a scholastic education (a form of data arranged into knowledge), we need a diverse set of data regarding our operating environment to recognize where opportunity exists and how to capture it. That insight, supported by industry- and asset-specific strategies and technologies, puts us on the expressway to a secure competitive advantage and a position of managed risk.

All other strategies and tools aside, an enterprise and the team that powers it is only as good as its leadership. Despite sufficient capital, the best people, and a well-thought-out strategic plan, a venture won’t get far unless its leader knows how to inspire and support followers.  

What is transformational leadership?  

Leadership strategies and styles that provide motivation and enable team members to grow, flourish, and attain professional and personal fulfillment. 

Let’s look at what commercial real estate executives can do to foster alignment with team members’ values, provide a clear vision and a workable path, and support professional development and satisfaction. 

1. Align with stakeholders’ values 

A leader’s first responsibility is to create an organization and company culture that speak to the needs and values of its stakeholders. And perhaps the most important constituents are employees and other team members.  

Today, people in general, and professionals in particular, look to collaborate with companies that share their beliefs and values. Team members want to know that what they’re working toward positively impacts society and the environment. 

Some of the highest-priority concerns include: 

• Social responsibility.  
• Support for the community, i.e., giving back.  
• Environmental sustainability. 
• Equitable working environments. 
• Spirit of service — emphasis on providing solutions. 
• Ethics/integrity. 

This list resembles the start of a values/ethics statement. If you haven’t previously thought this through, draft your organizational values and share throughout your operation and with external stakeholders. 

But don’t stop there — it’s more vital to embody your expressed values. Ensure the stated values and ethics are reflected in your behavior, the way you communicate, how you treat everyone, and the plans and projects you implement. 

 2. Inspire with vision 

Establishing and sharing your values is the first step toward creating inspiration. What’s needed next is a vision and mission that give form to how the organization will bring life to those values and communicate your high-level objectives. 

Preparing vision (to be) and mission (to do) statements is a helpful exercise. When formulating these, reflect on the following: 

• What role will your organization fill in the industry/world? 
• What do you want to become, and in what timeframe? 
• Why was your company created, what is it working toward, and how will it change lives? 
• What value will you generate for the community?

When assembling and developing your team — including employees, partners, investors, and vendors — push the boundaries of what they think is possible and encourage unmitigated creativity and innovative thinking.  

Demonstrate the venture’s viability, impact, and upside, and earn stakeholder buy-in by presenting detailed strategic plans and real-world data drawn from credible sources and backed by expert analysis. 

 3. Provide a workable path

To fulfill our vision and mission, our teams require a well-defined route to get there and a way to measure progress that keeps everyone engaged and morale high. 

Create a set of long-term objectives that are specific and quantifiable, along with achievable annual, quarterly, and monthly milestones.  

While big jumps in progress and growth sometimes happen, focus on consistent growth, even if very gradual, throughout each period. Over a year or several, small improvements accrue and bring us to our destination, often sooner than expected. 

Though ‘thinking big’ has its place in inspiring teams, realistic sub-goals and celebrated wins along the way build confidence and enthusiasm and help us see land on the horizon. 

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is a useful goal-setting and measurement model employed in commercial real estate with great success in providing structure and accountability — we leverage it at Thirty Capital across our brands.

4. Support and compensation

Our team members need professional and personal support to make it possible. It’s our job to help them reach the height of skill, creativity, collaboration, and job satisfaction — to ensure optimal productivity and elevate society and quality of life one person (and family) at a time. 

Further, the labor market is highly competitive, and just like our clients/tenants/users, employees and other stakeholders want practical value in return for pledging their time, lives, and resources to our cause. 

Here’s a quick list of tips to bring out the best and give the most value to our teams: 

• Listen attentively to everyone’s needs.  
• Provide professional tools and training. 
• Supply constructive feedback — and request it. 
• Solicit and incorporate fresh ideas and perspectives. 
• Create a specialized plan to enable each person according to their unique working style, personality, capability, and preferences. 
• Provide competitive compensation/returns and benefits. 
• Reward generously (and sometimes unexpectedly). 
• Give and share credit for successes freely — and take mutual responsibility for setbacks.

5. Represent the Future

We advocate for a better future through our values and vision, giving our employees and followers the sense they’re part of something forward-thinking.  

Team members also want to feel they’re doing something innovative, equipped with the most advanced technology, tools, and business models/practices — nobody wants to be outdated or limited. 

Internal and external team members find confidence in our strategic plans and leadership, knowing we’re harnessing every emerging advantage available as an organization.  

Facilitate transformation 

Leadership that helps each stakeholder evolve is our most crucial function as an executive — we’re here to facilitate transformation. Embrace the role and responsibility by aligning with team members’ values and expectations.  

Give them a vision that imbues purpose and a sense of working toward the greater good, personally and globally. Show them how we will get there, guide them along the way, and give them the support, tools, encouragement, and reward that keeps them inspired and invested.