How do you create a sustainable and resilient CRE strategy for the future?

1 Assess your current situation

Before you can plan for the future, you need to understand your current state. Conduct a comprehensive analysis of your portfolio, including its location, size, occupancy, condition, and lease terms. Identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your assets, and benchmark them against your industry peers and best practices. Evaluate how well your portfolio aligns with your business goals, culture, and values, and how it supports the health, safety, and productivity of your employees.

2 Define your future vision

Next, you need to define your desired future state. What are the key drivers and trends that will shape your business and CRE needs in the next five to ten years? How will the hybrid work model, technology, sustainability, and social responsibility influence your space utilization, design, and management? How can you create a flexible and agile portfolio that can respond to changing market conditions and customer demands? Establish a clear vision and mission for your CRE strategy, and set measurable and realistic objectives and targets.

3 Identify your gaps and opportunities

Once you have your current and future states, you need to identify the gaps and opportunities between them. What are the main challenges and risks that you need to address or mitigate? What are the potential solutions and initiatives that you can implement or explore? How can you optimize your portfolio performance, efficiency, and value? How can you reduce your environmental footprint, enhance your social impact, and improve your governance and compliance? Prioritize your actions based on their urgency, feasibility, and return on investment.

4 Engage your stakeholders

Your CRE strategy cannot succeed without the support and involvement of your key stakeholders. These include your senior management, business units, employees, customers, suppliers, landlords, regulators, and communities. Communicate your vision, objectives, and actions to them, and solicit their feedback and input. Align your expectations and interests with theirs, and address any concerns or issues. Build trust and collaboration with them, and leverage their expertise and resources.

5 Implement your plan

After you have your strategy and stakeholder buy-in, you need to execute your plan. Assign roles and responsibilities to your team, and establish a clear governance structure and process. Monitor and track your progress and performance, using relevant indicators and metrics. Adjust and refine your plan as needed, based on the feedback and data you collect. Celebrate your achievements and recognize your contributors.

6 Learn and improve

Finally, you need to adopt a continuous learning and improvement mindset. Your CRE strategy is not a one-time exercise, but an ongoing journey. You need to stay updated on the latest trends and developments in your industry and market, and anticipate and respond to new opportunities and challenges. You need to evaluate and learn from your successes and failures, and identify and implement best practices. You need to foster a culture of innovation and excellence in your CRE organization.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?