You might recall that my last article highlighted what I believe is happening in the real estate market and the economy at large. I examined how improving economic factors are affecting the outsourcing business. The biggest change I see coming is change itself, and over the next few months, I'm tackling subjects that I feel will guide the corporate real estate professional in preparing for the change that I believe is already upon us.

This month, I want to discuss collaboration--something I call building strength through vision.

Most corporate real estate managers I know consider their organizations to be moderately to highly collaborative. When describing their CRE environment, they will typically discuss improvements they've made in their administrative processes or the application of rigorous financial analysis. They may even discuss documentation and controls and cite Sarbanes-Oxley. However, when pressed, it becomes readily apparent that collaboration, in their definition and use, is nothing more than better management of the handoffs between functions. To be sure, efficient handoffs are a vital component of a collaborative environment. My argument is that the real estate service providers, especially those offering multiple services in multiple geographies, are learning to be truly collaborative--seamless if you will, in the delivery of a suite of services.