You might recall that my last article highlighted what I believe is happening in the real estate market and the economy at large. This month, I asked a select group of my colleagues to give you their corporate real estate “weather forecast.”

One author I enjoy reading writes about anchoring deep to weather life’s storms. Over the past 30 days I’ve made two trips to Florida and one to Atlanta in and around the timeframe of Hurricanes Dennis and Emily. It was fascinating to watch these storms form and progress on satellite photos. Luckily, the only impact they had on me was a few airport delays and minor deviations in flight plans.

However, I got to thinking about how some hurricanes and other weather disturbances came as a great surprise before the days of your friendly, local meteorologist. Sure, certain telltale signs might indicate an approaching storm, but I’ll bet in many cases it was difficult to tell a large storm from a hurricane before it was too late. Often, I doubt there was enough time to prepare before it hit.

So, I decided to ask a couple of our in-house experts to provide their forecast so you, the corporate real estate professional may prepare and anchor deep.

What do you think is the most important approaching storm in corporate real estate?

Darcy Frank Mackay, senior managing director: M&A activity. We turned a tide in 2003, recovering from a dearth of economic activity during the recession. Since then, worldwide M&A volume increased by 50% in 2004, and all signs point to a continued escalation in deal volume in 2005.

John F. Gallagher, senior managing director: Flexibility. Increasingly, corporations are demanding more flexibility, such as shorter lease times, flex space, different service-level agreements by site, etc.

What one thing should every corporate real estate manager do anchor deep and survive?

DFM: Move up the food chain. Gain visibility into broader corporate activity and get a seat at the business-unit table. A CRE department will add value when it moves beyond the reactive real estate implementation activities that commonly characterize today’s corporate real estate environment. That’s when it’s possible to assist the core business in preparing for unexpected M&A activity, evaluating the potential risks and synergies, and finally guiding the integration of the two corporate real estate portfolios.

JFG: Be prepared to challenge the status quo and accept ambiguity. The familiar, “we’ve always done it that way” won’t work anymore.

Flashlights, plywood and sandbags are de-rigueur for a hurricane. What survival tools do you find lacking most in corporate real estate departments today?

DFM: A solid strategic planning group guided by an exceptional CRM function.

JFG: Data and a technology tools that can extract and manipulate the data for customized reporting to the business units. This is imperative not only for reporting on costs, but also on vacancies in order to get buy-in on the company’s strategic plans.

My author concludes with the guidance that stability in a storm comes from holding onto time tested principles. For corporate real estate, I believe these to be preparation, flexibility and innovation. If M&A activity is increasing, if corporations are demanding greater flexibility, if the environment is becoming more ambiguous, you have no greater asset as corporate real estate professionals than your ability to anchor deep. These days, you have some exceptional weather forecasters to help you anticipate what’s developing on the horizon.

Based in Anaheim , CA , Vik Bangia ([email protected]) is a managing director in CB Richard Ellis' global corporate services organization. Views expressed here are the author's solely.