It is indeed a balancing act to work with a client to help improve the way they work--especially if they are sensitive about how they are perceived by their management. On one hand, they desperately need the help to avoid being fired. On the other hand, they are apt to get fired because they desperately need help. In my industry presentations, I usually speak in praise of dysfunction because it is my raison d'etre. I speak in praise of it because I'm a positive person and what I've been able to do for others is to help them improve their business performance through real estate. Dysfunction has its purpose--it keeps you wanting to improve. Perfect people are frozen in mediocrity. Imperfect people have room to grow.

The question this month is: Are you practicing a Mary Poppins style of Corporate Real Estate management? Here's how you'll know:

Your service provider turned out to be a glorified temp agency.
Take a step back to consider whether outsourcing was simply an effort to reduce headcount by replacing your staff with the service provider's real estate transaction and lease administration people. If the result of hiring a service provider was just swapping people for those with a different payroll source, then the service provider is at best a temp agency. Unless you were absolutely unwilling to train, groom or promote your people into key positions, then your efforts to outsource will not pay off. You'd have been better off growing your own expertise. Moreover, if without reason, your service provider has begun replacing your "team" with other people, they are probably using your account as a training ground for their own people.