Another future of office survey?

Henry Ford is purported to have said, "If I had asked people what they wanted they would have said faster horses."

Over the past 2 years, with this once in a lifetime massive upheaval of the workplace, there has been a deluge of surveys on the future of work and its impact on commercial real estate. And yes, the industry should absorb these customer insights. 

But often the research takes the data too literally when drawing conclusions. Surveying customers about what they want can be skewed by them not knowing what is possible. It can also divert us from deeply understanding their challenges and aspirations.

The rate of customer-oriented innovation in the commercial real estate sector is definitely speeding up - but there is room for so much more.

There is a vital role for landlords to ask the right questions, bring visionary leadership by anticipating the latent and future needs of customers and to deliver something transformative.

Leadership by definition involves being at the front of the pack, inspiring others by showing what is possible and establishing new benchmarks for success.