Social Media and Commercial Real Estate – while some say the two don’t mix, I say they’re flat wrong. I’ve been evangelizing the innovative use of technology and digital media in commercial real estate on this blog since day one. While I normally don’t use this forum to tout the company, I’m making an exception for this post.

My question today is a simple one: What’s your vision for the future and what are you doing about it? Much has been written about surviving the downturn – what to do now, the “new normal” and other tips for how to navigate current market conditions. And while I certainly have no gripes about being in the moment from a tactical perspective, I’m concerned that as an industry we don’t lose sight of the value of looking forward. In today’s post I’ll share my thoughts on the importance of looking forward.

Are you a commercial real estate specialist or generalist? As the CEO of one of the country’s largest commercial real estate firms, I’ll share with you that your answer to the aforementioned question is very telling to your peers, clients and employers alike.  Your answer will have a direct impact on your credibility, earning power and your ability to survive market volatility over the long-term.  In today’s post, I’ll weigh-in with my opinion on the age old debate of “generalist vs. specialist.”

While I don’t normally share specific company performance information in this venue, I thought many of you might enjoy the opportunity to learn more about the company I lead.  The above video highlights some of my comments from the recent Sperry Van Ness State of the Company address. Those of you familiar with, or who have interest in the commercial real estate industry will find our company performance over the last year to be nothing short of remarkable.  I’m truly honored to lead such a wonderful and talented group of Advisors, whose differentiated, “Client’s Interests First,” operating philosophy has created amazing benefits for our clients and for the Sperry Van Ness brand. I would invite you to read a press release further describing our plans for the future. Given the recent market dislocation, and the current commercial real estate industry landscape, a focus on growth, driven by smart and creative acquisitions, is an initiative that we feel will yield strong returns for all of our constituencies.

By now it should be no secret that I’m a big fan of social media. The statistics validating social media’s ability to positively impact performance more than serve as adequate evidence that commercial real estate professionals should be actively engaged in social media marketing. That said, not a week passes where the naysayers and apathetic scoff at social media as if were just a waste of time. If today’s post seems like a bit of a rant, it’s because it is…In the text that follows I’ll share a few brief thoughts in an attempt to reason with those still not switched-on to the many benefits of social media.

As the first few weeks of 2010 pass, business owners, executives, employees, and consumers alike are watching for emerging trends, which will test the accuracy of the 2010 prognostications posited by various industry experts.  While it may be too early to tell, there have been some signs, signals and even M&A transactions which point to industry consolidation and corporate restructuring among brokerages in the commercial real estate industry.  This is likely to continue throughout the year.

While commercial real estate markets are not static, I’m always surprised by the number of so-called “professionals” that operate as if they were. As the landscape around them changes, rather than understanding and adapting to new market drivers, many just prefer to pretend as if it’s business as usual. It is those practitioners that adapt to the fluidity of the market that become innovative market leaders, and who thrive during even the toughest of market conditions. Likewise, it is those practitioners who refuse to change with the times that push themselves into irrelevancy, and eventually become self-inflicted casualties of the weeding-out process.

As 2009 draws to a close I thought this an appropriate time to not only sum up my thoughts on what has been a tough year, but also to share my feelings on what I believe will be a better 2010. I would also be remiss if I didn’t use this opportunity to thank our stakeholders for their continued support, without which, we would not have fared as well as we did. The contributions of our clients, employees, investors and partners have been truly remarkable, and I can’t imagine having to navigate 2009 without their steadfast commitment to the Sperry Van Ness brand. Please accept my wishes for a very happy and safe Holiday Season as well as a prosperous New Year.

Today’s post may be short in length, but I hope you’ll agree that it is powerful in terms of content. I’m not going to pontificate about the state of the current market, nor am I going to prognosticate on where I believe the market will trend in 2010. What I am going to do is pose the following question: “What will YOU do differently in 2010?” You cannot simply repeat your 2009 performance in 2010 and expect the outcome to be any different. The message today is a simple one…The market doesn’t matter, but YOU do!

As a former commercial real estate practitioner, and the current leader of a national firm, I have been exposed to thousands of transactions and have witnessed countless examples of professionals doing the wrong thing for their clients, and what they consider to be the right thing for their pockets. There is a huge difference between doing the right thing and doing things right. A bigger problem is that there seem to be fewer people who recognize this difference. In today’s post I’ll share my thoughts about these two similar sounding, yet often very different positions.