Real estate escapes the thoughtful attention of most senior managers. It often falls within the realm of their responsibilities—and, of course, they use it in their daily operations—but many do not appreciate its potential impact on company performance. So they delegate real estate to specialists, who operate on a deal-by-deal basis and consider their decisions as administrative and technical tasks. Recently, however, some companies have recognized that by managing real estate as a business function, they can cut costs significantly and, at the same time, increase productivity.
A version of this article appeared in the November–December 1995 issue of Harvard Business Review.
