The dangers of mono thinking are legion. In short, it leads to poorer decision making: the risks of getting things wrong are raised; the ability to think radically is reduced; and the chances of meeting the needs of customers who don’t necessarily share your narrow world view all but evaporate. It may not be rife in real estate, but it’s there.
The risk is apparent – but easing – when it comes to innovation. The willingness to embrace new tech, new methods of delivery and new thinking is growing, though not quickly enough, widely enough. More and more agents are embracing the opportunities of tech. The value in data too is increasingly being capitalised on. It’s not universal yet though. And can every housebuilder – and many developers– say they are giving full consideration to, for example, modern methods of construction, much less realising the benefits? There is still a long way to go.
The risk is there in diversity too. This industry remains male and pale. (Less stale in those areas embracing innovation; still stale in those that are not.) But how can any supplier of products and services be confident of meeting the need of a diverse group of customers if diversity at decision-making level is a concept to which only lip service is paid? As the corporate occupier base shifts – and residential becomes a more important component of portfolios – diversity is at the heart of business success. It was a topic richly discussed at EG’s Rewire event at this week’s MIPIM UK.
And the risk of mono thinking is there among those who fail to update their economic world view. “Uncharted waters” was a phrase much used at MIPIM UK. Navigating them requires creative thinking. Is that happening?
For instance, the public sector is changing rapidly, but not everyone in real estate is updating their perception of local and national government so quickly.
Local authorities especially have long been a partner to the private sector, typically willing to support development by sacrificing returns to ensure they carry no risk. That is no longer the case. These days councils compete with the private sector. And while their ability to do so may be curbed in next month’s Budget, they will continue to do so. Meanwhile, when public authorities do partner, they seek to do so on very different terms. “There is an opportunity for the public sector to be seen as a significant co-investor alongside the private sector in delivery,” Homes and Communities Agency chief executive Nick Walkley said at MIPIM UK this week. Expect that thinking to catch.
Mono thinking needs to change. On diversity and innovation, those who lag need to catch up – for their own self interest as much as anything else.
Similarly, distinctions between what constitutes the public and private sectors in terms of behaviour should shift too. And as much as the private sector’s view of the public sector needs to alter, the public sector must also make further adjustments to its behaviour.
At last week’s EG Question Time in Bristol there was a forthright debate between a developer and a politician about how each group needed to recalibrate its behaviour to further progress (it would be hard to imagine two more opposing views on viability – you won’t regret tuning in here to listen to the full discussion).
There was, perhaps, a touch of mono thinking on both sides. Less of it, please.
To send feedback, e-mail damian.wild@egi.co.uk or tweet @DamianWild or @estatesgazette
