2. Developing an Adjacent Skill Stack

This builds on the above and is about assembling a suite of complementary capabilities just beyond your core domain that multiplies your value and adaptability. Think of the future CRE professional as not being a specialist in just one thing. They’re much more likely to be multi-disciplinary operators, capable of working across AI, finance, sustainability, operations, human experience, and more. Having these adjacent skills will increase their surface area for opportunity and reduce their risk of obsolescence.
‍
Ian Goldin wrote a book, ‘Age of Discovery: Navigating the Storms of Our Second Renaissance’, in 2016 and this talked about how analogous modern times are with the Renaissance. That era was marked by explosive innovation across art, science, architecture, and engineering. Thinkers like Leonardo da Vinci succeeded because they weren’t narrowly defined—they combined anatomy, physics, mechanics, design, and storytelling into a fluid, adjacent skill stack. That allowed them to not only conceive revolutionary ideas (like flying machines or humanist art) but to bring them to life in a world undergoing massive cultural and technological change.
‍
In 2019, David Epstein published ‘Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialised World’ and it talks about how:​

“Our greatest strength is the exact opposite of narrow specialisation. It is the ability to integrate broadly.”

Your range becomes your advantage. As AI absorbs narrow specialisations, being able to work across domains, and synthesise the wider picture becomes a super skill.

For example:

• As we discussed last week, AI Literacy isn’t about coding—it’s about comprehension. Understand how generative, predictive, and causal AI models work, and you’ll be able to collaborate, guide, and lead even if you’re not an engineer.
• Being proficient at Data Storytelling & Visualisation gives you the ability to interpret and communicate AI-generated insights in a way stakeholders trust.
• Digital Product Thinking lets you see how digital layers (e.g. building apps, service interfaces) create value on top of physical space.
• And with Change Leadership & Strategic Communication skills you can guide clients or colleagues through AI-induced change with clarity and confidence.

How to get there:

• Pick 2–3 “power adjacents” and go deep enough to be credible.
• Think in terms of “T-shaped skills”: breadth across business + depth in a few emerging tools (e.g. AI scenario modelling).
• Build fluency, not mastery—your goal is to collaborate intelligently, not to code.

3. Strategic Career Positioning

This is about actively shaping your career path to place yourself where the future is likely to unfold, aligning with growth areas, innovation centres, and long-term value trends.

As the internet began to commercialise in the mid to late 1990’s, professionals who repositioned themselves into digital roles early—even without formal training—became leaders of the next wave. Marketers who embraced SEO, retail managers who moved into e-commerce, financial professionals who learned fintech—they weren’t the largest firms or the deepest experts. They were simply the first to see the shift and move towards it.

Just like in the early internet days, we are at the beginning of a new technological epoch. Those who strategically reposition themselves toward AI-native, tech-enabled, or impact-oriented firms and functions will find themselves riding a tailwind of relevance. Those who stay put in “legacy logic” roles—however successful today—may find themselves marginalised tomorrow.

In a period of rapid industry transformation, where you work, who you work with, and what you work on matter more than ever. Strategic career positioning means stepping toward the future before it becomes obvious—and letting your job pull you forward.

Principles for strategic positioning in CRE:

• Follow the heat: Work at companies, in roles, or in geographies that are early adopters of AI, sustainability, digital CRE models, and human centricity.
• Proximity to innovation: Position yourself in environments where you’re close to emerging technologies, business model reinvention, or high-agency leadership.
• Signal alignment with the future: Build a reputation around future-facing expertise (e.g. AI strategy, smart infrastructure, digital twins, adaptive reuse).
• Avoid “legacy traps”: Don’t get stuck in roles that are functionally necessary today but clearly declining (e.g. manual lease administration, traditional BOVs).

How to get there:

• Audit your current role: does it converge with future trends or decouple from them?
• Seek roles in forward-thinking firms (venture-backed PropTech, digital landlords, ESG-first developers).
• Invest in your external presence—build thought leadership around the intersections you care about.

Putting It All Together: The Future-Proofing Flywheel

These three strategies reinforce each other:

• Intersectional positioning ensures you’re working where AI is creating new value.
• Adjacent skills ensure you’re useful and flexible within that evolving context.
• Strategic career choices ensure that your environment supports your trajectory.
  

This is about riding the wave intelligently, staying at the leading edge of relevance, and making yourself indispensable in a landscape where many roles will be automated, outsourced, or commoditised.

In summary:

Don’t compete with the AI. Collaborate with it. Combine it with skills and positioning that multiply its impact—and yours.

In a world of automation, your edge won’t be AI alone—but what you choose to pair it with.

OVER TO YOU

Where are you placed with these three strategies? Get these right and you are away! Let me know how you get on.

SELF ASSESSMENT

On a scale of 1–5 how would you assess yourself:

• I am positioned at the intersection of AI, human experience, and real estate.
• I have developed at least two adjacent skills outside my core domain.
• My current role is aligned with long-term industry shifts (e.g. AI, ESG, tech-enabled models).​

There is no ‘right’ answer ….. today. Just get yourself to a 5 ASAP.