When Everyone Looks Left… Look Right.
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There’s a moment in my conversation with Zac Goodman where he quotes Sam Zell a line Zell repeats throughout Am I Being Too Subtle?:
“If everyone is going left, look right. Conventional wisdom is nothing more than a reference point.”
Zell wasn’t talking about being a rebel. He was talking about avoiding the comfort of the crowd a crowd that is often looking in the wrong direction.
Zell earned the nickname “The Grave Dancer” because he built his success by buying assets that others had written off. He did not chase trends. He looked at what the market was avoiding, often because it felt too uncomfortable or too unfashionable to consider.
He built an empire by paying attention to what others ignored.
Hearing that quote in the context of today’s office market felt timely.
And listening back to my conversation with Zac, I realised how relevant that mindset is to the challenges we face in commercial real estate today.
Where the CRE world is currently looking left
Right now, most conversations in commercial real estate point in the same direction:
This is the “left”. It is where the noise is. It is where the crowd is staring.
And when the majority anchors its attention to the same narrative, it becomes very easy to overlook the opportunities that sit quietly elsewhere.
This is the moment when Zell’s philosophy becomes useful. If everyone is focused on a single direction, it is worth asking what the opposite direction contains.
If everyone is looking left — is there something valuable to the right?
What the shift to serviced offices is teaching us
The growth of flexible and serviced space is real and important. Zac explained that customers value simplicity, speed, and a sense of belonging. These formats offer exactly that.
But the rise of serviced offices does not mean the death of traditional offices. It highlights something more interesting. It shows that occupiers want:
Serviced offices have simply responded faster than the traditional market. They are not winning because they are different buildings. They are winning because they operate differently.
And this is where the opportunity sits for traditional office stock.
Looking right. Where the opportunities actually are
Zac and I spent time discussing how the market overcorrects in uncertain periods. When valuations fall and demand slows, many owners assume the asset class itself is broken.
But the truth is more nuanced. Most challenges in offices come from operations, experience and adaptability, not the physical shell.
So while the left side of the industry is focusing on exits, distress and conversions, the right side contains opportunities that are still underpriced and largely ignored.
Here are three.
1. Traditional offices that operate like service-led products
Buildings that deliver a smooth, predictable and human customer experience will outperform. This does not require a full serviced office model. It requires adopting the mindset behind it.
Responsiveness, clarity and a deeper understanding of the occupier journey can turn a standard floorplate into a place people want to stay.
2. Offices where operational excellence drives carbon reductions and lower costs
Much of the market is looking at EPCs, net-zero targets and ESG frameworks. Important, but often disconnected from on-the-ground reality.
The opportunity lies in the buildings that quietly fix their fundamentals. Correct scheduling, better plant control, improved sequencing, closer collaboration with FM teams. This produces real energy savings and real improvements in comfort.
Traditional stock has more upside here than many investors realise.
3. Assets where the landlord and site teams work in partnership rather than in parallel
Serviced office operators excel because everyone involved is aligned around service delivery. Traditional offices can achieve something similar when teams share information, support each other and build trust.
You do not need a new model for this. You need a new culture.
How this relates to Zell, to Zac, and to the work we are doing
When Zac quoted Zell, it resonated because so much of the current office narrative feels like a one way street. Everyone is looking left and assuming the only logical move is to follow along.
But the right side contains:
This is also the reason we focused on humans and operations first in the work we do at IBOS . Not because it was a clever twist, but because the crowded path was not delivering what buildings needed.
Once you look right, the fundamentals become clear again.
One final thought from Zell
Sam Zell did not claim to see the future. He simply refused to assume the crowd had it right. He paid attention to what others ignored, and that was often where the real value lived.
The same applies to the office sector today. There is opportunity in the places that feel unfashionable. There is opportunity in the buildings that need work rather than transformation. There is opportunity in the fundamentals rather than the noise.
The question for all of us is simple.
Where is everyone looking left in your world, and what possibility might be waiting quietly on the right?
I couldnt have said this better myself 😇
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