Competing in the Twenty-First Century... Last year Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric, told GE's senior management that it would take four things to keep GE on top:

"Three of those were predictable: execution, growth, and great people. The fourth was not: virtue. And it was at the top of the list." (Money and Morals at GE, Fortune, Nov 15, 04)

"Good leaders give back," Immelt says. "The era we live in belongs to people who believe in themselves but are focused on the needs of others."

"Businesses today aren't admired. ... It's up to us to use our platform to be a good citizen. Because not only is it a nice thing to do, it's a business imperative."

Yet the real estate industry has always struck me as a curious blend of self-interest and collective motivation. Mostly success is defined by transactions consummated by the individual actions of owners, brokers and tenants.

Maybe that's why a Dispatch reader -- a corporate tenant -- recently quoted me his first (facetious) rule of real estate, "Occasionally brokers tell the truth." Oops. We've got some work to do!

So how do we transmit to customers and employees the sense of giving back to the larger world? How does your company demonstrate its virtue?

Download This... Many thanks to this week's sponsor, Marcus & Millichap, which invites you to download its comprehensive 2005 National Retail Report. If you would like to tell Dispatch readers about your services, send e-mail or call 415-461-4703.

--Peter Pike