In this session from NFMT Baltimore, Clarence Carson and John Rimer, two Building Operating Management Facility Influencers, share insights on navigating change and setting facilities teams up for long-term success.

Strategic planning is the foundation for any facilities project. Rather than reacting to problems as they arise, facilities leaders must align tactical projects with an overarching organizational vision. Facilities professionals are often caught in a reactive cycle — responding to emergencies rather than anticipating them — but developing a strategic plan helps break that pattern. Although 20-year plans are outdated, a well-crafted five-year or 10-year strategy remains essential, especially in a dynamic and rapidly evolving environment.

For effective strategic planning, understanding the broader mission of an organization is key. Facilities teams must be able to frame their work not just in terms of building maintenance, but in how it supports the organization's success, productivity, and risk mitigation. Communicating that alignment to leadership is critical. Selling facilities' value requires collecting operational data, studying stakeholders, interpreting needs into language leadership understands, and delivering consistent execution.

Yet strategic plans alone aren’t enough without team engagement. One of the biggest challenges facility managers face is getting their teams to embrace change, especially when many employees have been in the industry for decades. To address this, it's important to involve teams in creating a shared vision and mission statement, giving frontline workers ownership of organizational goals. Turn this vision into a simple, memorable tagline that can be reinforced through meetings, email signatures, service requests, and day-to-day conversations.

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