The real estate industry runs on transactions. Because infrastructure naturally rises to the level of transactions, companies are forced to cut costs when transactions are down. Professional operators cut the fat quickly but are careful not to damage the muscle. How do you tell the difference? Anything that sustains your ability (now or in the future) to produce more transactions should be protected and preserved—even during down times. For real estate organizations, this means continuing to invest in recruiting and those activities that increase per agent productivity. This doesn’t mean you should neglect to continually optimize and gain efficiencies in these areas, but it’s a mistake to reduce capacity. As one of my favorite CEOs told me earlier this week: We have to recruit our way out of this. And as someone who has survived several downturns, she knows the drill.