NEW YORK CITY-Frederick J. Schmidt is not a man who is easily rattled. The president and COO of Parsippany, NJ-based Coldwell Banker Commercial defines himself as an optimist, and there is little he sees in the market that keeps him up nights.

In an interview with GlobeSt.com Thursday morning, Schmidt indicated that the recent market upheaval—underscored by the upper-echelon shifts by such names as Mirante, D’Arcy, Goade and White (all stories that GlobeSt.com broke)—play well against CBC’s strategy. “We see such changes as opportunity in terms of positioning ourselves in the marketplace,” he says.

The executive shifts have raised questions about succession planning, and Schmidt, while not spelling out the details, says CBC is covered on that score. “If I get hit by a bus tomorrow, there will be people to step in for me,” he says rather graphically. But he adds that the more important point is working the plan: “What plan is in place to execute so people always know what they need to do?”

For CBC it’s called the Five-Point Plan, a long-term strategy that he says embraces: “Winning business; strategic growth, which we define as ancillary services; affiliate growth, which is our current platform; thought leadership, which is marketing and all the things that that entails; and learning.”

Schmidt says that learning is a huge part of the CBC value proposition, and it extends from emerging brokers to the senior level. It is in large part due to this that the president claims a 75% personnel retention rate.

In terms of overall market conditions, Schmidt is little-fazed by the less-than-stellar recovery. Quoting REIS, he says that with office down to 17.2%; multifamily to 4.9%; and industrial at 10.3, “I’m seeing positive absorption across the board and the gradual stabilization of rents.

“We had a blip in the second half of last year,” he continues, “but even given the underlying common denominators of an election year, the sovereign debt crisis, issues of fuel and jobs—I like the overall trajectory of our market. No, it’s not hot, but it’s certainly stabilizing.”