What are you looking for in a corporate headquarters location? I've asked that question frequently over the years and, although the precise words may vary, the answer always seems to boil down to this - a vantage point from which a CEO can oversee the operation and growth of the company. The strategic focus of the particular CEO will go a long way in determining how that vantage point translates into geography.

For many companies, particularly those with CEOs actively involved in day-to-day operations, it is important to put the headquarters in the center of the operations. If it operates from multiple locations around the country, the leadership may try to find a central location that will allow them to save both time and money in visiting and supporting these various locations.

As these more hierarchical companies grow even larger and open up more facilities, they tend to establish regional headquarters locations as well. Their real estate portfolios will tend to reflect their organizational chart diagrams.

For other companies, particularly those with CEOs whose management style is to delegate operational responsibility to trusted executives, a central location is less important. For this type of company, perhaps quality of life considerations are more important in order to help the company attract and retain the best senior executives at the corporate level.

If the company's operations are extremely capital-intensive, having the headquarters in a major financial city - New York, San Francisco, Charlotte - can be important.

If the company is trying to strategically reinvent itself - Boeing's move to Chicago is a current, but by no means unique, example of this - it may want to locate its headquarters in a place that does not constantly remind people of the core business it may be trying to transition away from.

Along those lines, a company can use its choice of a corporate headquarters location to make a bold statement to a market it wishes to enter (or dominate).

A company with a major market presence in Mexico might consider a city like San Antonio (or any of the major Southwestern cities) which, in addition to its proximity to Mexico, is rich in Hispanic heritage. A company going after the Central and South American markets might consider places like Miami, or Tampa, or Orlando, or New Orleans. For those targeting the Pacific Rim, any of the cities along the West Coast make sense.

Sometimes it's not physical geography, but rather the culture, that matters most.

A company whose target market is rural Americans who live in small- to mid-size towns might be better served with a corporate headquarters in, say, Bentonville, Ark., rather than New York City.

Regardless of your agenda, your choice of a headquarters location makes a major statement about your company and its strategic vision for the future. If it doesn't, maybe you should be looking for a new location.