Bookmarks: 5 Interesting Articles to Help You This Week
/July 24th, 2017
Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners:" corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. I welcome your comments on these articles and the submissions of others (with credit to you if I post them). I wish you a terrific week!Architecture Firms End Second Quarter On a Strong Note"For the fifth consecutive month, architecture firms recorded increasing demand for design services as reflected in the June Architecture Billings Index (ABI). As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the June ABI score was 54.2, up from a score of 53.0 in the previous month. This score reflects an increase in design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 58.6, down from a reading of 62.4 the previous month, while the new design contracts index decreased from 54.8 to 53.7.“So far this year, new activity coming into architecture firms has generally exceeded their ability to complete ongoing projects,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, PhD. “Now, firms seem to be ramping up enough to manage these growing workloads." www.aia.org[tweet_box design="box_09" float="none"]For the 5th consecutive month, architecture firms recorded increasing demand for #CRE design services[/tweet_box]
Promising Cities for Commercial Real EstateAtlanta Number 1! | "Commercial real estate in the U.S. is at a turning point, with primary markets like New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco showing signs of overheating—that’s according to online marketplace for real-estate investments RealtyMogul.com. As is common in this phase of a real-estate cycle, secondary and tertiary markets across the country are where the new action is, the firm claims. So Barron’s Penta asked its real-estate team to identify the top commercial real-estate markets that high-net-worth investors should be looking at. Here they are, in order of preference." www.barrons.com
5 Unusual Facts About Google's Odd (and Wildly Successful) Management Practices"One of the things I truly admire about Google's management approach is that, like the rest of Google, its HR leaders look at real-world data to engineer the company's people practices and guide their decisions.
Disruptors Target Real Estate"Real estate is an enticing market for tech companies, but not without challenges to adoption. The industry is replete with complex and antiquated ways of doing things that could be simplified and streamlined by tech. Much of the information in real estate is locked down and unstructured." www.bizjournals.com
This Email From Elon Musk to Tesla Employees Is a Master Class in Emotional Intelligence"Tesla, the electric-automobile manufacturer led by famed CEO Elon Musk, has struggled mightily with safety over the past few years. California nonprofit Worksafe, a worker safety advocacy group, recently made headlines when it reported that the injury rate at Tesla's Fremont, California, plant was more than 30 percent higher than the industry average in 2014 and 2015.
Musk insists, however, that safety is the number one priority at Tesla. He claims that recent actions, like the company's hiring thousands of employees to create a third shift and reduce excess overtime, have made a major impact in lowering the injury rate.A recent email Musk sent to employees indicates just how seriously he's taking the issue:" www.inc.comYour success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!Ken
