Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. Progressive Workplace Design In A Post-Pandemic World

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As the world continues to mull over when and how we will return to “normal” life again, a large part of the discussion involves the return to the workplace.

Tenants, landlords and design professionals alike are wondering how many days a week people will visit the office, how far apart they will sit, how amenities should be used, what common space design will look like, and more. Ultimately, we will want to be together again, but how do we do so in a way that makes people feel both productive and safe?

As architects and interior designers, we are fortunate to work with progressive developers who partner with us to bring big ideas to life and incorporate the thoughtful, health-and-wellness-focused design elements that last the test of time. While no one could have foreseen a global pandemic forcing us away from our office spaces temporarily, those of us who have been designing workplaces for long enough know that life events and news cycles spur trends and speed them up faster than they ever would have arrived on their own. As creatives, we observe and design accordingly.

2. 5 Models for the Post-Pandemic Workplace

Sean Gladwell/Getty Images

Sean Gladwell/Getty Images

n March of 2020, most companies would have seen their offices as essential to their business. But as the pandemic dragged on, leaders have been surprised to learn that people often work just as productively from home.

Now that vaccines are becoming available and social distancing restrictions are being relaxed in some regions, leaders need to decide whether to bring employees back to the office, remain at home, or use this as an opportunity to adopt a new, possibly more beneficial workplace model.

Where employees work has significant implications, not only for the design of workplaces, but for how corporations allocate capital and manage staff. Experts are divided on what is likely to happen next. Some argue that our experiment with working from home has been so successful that remote work is here to stay. Others speculate that people are starving for face-to-face interaction, and that central business districts are primed to come roaring back. Splitting the difference, another group believes that the future of work won’t be either of these two extremes, but a hybrid solution between home and the office.

3. Real-Estate Sales Are Booming. The Rental Market Is Following Suit.

PHOTO: TIM VAN ASSELT FOR REALOGICS SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

PHOTO: TIM VAN ASSELT FOR REALOGICS SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

The pandemic flight patterns that saw an influx of newcomers to cities like Tampa, Fla., Austin and Detroit has transformed the rental market. Low supply—and the desire of many to try out a destination before committing—have led to a rental boom that parallels that of the sales market.

In Nashville, Tenn., Shane Tallant of Village Real Estate has seen a marked increase in interest for high-end homes in the area, with large numbers of people coming from California, New York and Illinois. “We still get four seasons, our lack of state income tax is a huge benefit, the entertainment industry, the sports industry, it’s centrally located,” he says. “It’s growing faster than anybody would have expected.

In Reno, one of the fastest-growing markets, Rosi Booker of Sierra Sotheby’s International Realty has seen monthly rent prices skyrocket. “Where we’re seeing the demand going up is people waiting for a new home to be built, or who have not been able to find a house because everything’s going for so much over asking and you need so much cash to put down. So people are trying to get into rentals while they find a place to be able to buy.” She says that a 1,500-square-foot house that might have rented for $1,800 six months ago would now be priced around $2,500.

4. Built-to-Rent Suburbs are Poised to Spread Across the U.S.

ILLUSTRATION: JON KRAUSE

ILLUSTRATION: JON KRAUSE

Today, built-to-rent homes make up just over 6% of new homes built in the U.S. every year, according to Hunter Housing Economics, a real estate consulting firm, which projects the number of these homes built annually will double by 2024.

The country’s largest home builders are planning for that future. Backed by banks and private investment firms, they have already bet billions on the sector, and will put down some $40 billion more during the next 18 months, Brad Hunter, founder of Hunter Housing Economics, projects. Built-to-rent subdivisions have been constructed or are under development in nearly 30 states. Taylor Morrison Home Corp. , Mr. Wood’s development partner and the nation’s fifth-largest builder, has said built-to-rent could soon become 50% of its total business. The company didn’t disclose the current share.

Homeownership is expected to decline over the next two decades—a trend that started with the generation after the baby boomers, according to the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank that advocates for homeownership. Prices are rising faster than ever, leaving more people, including those with higher incomes, more likely to rent.

5. Move to a New City for Work? No Thanks

PHOTO: KRISTON JAE BETHEL FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

PHOTO: KRISTON JAE BETHEL FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

“This has been sort of an awakening moment for people,” says Chris Porter, chief demographer at John Burns Real Estate Consulting in Irvine, Calif. “After what we went through last year, I think there might be a resetting of priorities.”

Many parents are loath to pluck their kids from schools to which they’re just now returning after a tumultuous stretch of virtual learning. Some companies are opening and expanding satellite locations that could preclude the need for a physical move. And workers who have grown used to the flexibility of logging on from the dining room table might scoff at the idea of putting their families through a huge transition just so they can commute to new headquarters each day.

“Part of it is, ‘I’m offered that level of freedom in my current position, so tell me why I should give that up,’ ” says John Touey, a Philadelphia-area executive recruiter with Salveson Stetson Group who’s noticed job candidates are much more resistant to relocating for new opportunities these days. “I think we want to make these decisions because they’re personally motivated and they’re right for us and our families, versus they’re right for our employers.”

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. The Great American Reunion

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After a year-and-a-half of isolating Covid lockdowns, Americans are emerging from seclusion into the joy and comfort of others.

For many, that means family. Adults are heading back to childhood homes to the arms of Mom and Dad. Families are hosting reunions and making up for missed Sunday dinners. The kids are taller, the moments sweeter.

For others, it’s the routine pleasures of lunch with the gang from the office or the coffee shop or the corner bar. The guy from the next cubicle over is grayer, but his stories somehow seem funnier now.

Celebration, secular and religious, is the order of the day. To sway in a sweaty crowd to the rhythm of music at a festival. To raise hands in prayer in the communal spirit of worship, and to hold them out to neighbors and friends.

2. Americans Boosted Spending, Adding Fuel to Economic Growth

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Americans continue to venture back out into public to buy services they went without for more than a year—a shift that is adding fuel to the economic recovery and stirring higher inflation.

Consumer spending, the biggest source of economic demand in the U.S., rose 0.5% last month after surging in March, the Commerce Department said Friday.

The report offered mostly positive signs about the direction of the economy’s path out of the pandemic-induced downturn. After months of buying goods from the safety of their homes, Americans are increasingly comfortable enough to go out in public and buy things in person, a shift that economists say is crucial to getting the economy running at full speed again. Spending on services, which account for the bulk of all consumer purchases, rose 1.1% last month; spending on goods fell 0.6%.

3. Consumer Shopping Behavior Changing As Pandemic Recedes

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Discretionary retail sales revenue in the US increased by 17% over the first half of the year and rose 18% over 2019 levels, suggesting that the uptick in consumer spending predicted by many experts post-pandemic is beginning to materialize.

The figures—outlined by The NPD Group—demonstrates that consumer behavior is beginning to change following the COVID-19 crisis. Sports equipment, home products, consumer tech, and toys all posted strong sales numbers in 2020. And spending in the categories relating to home-based work, education, fitness, entertaining, and healthy home—sectors NPD dubbed “lifestyle pillars”—will continue to drive growth. 

“Some experiential spending is already coming back strong, as consumers do more, dress up more, place more emphasis on appearance and health, and start to spend more on tangible products related to travel and other experiences,” said Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry advisor for NPD.  “However, as this pent-up demand works itself out in the coming months, we can also expect those rising sales to throttle back a bit in apparel, footwear, and other categories.”

4. WeWork’s Demand Surpasses Pre-Pandemic Levels, Chairman Says

Demand for coworking space at WeWork locations has recovered, according to WeWork Executive Chairman Marcelo Claure, with inquiries from potential customers exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Claure, who is also SoftBank Group chief operating officer, made the comment during an interview at the Bloomberg Businessweek virtual summit.

“Sales are back to pre-pandemic levels, and our sales pipeline is strong," a spokeswoman told Bloomberg by email afterward.

The comments came in the wake of WeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani's assertion during a May 11 Wall Street Journal podcast interview that "those who are least engaged are very comfortable working from home,” a comment that Mathrani has since apologized for.

5. House Hunters Are Leaving the City, and Builders Can’t Keep Up

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Tired of being cooped up, eager to take advantage of low interest rates and increasingly willing to move two or more hours from the urban core, buyers have propelled new home construction to its highest level since 2006. That was the year when the mid-2000s housing bubble started deflating on its way to what would become the financial crisis and Great Recession.

After a prolonged period of anemic sales since the housing bust, home builders now risk losing business because they can’t supply enough inventory. Home prices have shot up 11.3 percent over the past year, according to CoreLogic, keeping many people out of the market. At the same time, the cost of labor and raw materials — in particular the cost of lumber, which has more than doubled over the past year — is spiraling upward, pushing prices higher still.

Just as notable as the level of new construction is where it is taking place. From the mountains of central Pennsylvania to the one-stoplight towns beyond Houston’s endless expanse to California’s San Joaquin Valley, developers are racing to build homes in areas that buyers used to judge beyond the outer limits of an acceptable commute.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. Brian McGowan, seeing parallels with Seattle tech scene, calls Atlanta 'a rising star'

Brian McGowan spent the past few years uniting economic development efforts in Seattle, home to tech giants Amazon and Microsoft Corp.

Now, returning to Atlanta to help lead downtown's largest redevelopment, he sees a much different city than the one he left almost three years ago.

McGowan, the former Invest Atlanta president and CEO and president of Atlanta BeltLine Inc., said he never thought Atlanta could emerge as a major tech hub so quickly. But, with Microsoft's decision to build a 90-acre campus on the city's Westside, Google's expansion in Midtown, and Airbnb's recent expansion announcement, “Atlanta is a rising star," McGowan said. "And, we have not even seen its full potential yet." 

McGowan, 52, previously stood at the intersection of capital investment and economic development before leaving for Seattle. Since 2018, he served as CEO of Greater Seattle Partners, a regional trade and investment organization.

2. FanDuel picks Midtown, Ponce City Market emerges as a frontrunner

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Ponce City Market has emerged as one of the frontrunners to land a new FanDuel technology campus in Atlanta.

FanDuel will move into a 68,000-square-foot space in Midtown, the state confirmed earlier this afternoon. It could include up to 900 jobs wherever it decides to land. The division will include software engineering, product development and information technology positions.

Ponce City Market, the former Sears building converted into a home for tech and creative class companies on the Eastside Trail, helped spark economic development on the Atlanta Beltline.

3. New basketball league Overtime Elite to add headquarters in Atlantic Station

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A new upstart basketball league, backed by a slew of celebrities and NBA players, is bringing its headquarters to Atlanta.

Overtime, a New York-based media company, plans to open a 103,000-square-foot facility in Atlantic Station for its startup league, Overtime Elite, that launched earlier this year. Overtime Elite, which expects to begin its first season in September, plans to hire at least 100 full-time people locally while supplying over 400 temporary construction jobs on the project which will be completed later this summer.

Retail director Starr Cumming, who brokered the deal on behalf of Atlantic Station and property manager Hines, called Overtime Elite's new HQ a "huge win" for Atlantic Station and the city as a whole.

4. Microsoft is Doubling Down on Office Space

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Even as the Covid-19 pandemic sent its workers home last year, Microsoft continued expanding in Redmond and snatching up office space throughout the U.S.

The shift to working from home for the entire U.S. white-collar workforce was so swift, many questioned how relevant the office would be post-pandemic.

But Microsoft — the company that banks off remote working with products such as Teams — continued apace with the multibillion-dollar overhaul of the eastern portion of its Redmond campus, which includes 18 new buildings. It also pushed ahead with a major new East Coast hub in Atlanta.

Microsoft expanded its cloud division in Hillsboro, Oregon, and is reported to be on the hunt for office space in Miami.

5. Timeline: Evolution of the Atlanta BeltLine

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December 1999
Georgia Tech grad student Ryan Gravel submits a master’s thesis describing a “belt line” loop of multiuse trails and transit along 22 miles of railroad corridor. City Council President Cathy Woolard soon champions the idea.

April 2005
Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, an engine for raising funds and awareness, is formed. Its mission is to enable construction of parks and trails, engage the public, and empower residents of the BeltLine’s 45 neighborhoods.

April 2006
City buys the dormant, 300-acre Bellwood Quarry for roughly $40 million, in hopes of one day building Atlanta’s largest park and water reservoir, west of Midtown.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. Origin Stories: Ken Ashley On What's To Love About Tenant Rep Work

I am honored that Bisnow would profile me. Thanks to the Bisnow team for including me!

Ken Ashley's path to a real estate career took a few zigs and zags. He was a  university police officer, a part-time firefighter, a cash register salesman and a chief financial officer. In between all that, he found spare time to develop a passion for chasing tornadoes.

But in 1996, Ashley discovered his professional calling as a commercial real estate broker. Ashley, an executive director in Cushman & Wakefield's Atlanta office, said he fell in love with being a broker as a way to glean the business strategies of his clients, especially given how commercial real estate typically is the second-biggest cost after talent for most companies.

“Tenant rep is a complex job layered with compensation risk, but when the stars align, this is a wonderful career with great financial rewards and ultimate schedule flexibility,” Ashley said in an email.

2. Googleʼs Plan for the Future of Work: Privacy Robots and Balloon Walls

Cayce Clifford

Cayce Clifford

Google’s first office was a cluttered Silicon Valley garage crammed with desks resting on sawhorses.

In 2003, five years after its founding, the company moved into a sprawling campus called the Googleplex. The airy, open offices and whimsical common spaces set a standard for what an innovative workplace was supposed to look like. Over the years, the amenities piled up. The food was free, and so were buses to and from work: Getting to the office, and staying there all day, was easy.

Now, the company that once redefined how an employer treats its workers is trying to redefine the office itself. Google is creating a postpandemic workplace that will accommodate employees who got used to working from home over the past year and don’t want to be in the office all the time anymore.

The company will encourage — but not mandate — that employees be vaccinated when they start returning to the office, probably in September. At first, the interior of Google’s buildings may not appear all that different. But over the next year or so, Google will try out new office designs in millions of square feet of space, or about 10 percent of its global work spaces.

3. What can we learn from Google’s offices about workplace design?

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Office putting-greens, vintage subway cars and revolving bookcases are among the zany features that can be found in Google’s charismatic offices. Google is renowned for its unusual and extraordinary workspace designs as part of its model of motivation.

Although the offices may look cool, there is in fact reasoning behind their take on workspace. In this blog, we will explore the ways that Google makes use of its office space to “create the happiest, most productive workplace in the world.”

Those that sit together, work together

Over the decades there has been a great deal of research investigating the importance of physical space within the workplace and how it affects employee motivation. Studies showed that within a workplace that encourages collaborative working, that productivity increases by 15%.

4. Hey Siri, What’s Next In The Workplace?

Getty

Getty

She's in our pockets, on our wrists and in our homes, but have you ever asked yourself what Siri actually knows? Have you ever asked her: "Hey Siri, what can you do?"

Siri is more than a feature to check the weather, tell us a joke or playback voicemails. Siri (or Alexa, or Cortana, depending on your choice of technology) is the voice of artificial intelligence, a powerful technology that will shape the future of the enterprise employee experience.

The global response to the pandemic this year drove organizations to adopt remote work. Since the remote work revolution is here to stay, organizations need to double down on the fact that the employee experience is now synonymous with the technology experience. It's time to think of new ways employees can create a powerful work environment — wherever they plug in from. This means organizations planning how AI like Siri can automate and power their workers, and doing it securely.

5. Office Users On Why They Are Comfortable Signing Leases Again

Parkside Realty

Parkside Realty

The quick turnaround in the city’s public health metrics means it is decision time for Chicago office users. The emptying out of the downtown over the past year, and the uncertainty over when the crisis would end, led many companies to put off signing new leases. But with the pace of vaccinations ramping up starting in February, plans to move or extend leases can now be dusted off.

Some observers wondered last year if the office environment was on the verge of profound change, with companies deciding to perhaps shrink their footprints or abandon the office entirely even after the pandemic, since many companies found workers were just as productive at home, thanks to technology.

There’s little relevant data available, as for much of Q1 the downtown was still quiet as office workers typed away and held Zoom calls on home computers. But more firms are dipping their toes in the water, taking downtown tours, and a few have already signed new leases.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. Even the CEO of Zoom Says He Has Zoom Fatigue

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Some of America’s top executives, including the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Zoom Video Communications Inc., say they are souring on some aspects of remote work.

After more than a year of working virtually during the pandemic, executives in banking and technology are pushing back on the idea that workers should be able to do their jobs entirely from home in the coming months. Though some said they expect more flexible work arrangements to endure going forward, they say there are clear signs of burnout in an era of nonstop video calls.

Eric Yuan, the CEO of Zoom, told a virtual audience of The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit Tuesday that he had personally experienced Zoom fatigue. On one day last year, he said he had 19 Zoom meetings in a row.

“I’m so tired of that,” Mr. Yuan said, adding that he no longer books back-to-back Zoom calls. “I do have meeting fatigue.”

2. Office Tours Spike 28% As CRE Gears Up For Labor Day Return To The Office

In major office markets across the country, potential tenants have been eyeing space more than at any time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic over a year ago.

Office demand in major U.S. markets jumped by 28% from February to March, according to a monthly report by VTS, a software provider for commercial real estate landlords. VTS’ Office Demand Index increased by 160% in the first quarter and now sits at 86, 9% less than where the index was in February 2020, leading the report to conclude that “return to work appears imminent.”

VTS’ index is largely based on the number of office tours conducted by potential tenants in a given market, and its reported increase in demand has not translated into a boost in leasing activity quite yet, according to research from Colliers.

3. Blackstone Expects ‘Vast Majority’ of Employees Back in Office, While WeWork Sees Rebound

Getty Images

Getty Images

Blackstone Group President and Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Gray has been going to the New York office of the world’s largest private equity firm since July. He expects to have plenty of company at some point.

“I was by myself at home sitting in front of two screens” during the start of the coronavirus outbreak, Gray said in an interview with David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman of rival private equity firm The Carlyle Group, at the annual DLA Piper Global Real Estate Summit on Wednesday. “I found it very frustrating. ... I had a need to connect.”

Blackstone, with $649 billion in assets under management, wants employees back.

“I believe we are much better together,” Gray said. “We hired 700 people since the pandemic. It’s hard to build the relationship and culture and understand how others operate. We have a strong bias when it’s safe to bring people back. … [For] the vast majority of people, we expect [them] to be back in the office. Our bias will be together.”

4. The Next Great Disruption Is Hybrid Work—Are We Ready?

Ben Wiseman

Ben Wiseman

We’re on the brink of a disruption as great as last year’s sudden shift to remote work: the move to hybrid work — a blended model where some employees return to the workplace and others continue to work from homeWe’re on the brink of a disruption as great as last year’s sudden shift to remote work: the move to hybrid work — a blended model where some employees return to the workplace and others continue to work from home. We’re experiencing this at Microsoft, and today we shared how we’re evolving our own hybrid work strategy for our 160,000+ employees around the world.

We’re all learning as we go, but we know two things for sure: flexible work is here to stay, and the talent landscape has fundamentally shifted. Remote work has created new job opportunities for some, offered more family time, and provided options for whether or when to commute. But there are also challenges ahead. Teams have become more siloed this year and digital exhaustion is a real and unsustainable threat.

With over 40 percent of the global workforce considering leaving their employer this year, a thoughtful approach to hybrid work will be critical for attracting and retaining diverse talent. To help organizations through the transition, the 2021 Work Trend Index outlines findings from a study of more than 30,000 people in 31 countries and an analysis of trillions of productivity and labor signals across Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn. It also includes perspectives from experts who have spent decades studying collaboration, social capital, and space design at work for decades.

5. A hybrid approach to work

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In other areas, conditions are less dire and people are beginning to open up their lives and think about returning to the office. In fact, in places where we’ve been able to reopen Google offices in a voluntary capacity, we’ve seen nearly 60% of Googlers choosing to come back to the office. 

For more than 20 years, our employees have been coming to the office to solve interesting problems — in a cafe, around a whiteboard, or during a pickup game of beach volleyball or cricket. Our campuses have been at the heart of our Google community and the majority of our employees still want to be on campus some of the time. Yet many of us would also enjoy the flexibility of working from home a couple days of week, spending time in another city for part of the year, or even moving there permanently. Google’s future workplace will have room for all of these possibilities. 

Over the last year, a team within REWS has been reimagining a hybrid workplace to help us collaborate effectively across many work environments. They’re testing new multi-purpose offices and private workspaces, and working with teams to develop advanced video technology that creates greater equity between employees in the office and those joining virtually. All of these efforts will help us work with greater flexibility and choice once we’re able to return to our offices globally. 

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. U.S. Household Income Surged by Record 21.1% in March

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Household income rose at a record pace of 21.1% in March as federal-stimulus checks helped fuel an economic revival that is poised to endure with an easing pandemic.

The 21.1% March surge in income was the largest monthly increase for government records tracing back to 1959, largely reflecting $1,400 stimulus checks included in President Biden’s fiscal relief package signed into law in March. The stimulus payments accounted for $3.948 trillion of the overall seasonally adjusted $4.213 trillion rise in March personal income.

Spending was also up sharply, increasing 4.2%, the Commerce Department said on Friday. That was the steepest month-over-month increase since last summer.

2. U.S. Economy Grew Robustly in First Quarter

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A burst of growth put the U.S. economy just a shave below its pre-pandemic size in the first quarter, extending what is shaping up to be a rapid, consumer-driven recovery this year.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services made in the U.S., grew at a 6.4% seasonally adjusted annual rate in January through March, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That left the world’s largest economy within 1% of its peak, reached in late 2019, just before the coronavirus pandemic reached the U.S.

Households, many of them vaccinated and armed with hundreds of billions of dollars in federal stimulus money, drove the first-quarter surge in output by shelling out more for cars, bicycles, furniture and other big-ticket goods. The federal government also stepped up spending—on vaccines and aid to businesses.

3. U.S. manufacturing, new homes sales underscore booming economy

U.S. factory activity powered ahead in early April, though manufacturers increasingly struggled to source raw materials and other inputs as a reopening economy leads to a boom in domestic demand, which could slow momentum in the months ahead.

The flow of strong economic data continued with another report on Friday showing new home sales racing to a more than 14-1/2-year high in March. The economy is being boosted by the White House's massive $1.9 trillion COVID-19 pandemic rescue package and increased vaccinations against the virus.

Retail sales jumped to a record high in March and hiring accelerated, cementing expectations for robust growth in the first quarter and setting up the economy for what could be its best performance in nearly four decades.

4. The Search for Office Space Becomes More Active

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A recent report from commercial real estate platform Crexi has shown that investors had become more active in their search for office deals in the first quarter of 2021 than they were the previous quarter.

As vaccinations become available to a significant portion of the U.S. population, tenant activity has climbed 42.9% during the same period.

Additionally, asking prices for office assets on Crexi grew for the third consecutive quarter, a 5.13% gain over fourth quarter numbers. However, new inventory added jumped 55.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.

5. U.S. Unemployment Claims Hit New Covid-19 Pandemic Low

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Worker filings for jobless benefits declined to 547,000 last week, a new pandemic low that adds to evidence of a strengthening labor market and overall economic recovery.

Initial unemployment claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell 39,000 last week from an upwardly revised 586,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That put new claims on a seasonally adjusted basis below 600,000 for two consecutive weeks in mid-April, their lowest levels since early 2020. The four-week moving average, which smooths out volatility in the weekly figures, was 651,000, also a pandemic low.

The median sales price for previously owned homes climbed to a record high in March as a shortage of homes during the pandemic limited transactions, the National Association of Realtors said separately. Existing-home sales dropped 3.7% in March from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.01 million, marking the second straight month of sales declines.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. The great big (and confusing) return to the office is beginning

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Headquarters are a thing of the past. Employees must be in-person. It doesn’t matter where anyone works anymore. Large meeting rooms, not offices, are our future. 

The predictions are dizzying, conflicting—and confusing. Imagine the plight of workers trying to make decisions about homes, commutes, childcare and school districts right now. Even doctors and dentists, butchers and beauticians are chosen based on proximity and convenience to the office. Life basically happens on the way to work. But you are not alone if you still don’t know how often you will actually be there.

“The pandemic taught us there isn’t a rulebook on where employees can work. We can grow a company and operate together regardless of location. However, we know there are also many benefits to being in the same location. ...We believe physical office space is important for high-growth companies,” said Chrissy Hand, senior vice president of operations at CoverMyMeds, a Columbus, Ohio, company that just spent $240 million on a new campus.

2. ‘We Have To Rip The Band-Aid Off’: The Great NYC Hotel Reawakening Is On

Courtesy of Loews Hotels

Courtesy of Loews Hotels

More than a year ago, hundreds of New York City’s hotels shut their doors, putting thousands out of work and plunging the sector into an acute crisis. But many are taking their first steps toward reopening after months of dormancy as cautious optimism overshadows lagging rates and desperately low occupancy.

“At some point, we have to rip the Band-Aid off,” said Loews Regency New York Managing Director John Maibach, whose Midtown hotel has been closed for 13 months — but plans to open in May. "We've got to get the hotel open."

There are 116 hotels still temporarily closed in New York City, according to lodging research firm STR, and six have officially shut forever. Some 144 have reopened after closing at some point in the crisis, a number that is slowly growing each day as the city shuffles back to some form of normality. 

3. To recover from COVID-19, downtowns must adapt

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The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the many inequities between people and places in the United States, largely heaping healthsocial, and economic harms on the most vulnerable and least able to bear it.

As we contemplate the staggering number of people lost to COVID-19, city-watchers are also starting to ask if we are going to lose some places as well. Across the U.S., the pandemic has left downtowns “cratered,” “devastated,” and “abandoned.” In downtown Washington, D.C., for instance, daytime population plummeted 82% from February 2020 to February 2021, and only 9% of office space was occupied as of February 2021.

Much like the suburbanization wave of the previous century, the pandemic pivot to telework has flatlined downtown activity and raised existential questions about its future. However, an examination of how downtowns weathered the Great Recession as well as post-recession job trends suggests that downtowns that creatively adapt can come back stronger than ever.

4. Fitness Tenants Show Signs Of Life As People Trickle Back To The Gym

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Fitness concepts and gyms are beginning to see their clientele return as the vaccine rollout in the U.S. gathers steam, and that is starting to translate into real estate interest, according to retail landlords, brokers and tenants.

It's a healthy sign for the sector, which has been forced to navigate a series of major challenges, including lockdowns, revenue depletion, membership cancellations, loan applications, rent deferrals, difficulty making payments and ongoing capacity limitations.

The growing intensity of the health crisis, coupled with lockdowns, had a powerful effect on fitness concepts and gym memberships around the country. People chose to freeze or cancel their memberships, opting to work out at home instead. Multiple consumer surveys have since found that in some cases, home workout routines are now preferred

5. Jobless Claims Fell to a New Pandemic Low Last Week

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Unemployment claims declined to the lowest level since the coronavirus pandemic struck last spring, adding to signs the U.S. economic revival is picking up speed.

Jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell to 576,000 last week from 769,000 a week earlier. That is the lowest weekly figure since March 2020. Claims remain higher than the pre-pandemic levels of around 220,000, but economists expect they will continue to drop as the recovery accelerates.

“We are seeing both a strong reopening and rehiring in the economy at this time,” said Kathy Bostjancic, economist at Oxford Economics. “It’s been faster than most economists expected.”

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. After Covid-19, Office Leases Largely Come With Bargain Rates

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Big companies are making plans to stick with city-center office buildings, but they are cutting back on space and driving down rent prices for years to come, according to an analysis of U.S. office leasing trends prepared for The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal’s leasing information comes from the data firm VTS, which tracks tens of thousands of negotiations across the U.S. between landlords and tenants. Landlord and tenant discussions in seven of the largest office markets offer an early glimpse into the evolving workplace strategies for hundreds of companies after a year of largely remote work.

Rent proposals made during the first quarter suggest that many companies in the biggest markets—including New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles—are embracing an emerging hybrid model: maintaining a shrunken office presence while allowing employees to work remotely at least part-time.

2. The Great Return: What Google, Amazon, Wells Fargo And Goldman Sachs Are Getting Right About The Office

Getty

Getty

Each day last week another well-known company announced plans to return to the office, and they are doing the right thing. While working from home has been critical to business continuity during the last year (or year and a half!), it has not been without drawbacks, difficulty and decline. The office will be an important element for the future of work.

On Monday news broke that Goldman Sachs would proceed with their internship program, allowing interns to work in Goldman Sachs offices. On Tuesday, headlines announced Wells Fargo would bring employees back to the office in the fall. Wednesday, stories covered the announcement on the part of Google that they would limit future remote work. And on Thursday news outlets announced, Amazon would return to an “office centric” work culture. What a week.

We’ve learned a lot through the pandemic and companies will be wise to take those lessons forward for employee wellbeing, fulfillment, happiness and performance. Providing choice and flexibility is good for people and motivates their engagement. Being empathetic to employee needs has a positive effect on people’s mental health and productivity. And focusing on the bigger picture of the work experience—within and outside of the office—is important to the future of work. Studies show hybrid work models are likely here to stay. It will be a both-and: Being in the office together has compelling and undeniable benefits for people and for companies.

3. U.S. services sector gauge scales record high; cost pressures mounting

A measure of U.S. services industry activity surged to a record high in March amid robust growth in new orders, in the latest indication of a roaring economy that is being boosted by increased vaccinations and massive fiscal stimulus.

The upbeat survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Monday followed news on Friday that the economy added 916,000 jobs last month, the most since August. Economic growth this year is expected to be the best in nearly four decades.

“Vigorous services activity in March sets the stage for robust expansion in the second quarter,” said Oren Klachkin, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics in New York. “All the right pieces for a faster services recovery – expanded vaccine eligibility, reopenings, and historic fiscal expansion – are falling into place.”

4. REITs In 2020's Hardest-Hit Sectors Bounce Back As Economy Roars To Life

After a year of existential crisis, the portions of commercial real estate hit hardest have begun writing their comeback stories.

A potent mix of the coronavirus vaccine's accelerating rollout and the $1.9 trillion stimulus package signed into law in mid-March sent every economic indicator skyward, from a massive boost in official job numbers to a record in services industry activity, according to Institute for Supply Management data reported by Reuters.

The March explosion capped off a positive month for real estate investment trusts focused on the most embattled CRE sectors, The Wall Street Journal reports. REITs gained 9% in value over the first quarter, compared to 6% for the S&P 500, according to data from Green Street Advisors reported by the WSJ. Hotel-focused REITs gained 18% in Q1, and shopping mall REITs gained an eye-popping 32% over that period.

5. Despite pandemic, Google announces massive Bay Area expansion plans

Google

Google

COVID-19 and the rise of telecommuting have raised questions about declining demand for office and housing growth and a possible mass exodus out of the Bay Area. But for Google, the plan is to stay the course and grow fast.

In an announcement Thursday, Google officials say they plan to invest a whopping $1 billion in new and existing sites across California in 2021 alone, much of it centered in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. Nationally, the company anticipates creating 10,000 new jobs and investing $7 billion into its growth plans.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a statement that the expansion is a means to support state and local economies rebounding from COVID-19 which, paired with tight public health restrictions, caused a huge spike in unemployment and deep deficit spending.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. U.S. Added 916,000 Jobs in March as Hiring Accelerated

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U.S. hiring surged in March as the economic recovery accelerated, the start of what economists say could be a sustained run of job growth to industries, regions and workers hardest hit during the pandemic.

U.S. employers added a seasonally adjusted 916,000 jobs in March, the best gain since August, the Labor Department said Friday, and the unemployment rate, determined by a separate survey, fell to 6.0%, a pandemic low. Still, as of March, there are 8.4 million fewer jobs than in February 2020 before the pandemic hit.

The jobs rebound is gaining renewed momentum as more people are vaccinated against Covid-19, states lift restrictions on business activity, and consumers grow more comfortable dining, shopping and traveling outside their homes.

2. Even Suez Canal Blockage Can’t Hold Back Red-Hot Global Trade

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Factories around the world are struggling to keep up with soaring demand for all types of goods as the global economic recovery from the pandemic accelerates.

In the U.S., factory production and product sales soared in March, according to the Institute for Supply Management, an industry trade group. Its index of factory activity—a measure that takes into account new orders for goods, production, inventory levels and commodity prices—rose to 64.7 last month from 60.8 in February. Any figure above 50 suggests industry expansion.

The expansion—driven largely by American consumers venturing out in public again armed with government stimulus money—was broad based, with demand rising from every major industry, from restaurants to chemical companies.

3. CFOs haven’t been this upbeat about the global economy since 2018: CNBC survey

cihatatceken | iStock | Getty Images

cihatatceken | iStock | Getty Images

Covid cases and variants are rising, but in the race between the vaccines and virus, chief financial officers of major corporations are betting the pandemic will be the loser and the global economic recovery remain on track in 2021.

The CNBC Global CFO Council survey for Q1 2021 shows a level of economic confidence from chief financial officers across the globe that hasn’t been this high since 2018, and fears of the risk from Covid to their business outlook cut in half from just a quarter ago. 

In the U.S. specifically, more CFOs are now citing cybersecurity as the biggest risk to their business than Covid.

4. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® Surged in March

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The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® surged in March to its highest reading in a year, after a modest increase in February. The Index now stands at 109.7 (1985=100), up from 90.4 in February. The Present Situation Index—based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions—climbed from 89.6 to 110.0. The Expectations Index—based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions—also improved, from 90.9 last month to 109.6 in March.  

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey®, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was March 19.

“Consumer Confidence increased to its highest level since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020,” said Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board.

5. Make Time for “Me Time”

Illustration by Mark Harris; Source image: We Are/Getty Images

Illustration by Mark Harris; Source image: We Are/Getty Images

Do you feel so busy that you don’t have the bandwidth to think about your own needs, let alone do anything about them? Maybe you’re constantly thinking about work, or worry that you’re not proving yourself or your value if you aren’t available 24/7 (especially if you’re working remotely). Perhaps you’re juggling childcare, eldercare, pet care, or other family commitments. Or maybe you’re just caught up in the regular “life” tasks of paying bills, keeping a clean house, and managing the day-to-day. How do you carve out time for yourself, your health, and your needs when you’re always on?

The first step is to stop, take a deep breath, and realize that the world doesn’t rest completely on your shoulders. Many times the people around you could help more if you simply asked and spread out the responsibilities both professionally and personally. And in some cases, you need to let go and trust that everything will be OK, even if some tasks on your list are done imperfectly or not at all.

The next step is to give yourself permission to take care of yourself now. If you put off self-care until work is less busy, your kids are back in school, your house is in order, or some other circumstances are exactly right, you may never get to it. But if you take a brief pause and go through these steps, you can begin to take care of yourself, even when it feels like the responsibilities at home and at work never end.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. Not Your Average Joe

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I felt my blood pressure going down every minute of this conversation. Joe was 100% focused. Joe listened intently to what I had to say. Joe asked ME all kinds of questions starting with family. He wanted to know about my wife Karen and all about my kids. His approach was disarming in the best kind of way.

What in the world? A power player at such an important company taking a personal interest in me, a humble real estate broker. Soon, I was smiling and even laughing as Joe shared funny anecdotes about his past. He had been General Counsel at Volkswagen US for many years. He retired and went to work for a law firm. He told me keeping time at the law firm “really sucked.” He got offered the job at Porsche, he said, and the funny thing is, “I would have worked for free to be at this great company.” He looked like a kid in a candy store and I will never forget the…pure joy in his countenance that day.

You can imagine my relief that Joe Folz was not a good guy, but a GREAT guy. I immediately loved him and his endearing personality to this very day. I would run through a wall for him. I’d jump on a Delta jet anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice. Joe won my heart and loyalty in a few minutes in the Porsche boardroom. And I was his service provider.

2. Major employers scrap plans to cut back on offices - KPMG

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Most major global companies no longer plan to reduce their use of office space after the coronavirus pandemic, though few expect business to return to normal this year, a survey by accountants KPMG showed on Tuesday.

Just 17% of chief executives plan to cut back on offices, down from 69% in the last survey in August.

“Either downsizing has already taken place, or plans have changed as the impact of extended, unplanned, remote working has taken a toll on some employees,” KPMG said.

3. Amazon Global Real Estate Chief: Company To Return To Office ‘Pretty Much As We Were Pre-Covid’

Amazon

Amazon

Amazon occupies more than 44M SF of offices across the world, and like many workplaces throughout the last year, they are still mostly empty.

Roughly 90% of the company's office-using employees are working remotely today, but the company hopes to bring people back by the fall, Amazon Vice President of Global Real Estate and Facilities John Schoettler told Bisnow in an interview Monday. 

The shift to remote work during the coronavirus pandemic has led many companies to rethink their office needs and downsize their footprints, causing concern for office building owners. A CoreNet Global survey in January found that 59% of businesses expect their office footprints to shrink. But the Seattle-based e-commerce giant isn't one of them.

4. Google’s $7 Billion Real Estate Plan Shows Not All Tech Firms Want To Go Fully Virtual

FEATURE CHINA/BARCROFT MEDIA VIA GETTY IMAGES

FEATURE CHINA/BARCROFT MEDIA VIA GETTY IMAGES

Even the virtual world requires a physical footprint.

On Thursday, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company, Alphabet, published a blog post announcing plans to invest $7 billion in offices and data centers this year across 19 states. The plans include over $1 billion earmarked for California and the expansion of offices in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and smaller cities. 

The investment will help Alphabet expand its reach across the country and bolster the data centers that enable online search. While massive, it nonetheless marks a drop-off from Google’s prior spending; the company set aside $13 billion and $10 billion for similar expenditures in 2019 and 2020, respectively. 

5. What a Year of WFH Has Done to Our Relationships at Work

Alan Powdrill / Getty Images

Alan Powdrill / Getty Images

We know it’s been a while, but do you remember bumping into colleagues in the office hallway, chatting about weekend plans or a big project you’re working on? Do you recall finding yourself in the right place at the right time, giving someone a missing piece of information or introducing a colleague to someone new? If you’re like many people, you may not have realized how much these conversations mattered until you found yourself working from home.

These informal interactions are key to what’s known as social capital — benefits people can get because of who they know. You rely on your social capital every time you’ve hit a dead end and someone pitched in to help you, even though they didn’t have to. It shows up when you need expertise and someone you’d only met once was able to offer it.

You also help others build their social capital when you go above and beyond to support them with knowledge, mentoring, or kindness. And the reason you can turn to someone else and offer extra help is that you’ve built a base of familiarity and goodwill through these unplanned interactions that once filled our workdays.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Not Your Average Joe

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I was driving to the headquarters of an important client and I was worried. I was in the early stages of working on a new massive corporate headquarters deal for Porsche Cars North America. It was a big deal. It was an important deal. I had worked years building the relationships that allowed me to work on this deal. But my anxiety grew with every mile as I got closer to the building.  

I had a great concern because the client hired a new General Counsel to whom real estate would report. I was headed to my first meeting with the new top lawyer and my mind raced with scenarios. Maybe he had existing relationships and I would be dismissed. Maybe we wouldn’t get along. Maybe he was a just not a nice guy. There was a disturbance in the force, and it didn’t feel good at all.  

I pulled into the parking deck and smiled as I always did. There were Porsches everywhere. I guess if everyone drives a $120,000 sports car then your door is safe from dings. Finding your car in a sea of those amazing machines must be an adventure.

I grabbed my backpack, knotted up my tie and trotted to the building lobby shaking off the cold February air. Soon I was up to the Porsche floor and I bounced into the lobby. The receptionist smiled. She’d seen me many, many times and we had a good banter. Who are you here to see, she cheerily asked?

My brow must have furrowed, and I know my voice lowered. “I’m here to so the new guy, Joe Folz.” “But of course,” she said all of a sudden, all business. Uh oh.  

A few minutes later I was in the boardroom waiting on Joe. I looked at all the famous cars on the wall and admired the beautiful wood of the ornate table. I felt privileged once again to be in the holy of holies of all things Porsche. How many important decisions had been made in this rarified air?

Then there was a knock on the door. “Uh, come in?” I said tepidly. It was Joe. He walked in with a giant smile on his face and after a hearty handshake he almost seemed to levitate to the other side of the table. His focus on me was intense and he held nothing in hands. No phone, no pad, he was here to talk to me and me only.

I felt my blood pressure going down every minute of this conversation. Joe was 100% focused. Joe listened intently to what I had to say. Joe asked ME all kinds of questions starting with family. He wanted to know about my wife Karen and all about my kids. His approach was disarming in the best kind of way.

What in the world? A power player at such an important company taking a personal interest in me, a humble real estate broker. Soon, I was smiling and even laughing as Joe shared funny anecdotes about his past. He had been General Counsel at Volkswagen US for many years. He retired and went to work for a law firm. He told me keeping time at the law firm “really sucked.” He got offered the job at Porsche, he said, and the funny thing is, “I would have worked for free to be at this great company.” He looked like a kid in a candy store and I will never forget the…pure joy in his countenance that day.

You can imagine my relief that Joe Folz was not a good guy, but a GREAT guy. I immediately loved him and his endearing personality to this very day. I would run through a wall for him. I’d jump on a Delta jet anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice. Joe won my heart and loyalty in a few minutes in the Porsche boardroom. And I was his service provider.

Why?

Joe knew what he was doing. He knew the real secret to career success and to making people like you. He was other focused and when you are focused on the other person’s wellbeing they will reciprocate in spades. Joe knew how to build incredible loyalty from his team. I watched him many times as he walked through the office. He knew everyone’s name and people lit up when he called them out cheerily.

Joe Folz was like the mayor of a small town who would win every election for decades to come. He didn’t hand out candy or kiss babies. But he was intently curious about people and he remembered all manner of things about their lives.

Allow me to share three powerful things I learned from watching the amazing Joe Folz.

70/30 

Before we got down to the deal or the issue at hand at almost any meeting, Joe would spend time with the person on the other end of the table. I watched carefully as he did it tens of times in front of me. He would ask very specific questions about people’s families and keep drilling in a non-threatening way. I watched people light up and even nearly tear up at his sincere interest in them. You could see people feel positively refreshed and energized at Joe’s approach. 

I came to call this the 70/30 principle because he would spend 70% of the interaction asking questions about the person on the other end of the table. And he could recall what they said. He was wonderful at names and arcane details of people’s lives.  

What was the 30% about? Well, Joe was great at telling stories about himself. They were funny and humbling. And I realized that they helped the other party to remember him and to humanize Joe as a person. After all, he held an august position at an important company. Talking about himself in a certain way made you care for him almost immediately.

Tractor Beam 

I watched Joe in a number of social situations including cocktail parties, dinners and really all manner of gatherings. When you are an executive at Porsche, guess what everyone wants to tell you about? Yes, their car, or their grandpa’s car or aunt Ginny’s car. Everyone seemed to think that Joe would be fascinated by their own personal car story. I was bored and they weren’t even talking to me.

I watched time and time again as Joe had the “three-minute Tractor Beam” I called it. As the new friend was talking proudly about Uncle’s Bob’s such and such Porsche, Joe focused 1000% on them. It was as if there was no one else in the world and no one would interrupt. The recipient thought they were telling the most fascinating story ever and loved the interaction.

Joe was practicing the art that presidents, politicians and successful business leaders of all types have developed. The executive tractor beam. That is focusing on one. person. at. a. time. No interruptions allowed. This human interaction is a beautiful thing to watch.

Start From a Position of Trust 

Finally, Joe was clear with everyone in the business context (including me) that he trusted you. Until he didn’t. In other words, he assumed good about people. Many executives have the opposite approach and require supplicants to earn that trust.

When you start with trust, your body language and your words connote a certain warmth. It’s really disarming and a relief at the same time. “He’s on my side” you feel yourself thinking. And then…”I really like this guy…he trusts me.”

Joe was one of the most likable folks I’ve ever met in any context. Now, lest you assume he was a pushover, he was decidedly not. He was super smart, had a near photographic memory and was capable of destroying BS like Col. Nathan R. Jessup in the movie “A Few Good Men.” In any number of cases I wanted to yell at the poorly acting person on the other side of the table “You can’t handle the truth!”

But Joe started with love in his heart and trust in his approach and it showed.

Joe Folz was an exceptional Joe. I am privileged to have learned at the feet of the master of interpersonal communication. And from a man that had the mad love and loyalty from hundreds of people.

Not your average Joe at all.

Postscript

My friend Joe had a devastating stroke a couple of years ago. He was in a high official’s office in Stuttgart, Germany and fell ill. Joe later told me they were having a very cordial conversation. “His brain had a heart attack,” another executive told me. He appeared to have lost a bit of his cognitive function and that disarming smile is no more. It took him months to get home from Germany because of complications related to the stroke.

I had chance to visit with Joe last year at his home and it was truly wonderful to see him again. We sat on the front porch of his home and I brought him his very favorite…butter crackers from the famous Piedmont Driving Club. The stroke has devastated his body and his brain function. Even then, he asked me questions about my family. Amazing that after all that trauma he was mostly focused on…me.

I’m very sad about his medical condition, but I will always treasure our time together during the creating of One Porsche Drive in Atlanta. It was a career project, but really more importantly, Joe is one of the most important relationships in my career. He was a teacher writ large to me.

Now, Joe lives in retirement at a beautiful home in Florida. His kids are taking care of him and he is as happy as he can be. As a matter of fact, he told me before the stroke that he was happiest at the Florida house. Now he can live there full time.

I’ve learned much from Joe. Business interactions and really any interaction with a friend is all about what the other person is thinking and feeling.

And life is short. Don’t be an average Joe. Make your every interaction count as if it were your last.

And when you do, people will love you and run through walls for you.

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. Companies Wrestle With Hybrid Work Plans—Awkward Meetings and Midweek Crowding

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Big U.S. companies are discovering that “hybrid” work comes with plenty of complications.

As employers firm up plans to bring white-collar workers back into offices while still allowing them to do some work at home, many are encountering obstacles. Companies are grappling with what new schedules employees should follow, where people should sit in redesigned offices and how best to prevent employees at home from feeling left out of impromptu office discussions or being passed over for opportunities, say chief executives, board directors and others.

The insurer Prudential Financial Inc., which expects most of its roughly 42,000 employees to work in the office half the time starting after Labor Day, wants to make certain not all staffers choose to stay home Mondays and Fridays and then work in the office midweek. At the travel company Expedia Group Inc., executives are trying to figure out how to have in-person meetings that don’t disadvantage those who aren’t in the room.

2. Google to spend $7 billion on data centers and office space in 2021

Google says it plans to spend more than $7 billion on real estate across the U.S. in 2021 as it resumes spending in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company said the money will go toward expanding offices and data centers across 19 states, creating what will amount to at least 10,000 full-time jobs. Some $1 billion will go specifically toward California.

“Coming together in person to collaborate and build community is core to Google’s culture, and it will continue to be an important part of our future,” CEO Sundar Pichai said in an blog post Thursday. “So we continue to make significant investments in our offices around the country, as well as our home state of California, where we will be investing over $1 billion this year.”

3. Apple CEO Tim Cook Expects a Post-Pandemic Return to the Office: 'I Can’t Wait'

BROOKS KRAFT/APPLE

BROOKS KRAFT/APPLE

Apple CEO Tim Cook, however, is now feeling bullish about returning to work.

"My gut says that, for us, it's still very important to physically be in touch with one another because collaboration isn't always a planned activity," he tells PEOPLE.

"Innovation isn't always a planned activity," Cook adds. "It's bumping into each other over the course of the day and advancing an idea that you just had. And you really need to be together to do that."

4. Microsoft’s Massive Moves In Atlanta Show How Much Has Changed For Big Tech After HQ2

Wikipedia/Coolcaesar

Wikipedia/Coolcaesar

When Microsoft announced last month that it is planning to build a large office campus in the Grove Park neighborhood in Westside Atlanta, it didn’t focus on the jobs it was creating or the incentives it was hoping to receive. The company committed to building affordable housing and gaining community trust before discussing a single square foot of office space.

“We understand the impact that an investment of this size has on a city like Atlanta,” Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote in a blog post. “It has huge potential, but if not done right, the downsides can outweigh this promise.”

The tone is a seismic shift away from how economic development deals have been announced in the past. Companies have traditionally signaled their intentions to expand or relocate to a new city, invited competing bids and anointed a winner.

5. Jim Cramer on his 2020 lessons: Do not bet on the end of the world

Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Scott Mlyn | CNBC

A  year ago Tuesday the S&P 500 suffered its worst single-day decline in more than three decades in the midst of a severe weeks-long decline triggered by the global coronavirus pandemic.

Stocks have more than recovered from the swift plunge in prices, boosted by historic government intervention that helped to avert an even starker crisis, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Tuesday.

“If you only learn one thing from the pandemic … I want you to remember that betting on the end of the world is a sucker’s game,” the “Mad Money” host said. “The next time you think the world is ending, you have to assume that it isn’t. I want you to take the other side of the trade. I want you to bet against the end of the world.”

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. You Can't Build A Church For Easter Sunday: How We Will Manage Office Usage In The Future

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I get asked two questions a lot: When do you think people will go back to the office, and do you think we will need less space now that everyone is accustom to working from home in their athleisure wear? My answers: It depends on where you live but likely between summer to early fall, and yes, we will need less space in the short-term. I would, however, counsel you against returning to the office in that leotard.

After a year of figuring this work from home thing out, many executives are convinced that most of their workforce needs to come to the office at least some of the time. It is true that American workers in 2021 will have the flexibility they could have only dreamed of in early 2020. That being said, it is widely understood that 100% remote won't work for most job types. Being together in person is a deeply embedded need and part of the human experience. Plus, it's just good business.

As a friend of mine said recently, "Some companies will get really excited about dumping all their office space until they see their employees fleeing to competitors and their profits acting as if they have Covid-19. Then the sticks and bricks will get a little more focus from management."

2. Why You Can’t Afford to Ignore #CRE any Longer

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Last week, industry leaders Ken AshleyNick Luczyszyn and The Wilbert Group released the #CREi Top LinkedIn Influencers in Commercial Real Estate. Taking a closer look at this list and related content provides a bold reminder why you can’t afford to ignore social media and that hashtag #CRE any longer.

It’s not exactly a secret, social media created a significant shift in how we communicate with one another. The recent pandemic however, has only accelerated this and raised the bar in terms of what digital engagement looks like today. It has become the great equalizer; small and large companies alike can build their brands, expand their businesses, and connect with clients on a level playing field.

Despite its obvious benefits, many still avoid platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and now Clubhouse out of fear of the unknown. For the novice, social media is difficult to fully understand on the surface, but complex and interesting on the inside. As a late adopter, I learned this firsthand. 

3. Office App Makers Cashing In on Pandemic Safety Needs

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Investors are pouring money into phone apps that enable companies to monitor employees’ movements and ensure they are complying with social distancing and other Covid-19-related health protocols.

Employers can tell from a glance at the screen whether a conference room has exceeded the number of employees who can safely meet, or whether too many people are on one floor. Workers can also use these apps to take precautions like checking how many colleagues are using the gym, or how recently the cafeteria was sanitized.

While apps with similar features have been available for years for office security or convenience purposes, landlords and big corporate tenants are giving these tools a fresh look during the pandemic. This is especially true as the recent rollout of vaccines in the U.S. raises the prospect that millions of workers could return to their office this year.

4. The Silver Linings of Pandemic-Era Air Travel

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Can any good come from this?

In travel, yes, there actually are some silver linings to the pandemic. Some technologies are rolling out faster. Some key airport projects have been sped up to take advantage of the absence of passengers and airplanes. Some airline policies have changed for the benefit of fliers.

The lack of cleaning on airplanes and in airports and hotels has been exposed. Cleanliness standards may be changed for at least the next several years.

The partial elimination of change fees is one of the major pandemic-related changes for air travel, although like so many things with airlines, there’s fine print that erodes consumer value.

5. Your Company Downsized During the Pandemic. Here’s How to Rebuild.

Anthony Harvie/Getty Images

Anthony Harvie/Getty Images

As companies recover from their pandemic downsizing, they have a golden opportunity — and critical need — to reset their organizations to prosper in the era ahead.

When the pandemic caused the economy to crash, companies raced to stay solvent by reducing their costs to match their declining revenues. Most focused on slashing their personnel costs through downsizing or salary reductions, or both. For midsize companies without surplus resources or diversification, this was critical for survival. Time was of the essence, so most downsizing was largely implemented across the board.

In the post-pandemic period, many managers’ strong instinct is to rebuild their organizations as they were pre-pandemic. This is a big mistake — they’re facing a different business environment and set of customer needs. During the pandemic, giant digital competitors grew rapidly in response to changes in buyer behavior (e.g., B2C online ordering and direct shipment), which drove many smaller companies to the brink of bankruptcy.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1.  #CREi - People to Follow! The 2021 Top LinkedIn Influencers in Commercial Real Estate List

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I love to see people succeed and I love positivity. The #CREi: LinkedIn Top Influencers in Commercial Real Estate list highlights genuinely good people doing amazing things in our world. The list is intended to lift up those who great contributors, leaders and influencers in our industry. We want you to learn a little about them through the bios as opposed to simply a sequential line list of names.

Pulling together a list like this takes some doing. The team spent many hours evaluating potential list makers and using sophisticated technology to rank those that met the qualifications for the #CREi designation. I want to give my partners a strong shout out and ask you to consider them for your business needs.

The List Maker team includes Lindsey Broscher and Tamara Schlachter who are very talented professionals from The Wilbert Group. The expert PR professionals at The Wilbert Group (@TheWilbertGroup) have helped by suggesting influential individuals they think merit inclusion and helping with graphic design. Thanks to Caroline Wilbert (@carolinewilbert) for your partnership!

Also, the amazing Nick Luczyszyn, CEO of Amplify OSM brought his LinkedIn tech skills to the table. I call him the “LinkedIn Ninja,” because he is the best professional I’ve ever encountered in terms of his knowledge of the platform. Look him up on LinkedIn and I bet you’ll be impressed too.

2. Why Does A Headquarters Matter Anyway?

It is perhaps appropriate that a company operating in such a digitally native space would not find the need to have its employees meet "IRL" to build culture, as was the case for plenty of tech startups years before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

But going headquarters-less is still a fairly rare decision. A company’s headquarters is often both a central part and a crucial expression of its identity, even though it had become less and less devoted to housing the bulk of a major company’s employees even before the pandemic scattered the workforce. As hybrid remote work and hub-and-spoke models of office look to become a permanent fixture, the importance of a headquarters is less likely to be about day-to-day operations going forward.

As office-using companies consider what will be gained and lost with the increased prevalence of remote work, among their chief concerns has been maintaining the connections, both professionally and socially, that allow employees to better understand the company they work for and the people they work with, said Tamar Moy, Newmark Northeast executive managing director of workplace strategy and human experience.

3. Office landlords offer amenities to reel in employees

(iStock/Illustration by Kevin Rebong for The Real Deal)

(iStock/Illustration by Kevin Rebong for The Real Deal)

In Manhattan, where just 15 percent of workers have returned to the office, landlords are getting frustrated competing with employees’ couches.

So they’re offering amenities ranging from on-site child care to dry-cleaning pickup and parking discounts — anything to bring back employees, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Tishman Speyer, for example, is dangling free use of a new co-working space, an app to book services ranging from manicures to grocery delivery, newly installed picnic tables and even free tarts.

Such services aren’t necessarily new. Apple, Google and other tech companies in a war for talent have provided amenities to their employees for years. But now the pressure is on to lure workers back to the workplace.

4. Covid: 'People are tired of working from home'

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People are keen to return to the office because working from home has left many "fatigued", says a boss at Britain's biggest office and retail complex.

Howard Dawber, head of strategy at Canary Wharf Group, said people will still want to divide time between the workplace and home.

But they are missing office and city-centre life, he told the BBC.

The Canary Wharf financial complex, in London, has only about 6,000 people on site, against 100,000 pre-Covid.

Canary Wharf Group is the developer behind roughly 7.5 million square feet of office space and would stand to benefit financially if there is a surge in demand once lockdown restrictions ease.

But Mr Dawber argued on the BBC's Today programme that people will be eager to get back in the office after so long away from the workplace.

5. Pay Cuts, Taxes, Child Care: What Another Year of Remote Work Will Look Like

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Companies are anticipating another largely remote work year, and new questions about compensation and benefits are weighing on managers.

Discussions about the future of work, such as whether to reduce the salaries of employees who have left high-cost cities, are priority items in board meetings and senior executive sessions across industries, according to chief executives, board members and corporate advisers.

Among the questions companies are trying to resolve: Who should shoulder tax costs as employees move to new locations while working remotely? And what is the most effective way to support working parents?

Companies say there is much at stake, from the happiness and productivity of employees to regulatory consequences, if they get these decisions wrong.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. A CEO’s Guide to Planning a Return to the Office

Cactus Creative Studio/Stocksy

Cactus Creative Studio/Stocksy

Nearly a year after the Covid-19 pandemic closed most offices, we’re beginning to see reasons for optimism. The population of vaccinated people is growing, and the number of new Covid cases is declining from winter peaks. By mid-summer, a good portion of the working-age population should be vaccinated.

Because of such hopeful signs, CEOs at companies that remain all-remote are starting to think seriously about how and how much to bring their employees back to the office, and how to best answer questions about policies and timelines their boards will soon ask.

They realize that given all that has happened over the last year, more employees than ever before will work remotely, and for tasks that can be done more efficiently that way, investments in technology are necessary.

2. KBS: "Office Buildings Are Not Going Away"

There are a lot of questions and uncertainties about the future of the office market, but major office owner KBS has a simple answer: office buildings are not going away. The investor says that there will always be demand for office space, but with the rollout of the vaccine and an end in sight for the pandemic, it is bullish on office activity this year.

“Office buildings are not going away any time soon,” Giovanni Cordoves, Western regional president, tells GlobeSt.com. “As long as workers have a need for community and employers strive for ingenuity and collaboration, there will be a demand for office space. Additionally, as the COVID-19 vaccine becomes more widely available and people feel safe and comfortable, well-amenitized office properties will once again be in high demand.”

In Dallas, where KBS has a significant portfolio, early re-entry into the office space has been a good indicator of demand and the recovery of the office market. 

3. COVID-19 No Longer Main Driver Of Office Demand

New demand for office space in core markets—measured by tenant tours of properties across the country—increased by 21%, or seven index points, in January 2021, a rate that’s on par with previous years but still smaller than it was pre-pandemic. But recent research by VTS shows that local COVID-19 caseloads are no longer the same demand driver they were.

The VTS Office Demand Index shows that office demand nationally was at 40 index points, as compared to 99 points year-over-year. By way of comparison, demand activity was at 100 in January 2018, a time that was relatively stable for office leasing.

Markets hit hard by COVID typically experienced a dramatic bottoming out in early spring 2020, but those cities with the highest increase in cases over the last three months actually saw demand increase the most. VTS posits that demand in local markets is more related to hyperlocal near- and long-term factors like job growth, vaccine rollout, and public health safety measures.

4. Consumer Demand Snaps Back. Factories Can’t Keep Up.

S.C. CLARK HODGIN FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

S.C. CLARK HODGIN FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

U.S. manufacturers aced the shutdown of their factories and warehouses last spring in response to Covid-19. They’re botching the recovery.

After carrying out an orderly retreat from assembly lines as the pandemic arrived in the U.S., many manufacturers pulled out the playbook they followed in past recessions, cutting costs and preserving cash. That left them unprepared for the sharp rebound in consumer demand that began just weeks later and never let up.

Without restaurants to visit and trips to take, Americans bought out stocks of cars, appliances, furniture and power tools. Manufacturers have been trying to catch up ever since. Nearly a year since initial coronavirus lockdowns in the U.S., barbells, kitchen mixers, mattresses and webcams are still hard to find. A global shortage of semiconductors has forced many car makers to cut production in recent weeks.

5. Forecaster sees Georgia economy about to surge

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The state’s economy will surge this spring as more people are vaccinated against COVID-19, though a sustained recovery won’t come until next year, according to a report Thursday from the Georgia State Economic Forecasting Center.

The pace of growth this quarter, which ends March 31, will be a solid 3.2%, said center director Rajeev Dhawan. But, from April through June, the economy will expand to a robust 8% — faster than any pre-pandemic growth,

That will be partly due to months of constrained behavior, Dhawan said at the center’s quarterly conference. “As people are more comfortable that there’s an end in sight, people will spend.”

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. They Won’t Go Just To Go: How Leaders Can Coax Their Top Employees Back To The Office

Getty Images

Getty Images

We can examine one class of workers and have a pretty good understanding of what work will be like for them in Q1 2022: knowledge workers who are at the top of their game. These are top consultants, senior law partners, top tech executives and leading corporate salespeople. As a class, these superstars really move the needle in their respective marketplaces. They’ve risen to the top of their professions and are viewed as leaders. I bet most of them are quoted in the media constantly and are seen as masters of their universe.

What do they all have in common? They control their schedule. They get compensated, bonused and recognized based on their outputs — not their time in the office. Early in a career, we trade our time for money. At the rockstar level, they trade their value for money. They will not go to the office just to go.

Everyone in leadership assumes these superstars are doing the right thing for the company no matter where they are, and hey, if they want to walk the dog or do laundry on Tuesday afternoon, no problemo. Our top producers are superstars who get large dollops of corporate benevolence and vast amounts of schedule and locational flexibility.

2. If Work Is Going Remote, Why Is Big Tech Still Building?

DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES

DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES

One year later, Walesh is feeling something surprising: optimism. The city is—at least, in some imagined post-pandemic future—booming. Speaking earlier this month, she quickly ticked off roughly a dozen major developments that remain on track, a number of which had come into focus mid-pandemic.

That didn’t factor in Google, which, after a six-month delay, will be up for a final city council vote in May. Altogether, the projects amount to millions of square feet of new office space and capacity for thousands of workers in downtown San Jose.

And so, looking at decades of growth in the pipeline, Walesh was skeptical of the predictions of her city’s and region’s impending demise. The death of Silicon Valley, she believes, has been exaggerated. “It always is,” she says.

3. Workplace Must Adapt Or Die, But Evolution Was Never Optional

Courtesy of Matthew Millman

Courtesy of Matthew Millman

A focus group of 32 office owners, occupiers and placemakers conducted by Cushman & Wakefield along with George Washington University’s Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis, revealed that above all, flexible and adaptable work environments are the defining feature of future workplaces.

In their report, Workplace Ecosystems of the Future, the authors found that though the focus group participants rated the work-from-home experience as “better than expected” with high productivity levels, many workers are missing the culture and collaboration that drives innovation in in-person environments.

“These testimonies and research findings provide further evidence that people still need a space to collaborate, innovate and stay connected — and the office provides that,” Cushman & Wakefield Global Head of Occupier Research David C. Smith said in a press release. “The pandemic has given us the opportunity to test remote work. Moving forward, occupiers will need to strike the right balance between remote and in-office work, and our research indicates a need for fundamental change in the culture and flexibility of the real estate industry in order to remain relevant in a post-pandemic environment.”

4. Slow Down and Write Better Emails

HBR Staff/ Robbie Goodall/Pexels/Getty Images

HBR Staff/ Robbie Goodall/Pexels/Getty Images

Not so long ago, we shared information with our colleagues across a table, listening to people’s ideas and responding accordingly. Today, so many of those exchanges happen in written (or typed) form — think email, text, IM — meaning that listening in its traditional sense has been replaced by reading text on a screen.

The problem with this, according to the linguist Naomi Baron, is that we comprehend less when we read on a screen than we do when we read print; we devote less time to reading something in full, and tend to skim and search for key takeaways. And when it’s our turn to reply to a message, we feel so burdened by the volume of emails we have to write that we end up sending sloppy, terse, or confusing responses.

Given how central reading and writing comprehension is to our virtual lives, it’s time to remind ourselves what good communication looks like. As I describe in my book, Digital Body Languagereading carefully is the new listening, and writing clearly is the new empathy.

5. HBCUs Are At The Center Of CRE's Push To Diversify. Schools Hope They Keep Pushing

Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the nation are experiencing a surge in interest this year as much of the business world, including the commercial real estate industry, has vowed to do more to promote inclusion.

The incidents that sparked this interest — the killing of George Floyd last May and the unrest that followed — have created a seismic shift, with companies eager to build their talent pipeline by engaging with, and donating to, the nation's 101 HBCUs and other minority-led higher educational institutions.

But as the memories of last summer begin to fade, some involved with the schools are concerned that so, too, will corporate America’s interest.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. UPDATE: Microsoft plans to expand in Atlanta, turn city into major hub

HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Microsoft President Brad Smith said the company plans to make metro Atlanta a major hub as it embarks on a significant expansion.

The tech giant is adding two regional data centers and could bring thousands of jobs to 90 acres of land it bought in recent months at the stalled Quarry Yards development on the city’s Westside.

“You don’t buy 90 acres if you don’t have plans to grow substantially,” Smith told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview.

He declined to provide specific details or a timetable for Quarry Yards, one of the largest undeveloped tracts of greenspace near the city center, beyond saying it would set aside a quarter of the development for affordable housing before building any offices.

2. Big Tech Appears To Be Playing the Long Game on Office Space

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Despite large tech firms being among the first to send employees out of the office to work from home early in the pandemic, and then announcing several extensions of that policy, it appears the long-term plans for many of the top firms do include a return to the office.

Many of these same household Big Tech names were among those signing large office leases over 100,000 square feet during 2020.

As the pandemic accelerated in the U.S. in March, Facebook's CEO rocked the commercial real estate sector when he said, “I think that it’s possible that over the next five to 10 years — maybe closer to 10 than five, but somewhere in that range — I think we could get to about half of the company working remotely permanently.”

Three months later, Facebook signed a 15-year lease for 740,000 square feet of office space in New York, pushing its total office footprint in the city to more than 2 million square feet.

3. Flexspace to Grow Amid Post-Pandemic Drop in Office Demand

Companies will likely continue to offer their employees greater choice in where they work as 2021, and flexspace will be a part of their offerings, according to a Colliers International report.

This will give a boost to this office format, however much of the growth will occur outside the list of usual CBD suspects, as some markets are already feeling the supply pinch from a lack of flex workspaces outside of downtown locations. 

“As occupiers continue to seek a range of geographic locations to solve for a distributed workforce there is a substantial deficit of supply in suburban areas, secondary cities, commuter towns and emerging markets,” the Colliers report states. “2021 will be the year that non-CBD flexible workspace supply increases dramatically.

4. Coworking Companies Like WeWork, Industrious Pivot to Thrive Beyond COVID

Kevin Fales

Kevin Fales

Times look grim for the coworking market.

Despite coronavirus vaccines slowly rolling out, offices and coworking locations around the country still remain largely empty as workers stay home and major employers, including Salesforce and Twitter, announce permanent remote work options for staffers. 

WeWork has ditched locations around the country and Regus has done the same by putting entities tied to outposts into bankruptcy. Flex office provider Knotel filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, a little more than a year after it was crowned a unicorn, to be acquired by Newmark, while Breather shuttered all of its locations to switch to an online-only platform. Breather CEO Bryan Murphy told The Globe and Mail that, “Breather, in its current form as an operator, doesn’t make sense, and, to be frank, I’m not sure it ever made sense.”

5. WFH Is Corroding Our Trust in Each Other

sturti/Getty Images

sturti/Getty Images

About a third of the employees of a regional bank have returned to working onsite, and the president holds a weekly all-staff town hall meeting by videoconference. Employees are encouraged to submit anonymous questions for him or other senior leaders to answer.

For the past six weeks, an increasing number of people have asked, “How do we know if the people who are still working from home are actually working?” Some employees have even suggested specific technology-based monitoring approaches to track remote workers’ onscreen time and activities.

Each week, the president assures his employees that the business is on track and that measures of productivity (like the number of loans taken out) are above expectations. “But it’s exasperating,” he said. “No matter how much I try to convince them or even use numbers and other kinds of evidence, it’s not sinking in. You’d think that if I can trust people, surely they can trust each other, right? But no.”

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. Hugs and Handshakes: What It’s Like To Get And Recover From Covid-19

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I spent the ensuing months washing my hands so much they chapped. I tried to be a good human and do everything they told us to do. But somehow, someway, COVID slipped through a crack somewhere and grabbed me around the neck like a thief trying to rob me. Or maybe worse.

I woke up on the morning of December 21, 2020, hoping against hope that what I felt was not in fact the virus. I had body aches, chest congestion and symptoms pretty consistent with what people had been saying who have had the virus. I laid in bed wondering if this was the beginning of end. What would the next two weeks of my life bring? I felt a level of fear but not panic. We would take this one day at a time.

I went to get tested a day later. December 23, I got one of the scariest emails of my life. It was the from one of those “no reply” and very sterile email handles, but it had a very non- sterile answer. “Mr. Ashley,” it said, “We regret to inform you that your test results for COVID-19 are…positive.” Ugh, and Merry Christmas to you too.

2. LVMH Tells Tiffany Staff to Return to Office Two Days a Week

After taking control of Tiffany & Co., LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE is telling the U.S. jeweler’s employees to come back to the office.

The French luxury-goods giant instructed Tiffany’s corporate staff to return to the office two days a week beginning March 1, according to people familiar with the situation. “It’s critical at this time of change that we adopt a hybrid approach to onsite-remote working,” LVMH told employees in a memo this week.

Tiffany will join a small list of large New York companies that have required employees to return to the office, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. In Houston, Shell Oil Co. and some other energy companies brought back workers as early as May or June, only to send them home again amid coronavirus outbreaks.

3. Google Plans To Restart Ground-Up Construction, Office Investments

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Google, one of the country's largest corporate investors in real estate, is preparing to resume spending on offices as it tries to keep up with workforce growth.

The Silicon Valley search engine giant told investors Tuesday it plans to open its pockets for new developments and expansions, one of the strongest signals so far of corporate tenants gearing up for life beyond the pandemic.

"Looking ahead, we expect to return to a more normalized pace of ground-up construction and the fit-out of office facilities," Ruth Porat, chief financial officer of Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., said on a conference call to discuss the company's 2020 earnings. "That translates into a sizable increase in [capital expenditures] in 2021."

4. Hedge-Fund Manager Ackman Raises Bet on Housing in Texas, Hawaii, Las Vegas

ANDREW HARNIK/ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANDREW HARNIK/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Billionaire hedge-fund manager William Ackman is raising his bet that the migration of Americans to warmer, lower-tax cities is here to stay.

His Pershing Square Capital Management LP recently increased its stake in Howard Hughes Corp. to nearly 25%. The Houston-based developer is ramping up construction of multifamily housing in Texas, Maryland, Hawaii and Las Vegas.

“It’s not a Wall Street bet. It’s a generational bet,” said Mr. Ackman, who is also chairman of Howard Hughes’s board. The fund manager is widely known for his shareholder-activism campaigns and his bets on large companies such as Starbucks Corp. and J.C. Penney Co.

Pershing Square increased its stake in Howard Hughes by about 4.7% between June and January, according to public filings. The firm bought common stock, and some of its counterparties exercised options that compelled Pershing Square to buy additional shares, filings show.

5. Kia Seeks Partners to Build Apple Car in Georgia

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Kia Corp. has approached potential partners about a plan to assemble Apple Inc.’s long-awaited electric car in Georgia, according to people familiar with the matter.

The proposal would involve a multibillion-dollar investment, according to people familiar with the matter, who stress that a deal hasn’t been completed. If successful, it would thrust the iPhone maker into the car business after several years of secretive work in which its engineers plotted to upend the 100-plus-year-old automotive industry.

The likelihood of a final agreement was thrown into question when Kia’s parent company, Hyundai Motor Group , said last month, then sought to play down, that it was in negotiations with Apple to cooperate on an electric driverless car. Apple has never confirmed those talks, and its dalliances with other auto makers in the past have fizzled.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Hugs and Handshakes: What It’s Like To Get And Recover From Covid-19

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282 days. That's how many days I worried about COVID-19 before I came down with the illness.

I remember well lunch on March 13, 2020, my last business lunch for many months. People were in a very distressed and even panicked mood at tables around me. It felt like a great illness was about to befall our land.

That feeling was exactly correct.

I spent the ensuing months washing my hands so much they chapped. I tried to be a good human and do everything they told us to do. But somehow, someway, COVID slipped through a crack somewhere and grabbed me around the neck like a thief trying to rob me. Or maybe worse.

I woke up on the morning of December 21, 2020, hoping against hope that what I felt was not in fact the virus. I had body aches, chest congestion and symptoms pretty consistent with what people had been saying who have had the virus. I laid in bed wondering if this was the beginning of end. What would the next two weeks of my life bring? I felt a level of fear but not panic. We would take this one day at a time.

I went to get tested a day later. December 23, I got one of the scariest emails of my life. It was the from one of those “no reply” and very sterile email handles, but it had a very non- sterile answer. “Mr. Ashley,” it said, “We regret to inform you that your test results for COVID-19 are…positive.” Ugh, and Merry Christmas to you too.

I immediately increased vitamin intake and drank a ton of water. Other than monitoring the amount of oxygen in your blood (with a so called “pulse ox” machine which is $30 on Amazon…get one), there’s not much you can do. I felt at the same time a sense of great concern that I had a disease that had killed other people, but also a sense of relief the finally the gig was up. I was sick and that was that.

My wife and I as it turns out both had the disease. Our four kids had it too although over different time periods. I’ll steal the punch line and let you know everyone fully recovered. Karen and I are both fortunate. While it was a difficult 10-15 days, we both mended without having to go anywhere near a hospital. Obviously, many normal healthy people have a different result; we all have stories of loved ones and friends who have fallen from this nasty virus. We realize how fortunate we are and for that we are grateful.

 The Scarlet Letter C-19

Word made it around our neighborhood that we were sick. Understandably, this is a very serious and contagious disease and no one else wants to catch it from you. But after days at home on a couple of occasions I had to get in my car – windows up – and simply drive around. I would never stop or go into a store and risk exposing someone mind you, but I simply needed to get out. I can recall driving down the street and seeing that knowing look in a neighbor's eyes. They would wave but they certainly didn't approach to talk to you. And I completely understand.

The bottom line is while you have an active case of COVID-19 you have the modern-day version of the plague. It's nothing personal, but no right-minded person is going to want to get close to you. Even so, this has an interesting psychological effect in that you are somehow not free in a free society. It feels something like I imagine house arrest must feel sans the ankle bracelet.

I hope to never experience this bizarre feeling of being shunned again.

Wow, I Can Breathe Again

After many days we finally began to feel ourselves again. And I know there is debate on both approaches here, but I decided to get a test to confirm that I no longer had the virus. I sighed great relief when I got a negative result from a quick test.

Physically it took a handful of days after the negative test, but we were finally back to normal and 100% recovered.

A Deep Breath and A Fresh Look at the World

So, I now spend my days talking with executives about what the future of office will look like. I've contemplated most every scenario you can imagine. And most of those evaluations consider a group of people who are desperately scared of illness.

But here's the thing... Now that I have immunity, I feel emboldened to go out into the world. Do I wash my hands? Absolutely. Do I wear a mask? Should you even have to ask that question? Of course.

But I can report psychologically that I feel great relief and almost no fear in going into a group of people. I've had a couple of people shake my hands and it feels so 2019 and normal. If a good friend extended arms for a hug I would accept without reservation. Some call it the Superman complex, but whatever you call it, this is a real thing.

The headlines scream about the victims and the infections, but millions of people have beaten COVID-19. In my experience, folks in the Post COVID Club are not scared of hugs and handshakes. I’ve met more and more people in the Club and we have instant bonding and collective relief that this dreaded illness is over for us. I’m sure brothers and sisters who’ve received the precious vaccine will feel the same way.

What about people who catch the disease twice? Yes, that is a real thing, but statistically far less likely to occur than the first occurrence of the disease. And like I said earlier, we still take all the precautions, but your psyche is different once you’re in the Club.

Oh, one more thing. I now have what they call “convalescent plasma” which means my platelets can help very sick people recover. I will be in the American Red Cross Blood Services Center every week for as long as they will have me to donate. I feel great about being able to literally save lives, plus they give you free Nutter Butters when you are done!

I pray for healing for our land and safety for all. I also now realize that when this scourge is gone, life WILL return back to normal. I feel it in my own heart and head.

Stay safe – and I can’t wait till I can shake your hand again and maybe even hug your neck at a business dinner!

Being normal again will be a great victory in 2021 and I will feel like a great conqueror when Covid-19 is as tame as a kitten!

Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.


1. Nothing Like A Normal Downturn: Marci Rossell Delivers The Goods for CoreNet Global and CREW Atlanta

We’ve all read hundreds of articles on how the virus is transmitted physically. Marci was very clear; “I don’t want to talk about anything else but solving the Covid problem…I want my life back!”

However, until Marci’s talk, I’d not given thought to how the scourge is transmitted economically.

“We pass the economic infection along through income, through wealth, and through uncertainty,” Marci said. “While income has been unequivocally negative, wealth has gone in the opposite direction. This is highly unusual.” Perhaps we have an upside to a significant downside occurrence.

“There was a massive stimulus package…really a rescue package that supported incomes and worked to keep poverty at bay,” Marci said. Another impact of the package; “savings have exploded..there are somewhere around $1.6 trillion in savings on the sideline just now,’ she continued.

This time, the high heels and ties are nowhere to be found. Instead, the Atlanta real estate community dialed in from armchairs, kitchen tables and, hopefully, a few real offices. It feels like we are turning the corner in this pandemic, but does our virtual keynote speaker agree?

2. WFH’s Sheen Wears Off for Some Large Companies

Another day, another breathless survey repeating what we’ve been hearing for the last year: work-from-home is more than just a passing trend, and it just may be here to stay. 

But the most recent one—from the National Association for Business Economists—gives us pause. NABE is, after all, the arbiter of when recessions begin and end. So when a mere 11% of panelists NABE surveys say they expect all of their staff to “eventually” return to pre-pandemic working arrangements, many in the CRE sector straighten up and take note. 

The report compiles the responses from 97 NABE members across a variety of economic indicators and issues. Around 65% of those surveyed reported letting employees work from home during the pandemic.  And of the 11% of those who think all staff will return to physical offices, the majority come from the services sector.

3. Working from home is starting to fall apart, top bankers warn

PHOTO BY LOIC VENANCE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES FILES

PHOTO BY LOIC VENANCE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES FILES

Senior bankers are sounding the alarm: working from home is at risk of not working anymore.

“I don’t think it’s sustainable,” Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley said Tuesday at the World Economic Forum. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s asset- and wealth-management boss, Mary Erdoes, agreed.

In the corporate world, “if you ask anyone today, it feels like it is fraying, it’s hard, it takes a lot of inner strength and sustainability every single day to continue to focus and to not have the energy you get from being around other people,” she said.

4. Productivity Of Remote Workers Could Determine The Fate Of The Office Market

Many companies haven't finalized their long-term remote work strategies yet, but office market experts say discussions have ramped up after several months of pandemic-induced paralysis, and they expect a host of tenants to reveal their future plans this year. 

These decisions about how much of a company's workforce to keep remote are coinciding with a re-evaluation of their long-term office needs. And if companies increasingly choose to give back large portions of their footprints like LogMeIn did, the already-weak office market could be in for a major reckoning.

"Companies are saying 'I don't need all this space, I'm going to have more of my workforce work from home tomorrow than they did yesterday,'" said Cresa Managing Principal Jason Jones, who leads the firm's Remote Advisory Services team. 

5. Job Growth in the South Bucks Losses in Rest of U.S.

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The South is leading the U.S. labor market’s recovery from the pandemic’s initial shock as the only major region with continued payroll growth at the end of last year while the rest of the country lost jobs.

Southern states logged job growth across the private sector in December, including services industries, which were hit hard by the pandemic, and manufacturing, according to a Labor Department report that provides details on the job market in all 50 states. Texas and Georgia gained the most jobs in December, adding a seasonally adjusted 64,200 and 44,700 jobs, respectively.

In contrast, payrolls in the Midwest, West and Northeast fell last month, when the nation’s total payrolls slipped by 140,000 for the first decline in seven months.

In those parts of the country, a surge in virus infections, related restrictions and winter weather prompted steep job cuts in leisure and hospitality industries, which includes restaurants. In the South, those jobs held nearly steady.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!