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. Alarmed by A.I. Chatbots, Universities Start Revamping How They Teach

While grading essays for his world religions course last month, Antony Aumann, a professor of philosophy at Northern Michigan University, read what he said was easily “the best paper in the class.” It explored the morality of burqa bans with clean paragraphs, fitting examples and rigorous arguments. A red flag instantly went up.

“Mr. Aumann confronted his student over whether he had written the essay himself. The student confessed to using ChatGPT, a chatbot that delivers information, explains concepts and generates ideas in simple sentences — and, in this case, had written the paper.”

Alarmed by his discovery, Mr. Aumann decided to transform essay writing for his courses this semester. He plans to require students to write first drafts in the classroom, using browsers that monitor and restrict computer activity. In later drafts, students have to explain each revision. Mr. Aumann, who may forgo essays in subsequent semesters, also plans to weave ChatGPT into lessons by asking students to evaluate the chatbot’s responses.

2. White-Collar Recession: Why Job Cuts Are Hitting Professional Workers

As interest rates rise and companies tighten their belts, white-collar workers have taken the brunt of layoffs and job cuts, breaking with the usual pattern leading into a downturn.

“Amazon, Ford, Pepsi, and more from Amazon. These are just a few of the companies that have said they were starting big lay offs in the last year.”

Some job cuts are expected when the economy hits a rough patch, but this is different - not because of the number of people being laid off, but because of who.

3. Tech Industry Reversal Intensifies With New Rounds of Layoffs

A new wave of tech layoffs signals how executives in the industry are pivoting from a growth-above-all mindset to protecting their bottom line.

“After a bruising 2022 in which companies from small startups to tech giants slammed the brakes on expansion, some of the biggest names in the sector are demonstrating that an era of austerity is only beginning, with expenses scrutinized and moonshot projects abandoned. Amazon.com Inc. and Salesforce Inc. both announced plans for layoffs in the past week.”

The job cuts at Amazon, the largest in the tech sector to date, affect more than 18,000 workers, mostly in the retail, recruiting and devices businesses. Devices is an area of scrutiny under Chief Executive Andy Jassy.

4. Bob Iger tells Disney employees they must return to the office four days a week

Disney CEO Bob Iger told hybrid employees on Monday they must return to corporate offices four days a week starting March 1, according to an email obtained by CNBC. In the email, Iger stressed the importance of in-person collaboration.

“As I’ve been meeting with teams throughout the company over the past few months, I’ve been reminded of the tremendous value in being together with the people you work with,” Iger wrote.”

“As you’ve heard me say many times, creativity is the heart and soul of who we are and what we do at Disney. And in a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe, and create with peers that comes from being physically together, nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors.”

5. Starbucks CEO Requires Corporate Employees To Return To Office At Least 3 Days A Week

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is mandating workers to come back to corporate offices at least three days a week in an effort to boost camaraderie and productivity.

“The coffee retailer is the latest in a wave of companies that have begun enforcing stricter hybrid work models.”

Starting Jan. 30, employees in commuting distance from Starbucks' corporate offices will be required to come in on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Schultz wrote in a memo Wednesday, giving individual teams the ability to choose the third day.

6. The Fort Podcast: Ryan Eisenman – Co-Founder of Arch – Building the Digital Admin For Private Investments

Ryan Eisenman is the co-founder and CEO of Arch, a digital solution utilized by over 180 private investment firms to automate the administration and management of tens of $Bs of alternative investments.

“Ryan is a Houston native, graduated from Vanderbilt University, and now lives in New York City where Arch is headquartered.”

On this episode Chris and Ryan discuss the story of how he got the idea to build and execute on Arch, the issues behind managing wealth and private investments, how he raised VC capital, [and] several questions about his career.

7. The Fort Podcast: Chris Powers & Jason Baxter – Fort Capital’s 2022 Year in Review

In today’s episode, Chris Powers and Jason Baxter take a look at the last year for Fort Capital and discuss the biggest wins of the year. How our team and technology have progressed, how we are looking at the market in 2023, what makes Fort Capital so special, and much, much more.

“At Fort Capital, our mission is to become the best real estate operator in the entire world. We’re always considering how we can operate better, acquire more real estate, improve our credibility and track record, attract top-tier talent, and drive more profit and returns to our investors.”

So I’m delighted to say that following off the back of an incredible year in 2021, in which we smashed all of the targets we outlined in last year’s Year in Review, we have stretched even further in 2022 to outperform our initial goals in every metric we set out.

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