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. 3 Ways Companies Make Work Purposeful
In the aftermath of Covid-19, many companies have boosted pay, and offered greater flexibility in order to recruit and retain the best people. At some, senior leaders have attempted to inspire employees by emphasizing a corporate purpose or mission, in the same hope.
Sure, we want the basics. We want to feel safe in the workplace, have the resources we need to be productive, be rewarded fairly, and have some flexibility in where, when and how we do our jobs. We like working for companies that take values seriously. But while these factors can make the difference between employees being satisfied or dissatisfied, they are not enough to drive high levels of loyalty and retention.
2. The Future of the Workplace
The COVID-19-pandemic caused a tectonic shift in where, when, and how we work, with significant implications for workers, employers, and buildings. McKinsey experts in real estate, people and organizational performance, and operations are collaborating to help leaders understand how the workplace is changing and how their organizations can best prepare for a vibrant future.
The workplace needs a new purpose—and companies that clearly define it can unlock competitive advantage.
3. The ‘Great Resignation’ Started Long Ago
We’re in the midst of breath-catching revolutions in how America lives and works. Working from home, as an issue, is still shaking itself out, but its implications are huge. If an entire class of people who used to go to the office stay home, it will upend the commuter model on which modern cities are built, and on which they depend for revenue.
Retailers big and small struggle to find and retain employees. Beaches and pools can’t find lifeguards. Police forces can’t find young men and women to apply. The U.S. Army can’t find recruits. Doctors offices strain to fill a job when somebody leaves. Airlines are so short-staffed there’s no one to help you find luggage that’s been lost for two weeks. There’s no one to keep it from being lost. The other night a Midwestern city official told CNN, of the struggle to hire cops, “It’s like the American workforce vanished.”
4. Peter Linneman: CEOs Need To Do Their Jobs For Office To Make A Comeback
Peter Linneman has a simple motto that he operates under: Don’t bet against the U.S. economy. At 71, the economist, professor and researcher has held onto this motto through recessions, political turmoil, wars and countless other challenges to the economy, and he still believes it to be true to this day.
“The economy is 3.5% bigger than it was before Covid, before the social unrest, before the contentious elections — what a remarkable achievement,” Linneman said.
5. What History Teaches Us About Inflation And Commercial Real Estate
Despite the concern it generates, inflation has always been a natural occurrence in our economic cycle. Because of this, I believe investing in asset classes like commercial real estate, which historically outperform the market during inflationary climates, is one of the best ways for investors to diminish risk during this point in the cycle.
First, let’s look at economic policy and inflationary episodes of the mid-1940s and late 1970s/early 1980s and compare them to our current economy. Both earlier periods show patterns of inflation increasing and then decreasing, which is what other experts and I anticipate will happen soon.
Your success blesses others. I wish you a great and hugely impactful week!