Bookmarks: 5 Interesting Articles That May Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners:" corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. I welcome your comments on these articles.

1. The Restorative Power of Ritual

Like many families have recently, ours scheduled a virtual happy hour the other night. It was full of the same sarcastic jokes and crossing conversations we’d have at a family dinner, only it was all through screens. For an hour or so, there was laughter and relief. The next day, my brother-in-law texted to ask what time happy hour would start.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but what we’d done is enter into a ritual as a way to cope with the anxiety and grief produced by the current pandemic. Rituals, it turns out, are a powerful human mechanism for managing extreme emotions and stress, and we should be leaning on them now.

To understand how rituals work and how we can adopt and adapt them, I turned to Mike Norton. Mike is a professor at Harvard Business School who has studied rituals and their effects on our wellbeing. The following conversation is edited lightly for clarity.

2. Beyond coronavirus: The path to the next normal

The coronavirus is not only a health crisis of immense proportion—it’s also an imminent restructuring of the global economic order. Here’s how leaders can begin navigating to what’s next.

“For some organizations, near-term survival is the only agenda item. Others are peering through the fog of uncertainty, thinking about how to position themselves once the crisis has passed and things return to normal. The question is, ‘What will normal look like?’ While no one can say how long the crisis will last, what we find on the other side will not look like the normal of recent years.”

These words were written 11 years ago, amid the last global financial crisis, by one of our former managing partners, Ian Davis. They ring true today but if anything, understate the reality the world is currently facing.

It is increasingly clear our era will be defined by a fundamental schism: the period before COVID-19 and the new normal that will emerge in the post-viral era: the “next normal.” In this unprecedented new reality, we will witness a dramatic restructuring of the economic and social order in which business and society have traditionally operated. And in the near future, we will see the beginning of discussion and debate about what the next normal could entail and how sharply its contours will diverge from those that previously shaped our lives.

3. Don’t Get Bombed: How to Host Zoom Meetings, Hangouts, Houseparty and More

During the coronavirus crisis, those of us who can work from home are video chatting, a lot. We’ve covered the WFH tech tips you need, along with the joys and exhaustion of our new screen-based reality. Now let’s talk about how to video chat. If you’ve got questions, I’ve got answers.

If your laptop gets loud or hot while chatting, unplug accessories and close applications. Try disconnecting your external displays or charger. On some devices, they can cause temperatures to rise, prompting internal fans to spin.

Video chatting can be processor intensive. It’s good to close any unnecessary browser tabs. I sometimes also close Slack. Check the Activity Monitor on Mac and Task Manager in Windows to see what applications are putting a strain on your computer.

4. Covid-19 Changed How the World Does Science, Together

Using flag-draped memes and military terminology, the Trump administration and its Chinese counterparts have cast coronavirus research as national imperatives, sparking talk of a biotech arms race.

The world’s scientists, for the most part, have responded with a collective eye roll.

“Absolutely ridiculous,” said Jonathan Heeney, a Cambridge University researcher working on a coronavirus vaccine.

“That isn’t how things happen,” said Adrian Hill, the head of the Jenner Institute at Oxford, one of the largest vaccine research centers at an academic institution.

While political leaders have locked their borders, scientists have been shattering theirs, creating a global collaboration unlike any in history. Never before, researchers say, have so many experts in so many countries focused simultaneously on a single topic and with such urgency. Nearly all other research has ground to a halt.

Normal imperatives like academic credit have been set aside. Online repositories make studies available months ahead of journals. Researchers have identified and shared hundreds of viral genome sequences. More than 200 clinical trials have been launched, bringing together hospitals and laboratories around the globe.

5. Lease Provisions to Explore Amid COVID-19

An Evolving Situation. With an onslaught of rapidly changing information, economic and legislative activity, and governmental intervention, we understand that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on your business may be significant.

We understand these challenges may include complete or partial loss of use (whether by governmental mandate, landlord action, or corporate directive); loss of income; service disruptions; construction and delivery delays; holdover; and increased health-safety and sanitation costs.

We realize that in the wake of these challenges, many of you are wondering if and how your financial obligations under your leases might be alleviated, either by the lease language itself or through your insurance policies. The determination of these solutions is further complicated by the rapidly evolving body of pending and proposed legislation, economic relief programs and governmental actions.

In our view, tenants should consider keeping meticulous records of any issues related to COVID-19 such as complete or partial loss of use (noting dates, durations, and cause of closure) or notices from landlords of actual or potential exposure to COVID-19 within the building (including dates of discovery, notice, and closure, and any remedial actions taken). Such documentation may prove helpful during discussions with your landlords and advisors, and in connection with any filing of insurance or legal claims or applications for emergency funding.

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

Ken Ashley