Ken Ashley CRE

“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth” – Mike Tyson

Yes, the black swan happened, and the entire world changed in a matter of a few weeks. Yes, there is fear and terrible sickness in our land. Yes, the markets are a mess. Let’s not even talk about our investments. It’s just a desperate and weird time.

As a result, mental health is front and center and something millions are dealing with now. This component of health is a major crisis that you and I are going to have to deal with head on and soon.

I’m going to make the hopeful assumption that you and your family are physically healthy or on the mend. Based on statistical probability you are likely healthy, for now. If not, prayers for your recovery.

Given the assumption of physical health, what are we to do as business leaders in the coming weeks and months? Do we allow ourselves to be mired in fear and loathing? Do we succumb to the panic and desperation that are ruining the lives of millions? Or, is there another mindset that we could adopt?

I’ve been thinking about this hard for days now and I want to share some ideas with you. Instead of miring in desperation, I vote that we go a different direction and become what I am calling practically positive.

Put a Pep in Your Step

This approach of becoming practically positive acknowledges the rough things that are happening in our world. But my suggested way of thinking allows us to still move ahead to defeat fear and seek out joy and happiness in life.

We start by looking under every rock to find the good things in life. Psychologists call this approach “reframing.” I call it the right thing to do every day, but especially in the days and weeks ahead.

Here are a few tips, partially provided from my friend Tommy Newberry (who wrote a whole book about Joy):

Actively seek positive mental nutrition by looking for positive news, great happenings in our world and the amazing human kindness that is springing to life around the globe. There are many resources, but here is just one idea: check out Some Good News by John Kransiski
Write down 10 things you are grateful for every morning. Keep the list in your pocket and refresh every few days. The more you do this, the more you will train your brain to look for the good in your life.
Do away with the survival mindset and instead shift your brain to thriving in the near future.
Use the current difficulty to accelerate personal growth. Purified gold is the result of great heat. Get in top physical shape, get extra sleep and nurture your relationships with those closest to you.
Downshift to a short-term focus over the next 30 days. Make peace with your current long-term goals as they will shift; they will be different, but I bet better in coming months.
Make yourself more valuable by upgrading your business systems through online training. You should be the ninja of your technology after the virus is over.
If you’re a person of faith, now is the time to deepen your relationship with God.
Yoga and meditation are proven ways to provide calm and peace.
Think of the “OBT” - – One Big Thing you can do during this time, now that time is not so much of an issue. Write a book, learn a language, or learn to ballroom dance with your partner (there are many, many virtual resources to help with these and others).

Practice Good Fact Hygiene

Fear is running through the country and made worse with every screaming headline. I came across the idea of “fact hygiene” listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Fresh Air. Host Terry Gross interviewed virus expert Max Brooks. At the very end of the interview, Max made the following statement which made me sit straight up:

“Be careful who we listen to, because panic can spread much faster than a virus. We have to be careful (with information) just as if it were the virus. We also have to be careful what we put back out, as if we were spreading the virus. We cannot pass along rumors or misinformation. We must be critically careful not to scare people into doing irrational and dangerous things.”

We need to listen to experts like:

CDC
WHO
Dr. Anthony Fauci/ Dr. Deborah Birx
Local public health officials.

What we cannot listen to:

Random facts on the internet
Whispered conspiracy theories, many times about interventions by the US military or trampling of American’s rights.
Your uncle who knows a guy who knows a guy who heard that something terrible is happening or that “they” are not telling us everything.

Wash your hands and watch where you get your facts.

Down, But Not Out

We are not out for even a minute, people. Let’s do an “audit” of some of the things we, as a society, should be excited about:

If you live in the United States, we have highly advanced medicine and thousands of healthcare heroes who are standing by our side. The supplies of PPE’s and other tools needed are coming and in days ahead this problem will abate.
American ingenuity is alive and well. Look at just two examples: Tesla developed a new ventilator in six days and Abbot Labs developed a Covid-19 test that delivers results in 5 minutes. There are thousands of other examples of ingenuity...take a look around and you will be amazed.
Fiscal stimulus and the CARES Act will invest trillions in our economy. We learned from 2009 and lawmakers are being much more aggressive as “economic firefighters” this time around.
All of science is focused on Covid-19. This great article from the NYTimes says “Never before, scientists say, have so many of the world’s researchers focused so urgently on a single topic. Nearly all other research has ground to a halt.”

Hope Actually IS a Strategy

We live in amazing times, and we’ve seen the United States survive all manner of wars, attacks, depressions and evil plots. And yet we are the strongest nation on earth.

And you? You and I will be remembered by history and by our community for the choices we make in the coming weeks.

You are a leader in your family, your community and your company. People notice how you react. Strength and leadership now may make you the hero you thought you were when you were nine years old. Be the real hero of 2020.

You will certainly have a story to tell when this virus is all over. And make some extra room in a drawer for your cape.

“Don’t worry, bout a thing. Cause every little thing gonna be alright.” Bob Marley

Note: These are my personal views and not necessarily those of Cushman & Wakefield

As Social Distancing Enters our Lexicon, Office Use Trends Are Set To Pivot

Much ink is being spilled about how our world will change. Here’s one more data point for you: the densification movement in corporate office space is officially over.

We are working with clients who have employee populations that cannot work from home. Think about folks that handle calls that require sophisticated technology, privacy and monitoring such as financial services. Of course, those people need to be in an environment where they can perform their duties in a safe manner.

Here are two trends emerging right now:

De-densification of office space

Companies with on premise requirements for employees are looking for new space that is ready to go right now. They will move to spread people out in their existing portfolio and when they secure that new space they will quickly move employees to the new location.

Finding the new space is tougher than it sounds because inspecting locations is hard (though virtual tours are happening at an astonishing pace), and also because it could take months to get fiber and technology ready because no one is at work.

If offices are coming back in vogue, and I predict they will, then I want a private bathroom and a big bar. You can come by anytime, but stay six feet away with your drink in hand, please.

A and B workforces

In order to keep workers healthy, some real estate directors are working with HR to divide large groups of people doing the same kind of work into two different physical locations. This pattern of A & B workforces helps solve for quarantine requirements if someone becomes infected and has exposed other workers.

It will be interesting to watch how office space design is changing, yet again. But you can rest assured that the office furniture industry, architects and others supporting this sector are spinning up new approaches as I write this.

Turns out that “benching” is a very dense environment is so 2020. We are on to the next thing and it involves a lot more office space.

Note: These are my personal views and in no way represent the views of Cushman & Wakefield

Ken Ashley

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Ken Ashley CRE

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