A couple of assumptions that could carry through even after the Covid-19 crisis ends. 1) Work from home is here to stay2) Some employees can’t or won’t want to work from home3) Physical locations facilitate community, strategy, and passive knowledge sharing With those assumptions, what does the office of the future look like? If companies … Continue reading What is the future for office space?

I remember a class in college where I raised my hand, made an argument, and the teacher immediately pointed out that I shouldn't be starting with a conclusion and then working backwards to a set of facts that support my end game. It was embarrassing, in the moment, but a lesson that's stuck with me. … Continue reading We Need More Data

CFOs are going to emerge as a significant influence in real estate discussions as we adjust to what is certain to be a recessionary environment due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Costs and efficiencies are going to be examined and companies are going to explore every available opportunity to reduce facility spend. The way office locations … Continue reading The Re-emergence of the CFO

I understand why companies and employees might push for work from home solutions, even before Covid-19 forced the issue. There is clear research showing that employees are more productive when they have the opportunity to work remotely. But I always contended that there was a loss of institutional knowledge sharing around the lack of face … Continue reading Passive Knowledge Sharing

One of the things you discover working in any sort of client facing field is how poorly most people make decisions. It becomes apparent that we all have significant blind spots and these can impact how we articulate our positions, strategy creation, and impact execution. In addition to blind spots, we all have biases that … Continue reading Acknowledging Your Blind Spots

I saw an CFO survey from Gartner discussing how many of their employees they plan to move to permanent remote work. The numbers are significant. 75% of the survey respondents suggest that at least some portion of their staff will work remotely, even after the shelter-in-place order are lifted. It’s clear that CFOs are looking … Continue reading Bracing for pain… And preparing for opportunity

I try to add a little value to every post so that my friends, clients, and prospects all come away with a little more knowledge or something thought-provoking that they can use. My hope is that when they see something from me, they think "That's valuable." I don't want to to be transactional, and I … Continue reading Add Some Value

There’s a great article in Work Design Magazine about designing the modern office. Today’s workforce spans multiple generations and incorporates a wide variety of work styles and composition.  Employees within a single office can have age spreads of 50 years and roles can vary from full time to contractor. Then there are the folks that … Continue reading The Modern Office

There was an interesting article in the WSJ over the weekend about WeWork, and it’s impact on how we think about work. And while the article is interesting, it leads me to questions around office space, work environments, remote working, and the fact that people are social animals. I’ve heard from plenty of people that … Continue reading What the Workplace Promises

I'm putting together a series of videos walking people through the real estate procurement process. The first thing to consider is your overall business strategy. And then figure out how real estate can help enhance those objectives.