Bookmarks: 5 Interesting Articles That May Help You This Week
/April 9th, 2018
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 and the submissions of others (with credit to you if I post them). I wish you a terrific week! 
Having Your Smartphone Nearby Takes a Toll on Your Thinking"The results were striking: individuals who completed these tasks while their phones were in another room performed the best, followed by those who left their phones in their pockets. In last place were those whose phones were on their desks. We saw similar results when participants’ phones were turned off: people performed worst when their phones were nearby, and best when they were away in a separate room. Thus, merely having their smartphones out on the desk led to a small but statistically significant impairment of individuals’ cognitive capacity — on par with effects of lacking sleep." www.hbr.org
[tweet_box design="box_09" float="none"]The results were striking: individuals who completed these tasks while their phones were in another room performed the best[/tweet_box]
Dial P for Privacy: The Phone Booth Is Back“There has rarely been a premium placed on privacy for American office workers,” Mr. Saval (Nikil Saval, the co-editor of n+1 magazine and the author of “Cubed: A Secret History Of The Workplace) said in a phone interview, noting that while cubicles cut down on visual distractions, “you still have to deal with noise, and noise travels pretty easily. It’s an incredibly common problem in open office plans.”
Added Mr. Saval: “The clearest instance of how much of a problem it is? People put on headphones all the time. Headphones have become the new walls. It’s also a signal: Don’t disturb me. Because you’re constantly surrounded by other people, and you’re cheek to jowl, just crammed in with other people.” www.nytimes.com
Life After Amazon: Why Whole Foods Will Not Become a 'Conventional Grocery Store'"...Whole Foods remains a bridge to mass retailers. The chain's product criteria are so rigorous that buyers from other companies view acceptance there as a badge of quality. The pack also looks to Whole Foods for merchandising trends. "In the eight months since we launched, I have sat in maybe 10 natural-channel chain meetings," says Hirshberg. "And they have all asked what Whole Foods is doing with us." www.inc.comWhat to Do If Calls, Texts, and Coworker Drop-bys Are Stressing You Out"As a time management coach, I’ve found that these reactions happen because one of the main keys to managing your own time is managing expectations with others. In a society where people have the ability to communicate instantly, a quick response can become an expectation. But it’s an expectation that we can’t always meet, especially when we’re trying to get work done. This gap between expectations and what we can actually do can lead to a lot of guilt, especially when it comes to the people closest to us. When left unaddressed, this guilt can manifest in a fight-or-flight response — we snap at people who interrupt or simply ignore attempts at connection.." www.hbr.orgAtlanta Office Is So Red-Hot, CRE 'Is Pinching Itself To See If This Market Is Real'Pleased to be quoted in the piece: "“Atlanta's real estate industry is pinching itself to see if this market is real,” Cushman & Wakefield Executive Director Ken Ashley said in an email. “Velocity in Atlanta's office market is at a torrid pace. There is robust demand for space by companies of all sizes and from a variety of industries. Expansions are as common as millennials noshing on avocado toast.” www.bisnow.comYour success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!
DevelopmentThe goal in 2018 for corporate America in 2018 is employee engagement. Read another way, employers want you to want to come to the office. On the development side, this is dramatically impacting what architects are drawing and where building is occurring. Infill development will continue to thrive. Buildings will continue to strive to look “authentic,” like Hines’ T3 development which will consist of a 200,000 heavy timber frame and wood building planned at Atlantic Station. Authentic design can be achieved using the right materials or by retrofitting an older building – the organic approach to real estate.The Emergence of the City CenterMaybe the 1950's are coming back to life in reimagined small town America. Seven city center projects are proposed or under construction around metro Atlanta including the Braves Stadium know as the Battery, Avalon in Alpharetta, City Springs in the City of Sandy Springs, Assembly in Doraville and others. People like working in a dense environment, but want to enjoy the cheaper housing and larger yards of the suburbs. Some have said the city center concept is the 21st century mall.Rental RatesNext year, rental rates on most classes will stop climbing as fast as they did in 2017 and concessions start to return in certain markets like Central Perimeter. I also believe there will be an uptick of subleases as growing companies are forced to move their operations in order to expand. There’s been an increase towards the end of 2017 and we believe there will be even more of this activity in 2018. The one exception to this forecast is newly delivered class A which is the hottest product in our city. Corporations with a pocket book will continue to drive rates in sexy new product to the highest our town has ever seen.Office Product TypesAs always, the market will continue to be a tale of the haves and the have nots. Rental rates notwithstanding, the haves will remain the most popular among tenants that can afford them and investors who pine for the latest and greatest. Take Three Alliance for example. The building experienced a rapid lease-up and has now traded for an historic price. Class B product with inefficient floorplates and lack of support amenities won’t experience near the rental rates of trophy Class A. Expect to see a trophy tower launch in an urban market with much more infill urban development/redevelopment. Finally, urban industrial product is becoming more attractive for redevelopment into creative loft office.Tenant DemandLast year, corporate America was catching its breath and approaching with caution because of uncertainty around administration, tax policy and the general business environment. However, with the Dow up 5,000 points in one year, which has never happened in history, the business economy is, and will remain, robust. I believe there will be continued organic growth and M&A activity in 2018. In board meetings and planning meetings, which are taking place right now, I believe businesses are planning for expansion in 2018. In 2017, many companies were a question mark, and that has turned into an exclamation point for 2018.Capital MarketsIn 2018, we anticipate cap rates will remain steady for suburban product. In the suburbs, there were misalligned expectations between sellers and buyers. Sellers forecasted continued rental rate increases, but buyers didn't agree. One can anticipate further cap rate compression in high rise urban and "cool" infill product - where she stops, nobody knows.TechnologyNext year will also be the year that the "internet of things" (IOT) begins to have a real impact on commercial real estate. It will rapidly improve the operating efficiency of commercial real estate, and it will be interesting to see what sort of role it will play for building owners and managers, as well as tenants. Building systems will let us know when they need service and save on labor cost. Maybe they'll bring you coffee at 2 in the afternoon, too.I saw a beautiful sentence in the Wall Street Journal recently: "investors have abandoned defensive positions, throwing caution to the wind." As you complete returning all those gifts back to Amazon, let's hope Santa is in a good mood all year in 2018. This economy is the gift that keeps on giving.Let's keep this ball rolling, shall we?
Those are just some of the topics discussed at the annual confab of all things corporate real estate which is hosted by the trade organization 
First place is the office, second place is the home, third place is Starbucks, place 3.5 is the car in the Starbucks parking lot for conference calls, and fourth place is coworking.
So, I did make it stop, for a brief respite anyway.You see, Karen and I planned a 25th wedding anniversary trip to Italy, so I began to dream about unplugging from email. The last time I stopped the digital river of information was in 2012 when I took a backpacking trip in New Mexico with my son. I wrote about it in one of my most popular blogs called 
So I made a tough call. I was not going to ever read a single email sent to me while I was traveling on my vacation. All of them were going to hit the trash can with a punch of a few keys in a mass delete action. Bam!I'm Really Out of the Office And On Vacation. For Real.I penned my out of office with a guilty grin. Here it is:"Thanks for your email. I am currently out of the country on vacation. Karen and I are in Italy celebrating 25 years of marriage, 4 kids and 1 very lazy dog. The kids and the dog are at home. We wish them luck.I return to the office and real life on <date>. My plan is to mass delete all emails while I'm away, so kindly email me again after my return and I will return your message with a big smile on my face. I appreciate your understanding and patience during this much needed downtime. So does Karen.
If you need help now, then contact my teammate <name> who can get you taken care of."That's it. And you know what, it worked!
We spent 8 glorious days refreshing our relationship and exploring the big world out there. I got around 1,800 messages during my time away and I gleefully hit delete. There were about 4 issues that needed my immediate attention when I got back, but I missed all the emails on all the meetings, issues and problems that I couldn't attend or attend to.I clearly remember the relief of allowing myself to be present on our vacation AND not having to worry about digging out when I returned.
Do I have a great team to back stop me and allow for this break to occur? Absolutely! Do I have understanding and cool clients? You bet! Am I so important that I need to be continuously connected and available at all times? Nope, not at all.And unless you are in charge of national security for the United States or some other ridiculously high stress gig, you aren't either. Heck, even firefighters and cops have days off from emergencies.I Dare YouToday I attended the funeral of a good friend, Scott Selig. Scott passed away at age 47 from an aggressive form of cancer. The loss of my friend has given me needed perspective and even more resolve on the email issue. As Scott himself said in a moving speech before he died, "put down the phone and enjoy life".I dare you to put up appropriate boundaries around your personal time.
I dare you to talk to your clients, colleagues and friends and explain that you need downtime too.I dare you to confront your own addiction to this world of hyper responsiveness and over communication in which we live.Be bold on this issue and your spouse, your family and ultimately your circle of friends and business colleagues will thank you. They will notice your new found focus and crisp response to issues because you have allowed yourself permission to rest.Ray Tomlinson passed away a few years ago, but if he were still with us today, I bet you he'd give 2 thumbs up to email breaks. As Steven Covey said, even the best lumberjack has to sharpen his saw to be effective.Time away is what intelligent executives use to freshen up, relax and reflect. In the times when you are getting away, email is toxic and will defeat the purpose. Be courageous and self confident in stopping the digital intrusion.Do it. You won't regret the digital break, I promise.