Category Archives: Real Estate Change Management

Be A Real (Estate) Wise Guy

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Why? What? How? – A 3-Part Series. Part 1: Figure out Why You Need Real Estate in the First Place Part 2: (Below): Address the What in the Real Estate Decisions Part 3: (Upcoming): Discuss How you will execute   ​“We just got the contract,” Keith said joyfully. He took a sharp breath in and lowered his voice. “We need, er, need enough space for 85 staff in 90 days,” he said with stress suddenly present. “That’s wonderful news, Keith and congratulations on that new business, I know you've been pursuing this deal for along time” I said. “We will get you taken [...]

Lets Get Real (Estate)

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My friend Justin Bedecarre of 42 Floors reached out to me recently with such a simple request. “Ashley, can you write a short little blog about how to lease office space?” his request read. Given that I’ve done this exercise a few times in my 18-year career, I thought it would be simple to write about how to lease office space. But when you actually think about the process of securing the company’s next lease, there is A LOT that goes into a significant real estate decision (and are there any insignificant ones)? Also, if you Google “leasing process” you’ll find some pretty dull [...]

The 4 – Hour CRE

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  (Atlanta) Its that time of year again. We evaluate our performance in the current year and make (big) plans for what is to come in the new year. In that vein, Tim Ferriss, the entrepreneur turned book author and public speaker has made a fortune by telling folks to keep it simple. By repackaging the Pareto Principle (the rule of 80/20) and weaving in his own interesting life story, Ferris has spent more  than four years on the New York Times Best Seller list. His flagship book The 4-Hour Workweek has been translated into 35 languages and has currently [...]

Extreme Office

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EXTREME

(Orlando) Let’s just ditch the whole physical office thing. Everyone can leave and work from anywhere you want, wherever you want. Since the Middle Ages over a thousand years ago, offices have been an important part of getting work processed, organized, and facilitating communication. Prior to the rise of the personal computer, one almost had to be physically present to be part of the workflow.  In the last century, your physical office was not only necessary for work; it helped define your status.   The role of physical space in corporate America began to change in a significant way when [...]

Tim Cook’s #CRE Challenge

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The Man with the iPlan

What if the CEO of the largest company in the universe called you and said he had a little project he'd like you to work on? He thinks you’re a pretty swell leader, and he wants you to shake up the office landlord business. What would you do to make Mr. Cook a happy man? Even under normal circumstance, being a landlord is a daunting challenge. Running a modern office building requires tremendous skill and knowledge in building systems, finance and budgeting, sustainability, and leasing, just to name a few issues. You also have to be part diplomat (with the fire [...]

Dolly Parton and #CRE?: Working Nine to Five

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Bet They Could Have Used a Starbucks!

The conversation about remote work and so called alternative workplace strategy has been going on for over 25 years now. Back in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, when things started to heat up in this arena, there were several practical limitations on what is now being called “distributed work.” First, management techniques were much more likely to be the primitive type displayed in the 1980 movie Nine to Five. One of the stars of this "how not to manage" film is none other than country music icon Dolly Parton. This was her first feature film, and Parton portrayed secretary Doralee [...]

iCampus

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In an incredible announcement over the weekend, Apple has gone public with its plans to create a $304 million dollar campus for more than 3,600 people in Austin, Texas. This is on the heels of their $500 million dollar Cupertino, CA campus that is now under construction. Wow, hope they sell a gazillion iPad 3s. The Cupertino building famously looks like a space ship. It will be interesting to see if Austin gets in on the “space” program as well. (Has the Eagle landed in Austin?). Dan Whisenhunt, Apple’s Director of Real Estate and Facilities, must be the busiest real estate professional in [...]

CFOs and Billy Joel

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In the early 80’s, I remember first hearing the haunting anthem to America’s manufacturing challenges in the song "Allentown" by Billy Joel.  In the ditty, Joel chronicles the demise of Bethlehem Steel (it went bankrupt in 2001 and is now a casino) and its impact on families in the Eastern Pennsylvania area around  Allentown.   The song represented the concern many Americans had over manufacturing’s demise in our country. Good men and women, through no fault of their own, were thrown out of work based on apparent labor savings in foreign cities they had never heard of. For nearly three decades, [...]