Another week closer to July. July is a busy month in our household. Other than me all other key birthdays and events happen. Both boys, Kate, our anniversary, both mums (you know the matriarchs). So I’m ending my week taking some time out to write a reflection of the week which has been filled with interesting developments, thought provoking podcasts and articles making me question some behaviours I have.
In development news, 703-Metre Skyscraper Proposed for St Petersburg – you don’t often think of Russia for skyscrapers. Although not reaching the heights of Burj Khalifa it does offer higher occupiable space. So actually serving purpose rather than simply reaching for the sky. There is no blueprint for where the tallest building should be but it is great to see such diversity in buildings being planned for the future.
And alongside this in housing news for those not aware of SkyHouse Company this video is a great exploration into the Yorkshire developers ambition to bring back stylish back to back houses with large windows and sky gardens! Their developments are cropping up in Waverley and have commenced near me too. It is good to see different housing developers (and there are more than SkyHouse) who are taking a new look at housing to bring something that, well, isn’t the normal.
To go back to the office or not. That seems to be a pointless question. An insightful read on a Big Firm announces workers need to be back in the office on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and this makes me think why are we being so prescriptive about this. People need choice and companies need to have productive employees so there needs a balance to ensure both can exist – otherwise you run the risk of losing the battle to obtain talent.
In my ears this week was a PropertyShe discussion with Joanne McNamara at Oxford Properties. An interesting discussion ranging from diversity of investments through to diversity in a people sense. I guess my takeaway was just that in a modern world, organisations large and small need to be reflecting on every aspect of the business to ensure that they Finally after a long week with countless Zoom, Team and Google video calls and way too many emails than I care to mention I remembered this article from the Eat Sleep Work Repeat newsletter Can you imagine your job without email or Zoom? Pre-pandemic I had noticed a move from people using email rather than picking up the phone. Now we seem to have replaced all communication with video calls or emails. Why? They serve a purpose but how many emails do we delete a day because they literally serve no purpose. Video calls can be moderated by setting clear agendas and deciding which require you to attend. Like most things in life there needs to be balance. A combination of calls, face to face, video and email. Each serves a different purpose and function and we should reflect on which to use based on the situation.
Words of Wilko 