Future of Work
Remote Bureaucracy
Offices are dissolving because companies are dissolving.
AI and the Long Tail
AI can reduce inequality and polarization by making the internet less social.
It’s Time for a National Success Fund
There’s a better way to spread the fruits of innovation.
Stop The Music
The disruption of creative work has been going on for a long time. And yet, we always assume it won't affect us.
Navigating a Dancing Landscape
The internet compels us to constantly respond and adapt to each other's behavior. This makes everything less predictable. Why does this happen and how can we succeed in such an environment?
Zucked and Musked
The first-order effect of remote work is emptier offices. The second-order effect is leaner companies. The third-order effect is more inequality and opportunity.
Housing Is the New Office
Can an oversupply of offices create an oversupply of housing? (Generally, no. Occasionally, yes.)
Airbnb is WeWork
You can change a giant market even if you don't control it.
The Scalable Imagination
📚I am writing a new book about the future of work, cities, and companies. Click here to read the first few pages. The Scalable Imagination0:00/233.8220831× We tend to underestimate technology's power to turn in-person work into scalable work. On the verge of the 20th Century,
The Winners of Remote Work
Ultimately, remote work ushers some freelancers and employees into a global arena that seems to promise a higher ceiling, but a lower floor as well.
No Floor, No Ceiling
The internet gives more people an opportunity to win. But it forces everyone to play the game.
Rise of the 10X Class
The "robber barons" of the 21st Century are the people who used to sit next to you at the office.
NBC: The Office of the Future
“Rethinking Real Estate, a book that even before the pandemic was projecting big changes in how offices will be used in the future. He says landlords will now need to convince companies there’s a need for those desks and boardrooms we’ve taken for granted”. A quick interview with
Future of Work: Don't ask where, ask how.
Many middle managers and landlords are saying (and hoping) that working at home is not productive. Most of them are missing the point. Companies in cities like New York, San Francisco, and London are spending about $15,000 is a year to keep an employee at a desk. Bosses should
Farewell to We: What's next for WeWork?
Below are some notes I scribbled ahead of a media interview. Sharing here for those interested. Check out my upcoming book [https://www.rethinking.re/] on technology's impact on real estate! Where to next for the shared workspace firm? Time to say goodbye to “We”, the company that
It’s Not We, It’s You: A Lesson That Landlords Must Learn
Whether WeWork succeeds or fails, landlords are facing an immense challenge that everyone seems eager to ignore. Remember Napster? It was a precursor to what we now call the sharing economy. Instead of buying a record from the record companies, Napster allowed people to share storage space with one another
Can ‘We’ Work? Perspectives on WeWork’s IPO
WeWork combines an impressive trajectory with significant risk. Other public companies offer valuable insights about its business model, liabilities, governance, and valuation. Welcome to the desert of the real. Jean Baudrillard coined the term in 1981 to describe a world in which reality is a derivative of its representation — a
Is Starbucks is a Coworking & Toilet Operator?
The coffee giant is struggling with non-customers who only want to sit at a table and use the bathrooms. It should embrace them, for a fee. A few weeks ago, Starbucks was berated on social media for calling the police after one of its store managers was not able to
No Rent: Real Estate’s New Business Models
Emerging technologies will enable operators to monetize physical space in new and creative ways. Every day, each of us visits dozens of web sites and apps to access information and use various tools for work, communication, and fun. Most of these sites and apps are free. Online business models allow
Sharing Won’t Change Real Estate
Coworking and coliving are all the rage, but focusing on customers’ needs points to a much larger opportunity.
