In this week’s episode, I chat with one of the most respected thinkers on the future of work and real estate, Dror Poleg. Dror is the author of the acclaimed books After Office (2023) and Rethinking Real Estate (2019).
Through the conversation, Dror and I dive into how macroeconomic factors and advances in technology influence how businesses source, value and manage talent which in turn drives how we work, where we work and where we want to live. More from the episode:
Why “WFH” isn’t just a pandemic trend but the most recent chapter in two decades of shifting how we distribute workforces
How technology has fundamentally upended the linear, predictable nature with which we once approached investment expectations, upside / downside risk, talent priorities, management … and yes, office space.
How this will impact the ecosystem of office real estate from how developers and owners evaluate deals to how banks underwrite risk.
Why the future of office winners will not be who calculates the optimal ratio of in-office vs. WFH time but those who strategically use office space to solve (dynamically) for the specific needs of specific teams and specific times.
Why the office market will start to look more like the hotel market.
The critical importance of central business districts and who is getting it right.
Why the better conversation is less about the future of the office but more about the extraordinary opportunities that spaces of the future will present as our work patterns and lifestyles change—and why value will accrue to the real estate leaders who move beyond increasingly outdated worldviews about urban and office spaces.
Why the future of cities is still bright.
Headlines and popular opinion lean “doom and gloom” on the topic but Poleg’s takes in this podcast—and in his books—will likely leave you feeling more inspired and creative about how you’re thinking about the future of work.
Keep up with Dror on X or sign up for his newsletter on his website. Excited to see you on the next episode of the Thesis Driven Leader Series.
—Brad Hargreaves
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Brad is the founder and editor of Thesis Driven (www.thesisdriven.com), a publication covering innovation in the built world. Over the past decade he has co-founded General Assembly and Common which generated a combined $500M+ in enterprise value.
