Page 57 - BusinessWest April 28, 2021
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 Environment
Continued from page 31
stand what we’re talking about, and can come at it from a knowledgable viewpoint, rather than just ‘we don’t want that in our neighborhood.’ It’s important to give people a voice.”
Myhrum agreed. “EJ has evolved from policy to statutory law in Massachusetts,” he said. “People will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive way to discuss the impact and specific ways people are affected.”
It’s important to remember, Sullivan noted, that development projects in urban areas often have a positive impact on the environment, especially those that remediate brownfields and other contamination.
“I’d love to see more mixed-use revitalization and really cleaning up some of these issues,” she said. “At OTO, we love working on these projects, and we’re happy when there’s more funding and regulations pointing that way — if a development can be done in a way that could be responsible, with some thought behind it.”
While he believes there’s significant pent-up energy in the development community, Daley under- stands plenty of changes are coming related to ener- gy and other aspects of doing business. In the short term, though, the way the pandemic has altered busi- ness as usual may have a broader effect.
“Is COVID going to be a transitional time for busi-
ness, or is it transformational? It’s going to be both,” he said, answering his own question. “It’s going to be transitional in the way we do business, whether it’s the regulatory process or the actual development, lease, and sale of properties and the way they go to market. But it’s also transformational — an oppor-
“
regulations pointing that way — if a development can
be done in a way that could be responsible, with some
We’re happy when there’s more funding and
communication, and the ways in which it has been altered by COVID.
“Each of those has been impacted similarly during the past year,” she noted. “We did adjust to not being face to face, but there’s so much that can be accomplished face
tance, and we still want to collaborate to move proj- ects forward.”
Depending on the project, Sullivan said, OTO works with developers, property owners, other civil engineers, structural engineers, attorneys, regulators ... the list goes on, and speaks to the importance of
  ”
tunity to rethink the way we do business, shifting us more into the digital age.
“I don’t think the office space will ever go away,” he went on, “but [technology] allows people to be more creative with their time and productivity and the way they do business.”
Moving Forward
Even though MassDEP is still working largely remotely, Gorski said, “we look forward to getting back to hybrid, or something approaching normal operations. We’re still available for technical assis-
Blunder #5: The social channel is LinkedIn, not Love Connection. With so many other dating apps and websites available to find a soul mate, LinkedIn is not the place to request a connection with the pur- pose of asking someone out. Not only is this request unprofessional, it can easily come across as creepy, especially to women. LinkedIn users are using the platform for career and networking and expect others to do the same.
Try Instead: Use LinkedIn for its primary purpose, namely professional networking, and save the search for love to those websites or apps specifically created for that reason.
Bottom Line
LinkedIn offers amazing potential to connect with experts, learn about new trends in your industry,
and discover new career paths and positions as you
the new tenant, but said it was an existing Western Mass. business that is expanding.
“It’s a market that has some areas of slowdown reaction to the pandemic,” he said, listing retail in that category. “But there are other areas that are busy,
“The vacancy rate is higher than
what we would prefer, but we’re
”
and we can’t find inventory. Industrial is very strong, and we have a lot of transactions for users buying buildings, so we have a number of properties under contract.”
 thought behind it.
   LinkedIn
can work. Use direct lighting, and natural light is best (morning or
late afternoon). Capture yourself from the shoulders up and minimize distractions in the background.
Blunder #4: Posting on politics. While most people have an opinion on the current political climate, sharing political viewpoints may not be the best deci- sion. Posts and articles on LinkedIn should highlight expertise, provide knowledge and leadership within an industry, and share resources that can help net- works. Political postings do not fall into these three categories. These may also be offputting or polarizing to current and future networks.
Try Instead: If you wish to share political view- points, consider posting to another social-media chan- nel. Keep your LinkedIn channel focused on how you can provide professional leadership and insight.
Progress
Continued from page 52 experiences of the past year have shown that remote working can be effec-
tive, most businesses want their workers back togeth- er in one place.
“I’ve seen it with a number of businesses ... they’ve said, ‘we’re working at home, we’ve figured it out, but there’s still a need to be in the office, and, over time, people want to be in the office,’” he said, adding that the parking-lot test, as unscientific as it is, provides some evidence that companies are working their
way back to their office spaces. “It’s a matter of want to, and need to, and there’s a slow progression back. There’s a steady return toward coming back to the office; we’re not there, but we’re getting closer every day.”
For other evidence of progress, he cited the recent closing of a deal with a business to lease 27,000 square feet of office space in a property at 11 Inter- state Dr. in West Springfield. He could not disclose
to face, meeting on site. When that goes away, things slow down, and your meetings aren’t as effective.”
But her firm, like everyone else in the broad, com- plex, cross-disciplinary business of development managed to adjust, and even learned a few lessons about pivoting and melding traditional and remote ways of doing business.
“This is the new way,” she said. “We’ll take the best of both worlds and hopefully move forward.” u
Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]
explore options. LinkedIn can work well for digital connection and professional networking, especially if these blunders are avoided.
These small modifications can unlock new net- working opportunities and strong professional engagement now as well as in the future, and help establish your credibility within both your industry and your organization. By avoiding these five mis- steps, you will be able to more easily harness the power of LinkedIn in your professional practice and take your career to new heights. u
Lisa Apolinski is an international speaker, digital strategist, author, and founder of 3 Dog Write. Her latest book, Persuade With A Digital Content Story, is available on Amazon. She works with companies to develop and share their message using digital assets; www.3dogwrite.com
Bottom Line
Between the parking-lot test, some new leases being inked, and tight inventories in the industrial market, the commercial real-estate landscape seems to be changing in this region — and for the better.
That said, many questions remain about the mar- ket and especially the office buildings that are not only home to many types of companies, but also gen- erate business at neighboring service- and hospitali- ty-related enterprises.
It may be some time before all those questions are answered, but for now, it seems the worst may well be over and, as Goggins and others noted, this sector is moving steadily closer to something approximating normal. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
Continued from page 38
with your mobile
    nipping away at it.
  CONTINUED
APRIL 28, 2021 57
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