Page 40 - BusinessWest July 25, 2022

“It comes down to keeping our current port- folio stabilized, looking for continuous process improvements along the way, making better use of technology to better serve our customers, and making better use of technology so we ourselves can become more efficient,” he said. “And, at the same time, continuing other lines of our busi- ness and, as with those transportation facilities, looking outside of our traditional windows of opportunity. I think we’re well-positioned and well-placed to do that kind of work.”
As he goes about all this, he will call on not only previous work experience — and there is plenty of that — but also time spent coaching, especially football, at both the youth and high- school levels.
“The things that I learned about coaching my players transfer so wonderfully to our life at the office,” he said, by way of explaining how his work on the sidelines has shaped his manage- ment style. “I learned that I can’t coach every player, and every employee, the same way; peo- ple respond to different types of motivation, dif- ferent types of stimulation.
“Some just need me to sit and listen to them and hear them and not even comment much, but just know that I’m hearing them,” he went on. “Some want a really deep and intense dia- logue and to take a deep dive into the issues, and want me to act as a sounding board and really spend time devoted to solving problems or envi- sioning problems and coming up with mitigation strategies. As much as anything, I’ll be a coach trying to help each of our employees find a bet- ter version of themselves every day, with the goal of being a little better today than I was yesterday. And tomorrow, I really hope I’m better than I am today.”
“For 475 days, plus or minus a day or two, we were essentially shut down in our corporate offices with just a few of us there,” he recalled. “What we learned in that period of time is that we can do that very successfully. We can allow people to work at home, we can give them the time they need to attend to things in the middle of the day, but all of us got our work done; we paid bills on time, we responded to requests
for proposals on time ... we did everything we needed to.
ties to a portion of the Springfield Newspapers building.
“Whether it’s that [cannabis] or seeking gov- ernment entities where you may have looked
to place a private tenant before, all this speaks to the need to be clever and really think outside the box and be open to other possibilities in that commercial marketplace,” said Flink, noting that the tech park at STCC is an example of this dynamic. A large call center has moved out, but over the next few years, he expects those spaces to fill back to something close to pre-pandemic levels.
“Our experience in that space is similar to what we’re seeing around the country in that space,” he went on. “The pandem-
ic forced people to rethink how
they deliver their work product,
what vehicle they use to deliver
their work product; at the same
time, there began to be a demand,
a desire, to stay home once the
pandemic eased up and people
could return to their office space.”
“As much as anything, I’ll be a coach trying to
help each of our employees find a better version of
themselves every day, with the goal of being a little
This concept of remote work
has turned into a benefit, he told
BusinessWest, much like a 401(k), a
vacation, or health insurance. And
there is an expectation for it among job seekers and existing employees alike.
These factors have collectively reduced the demand for office space, he went on, adding that there are a few cases within the Appleton portfo- lio where tenants, specifically large call centers, have contracted substantially.
In one case, space was successfully backfilled, largely with government entities, Flink noted, adding that this may prove to a blueprint for many properties moving forward.
“Repurposing some of those commercial spaces for other user groups is going to be
”
better today than I was yesterday. And tomorrow, I
really hope I’m better than I am today.
Goal to Go
Getting back to football coaching and how it influences how he manages people, Flink sum- moned that often-used saying — among coaches and business owners alike — about people need- ing to give 110%.
“You don’t have to be a math major to know that this is literally impossible — you can’t give more than 100%,” he told BusinessWest. “What it comes down to, whether you’re coaching young athletes or spending time with senior-level exec- utives on our staff, is redefining for people what
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Changing Dynamics
Returning to the subject of the office market and what will happen moving forward, Flink said there are many unknowns when it comes to this issue, and it will certainly take some time for the market to fully shake out.
By that, he meant everything from whether office workers will return and when — some are back, but across the country, many are not back or are working in hybrid arrangements — to how properties might be repurposed if they are not used for offices moving forward.
It’s a complex matter, he said, using the O’Connell family of companies as an example of how businesses managed to get work done, and done well, during the pandemic with almost all employees working remotely.
important,” he said. “Going forward, owners and managers of commercial real estate, at least for the short term, and maybe for the long term, depending on how the market responds to this concept of remote work, are going to be clever in how they look at various user groups.”
Imaginative reuse has been the watchword in retail for some time, he went on, noting that, as more shopping is done online, there has been less need for bricks-and-mortar facilities. Larger properties such as indoor malls and strip malls have adjusted by repurposing space for bowling alleys, laser tag, trampoline facilities, and more. Meanwhile, the cannabis industry has had a profound impact on the commercial real-estate landscape, absorbing large amounts of different kinds of spaces, from old mills in Holyoke and Easthampton to storefronts in many communi-
their true capacity is. Very rarely do we operate at our true capacity; we’re blocked at times by our own negativity or the negative thinking of oth- ers. But we’re all capable of being more than we think we are, and helping people to understand where their 100% exists, and how they can live in a world that touches on that more often, is some- thing that I’m passionate about.”
That’s one of many passions, and lessons, from past experiences that Flink will bring to his challenge, one that, as he said, is the logical place for him to be. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
40 JULY 25, 2022
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
BusinessWest