Ep. 420: "Assume Good Intentions" – Everyday Resilience, Workplace Culture and Reimagining the Office with Rob Clark of Cushman & Wakefield

Hey, well, let's get into this topic today of facility management, of real estate, but also bringing in your expertise and your motivational angle about resilience.

Because here we are, the fall of 2026, as this is coming to our podcast platform and on YouTube, full video available, everybody.

If you're not already a subscriber, please go over there and do that on the Aptura YouTube channel.

But Top things that come to mind when it's talking to an audience like the one you talked to earlier this year at IFMA, what do you think most human beings, people in our demographic, the 40, 50, 60-year-old professional who's trying to make his way in the workplace, his or her way in the world of work in the workplace, what's top of mind for them and for you?

Yeah, I mean, there is a tie in there, Mike.

I mean, it's, you know, I talk about resilience specifically, but this human factor really wasn't there before.

Like you had a place to go to work and you went to work, kind of no questions asked.

And this is, you know, this is where you did business.

And now the office is a choice, right? You have choices.

You can, you know, there's remote work, there's technology that is, you know, trying to create these connections, right? But there's nothing quite like the office, like that human connection, you know, to set up a successful office.

It's that collaboration, community and connection.

And isn't I mean, it's kind of what you're looking for in life.

Like, that's what I look for in my home life and my relationships.

It's the same thing with the office.

And COVID really put an exclamation point on all of that because it is a choice to go in.

You've got to be thoughtful.

You've got to be thoughtful about how you set the office up.

You've got to be thoughtful about the workplace strategy.

You have to be thoughtful about how you create these bump ins and these interactions, because at heart, we are all humans.

Yes, we're working and we have a goal and we have goals.

you know, not only personal goals, but company goals, but we're humans.

And so we need that connection.

And if there's not a connection, there's almost no reason to go into the office.

So connection, collaboration, and community, that's what it's all about in your personal life, but that's what it's all about the office now.

Absolutely.

Hey, well, let's get into this topic today of facility management, of real estate, but also bringing in your expertise and your motivational angle about resilience.

Because here we are, the fall of 2026, as this is coming to our podcast platform and on YouTube, full video available, everybody.

If you're not already a subscriber, please go over there and do that on the Aptura YouTube channel.

But Top things that come to mind when it's talking to an audience like the one you talked to earlier this year at IFMA, what do you think most human beings, people in our demographic, the 40, 50, 60-year-old professional who's trying to make his way in the workplace, his or her way in the world of work in the workplace, what's top of mind for them and for you?

Yeah, I mean, there is a tie in there, Mike.

I mean, it's, you know, I talk about resilience specifically, but this human factor really wasn't there before.

Like you had a place to go to work and you went to work, kind of no questions asked.

And this is, you know, this is where you did business.

And now the office is a choice, right? You have choices.

You can, you know, there's remote work, there's technology that is, you know, trying to create these connections, right? But there's nothing quite like the office, like that human connection, you know, to set up a successful office.

It's that collaboration, community and connection.

And isn't I mean, it's kind of what you're looking for in life.

Like, that's what I look for in my home life and my relationships.

It's the same thing with the office.

And COVID really put an exclamation point on all of that because it is a choice to go in.

You've got to be thoughtful.

You've got to be thoughtful about how you set the office up.

You've got to be thoughtful about the workplace strategy.

You have to be thoughtful about how you create these bump ins and these interactions, because at heart, we are all humans.

Yes, we're working and we have a goal and we have goals.

you know, not only personal goals, but company goals, but we're humans.

And so we need that connection.

And if there's not a connection, there's almost no reason to go into the office.

So connection, collaboration, and community, that's what it's all about in your personal life, but that's what it's all about the office now.

Absolutely.