Blueprint

Founded at NYU Schack Institute Of Real Estate

Logistics

Prologis – Leader by Example

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Time and time again, I reevaluate my place in society. Who should I surround myself with? What am I here on earth to accomplish? What is my purpose? Who must I follow for guidance? Thoughts like these provide great insight into who I am at the core. With a pandemic at the forefront of our culture, my current reflections ensue greater intent and reason. I now dig deeper to understand the necessity for the human race to come together not only in times of celebration, but also hardship.

Do good for thy neighbor. I stand by this message. One company to take note of which aligns with my values is Prologis. Led by Hamid Moghadam, the “Ahead of What’s Next” organization follows suit with not words, but actions. Through their Prologis Essentials program, customers gain additional business opportunities. Also, the company recently received an award for 10 GRESB Green Stars. During these tough times, Prologis is showing its true colors by providing leadership for companies and professionals to follow.

Discussion Q: Which company do you notice impacting our society in a positive way?

What We’re Watching, Reading, Listening To

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Podcast – City of the Future – Sidewalk Labs

Review: It’s no secret that cities are progressing to keep up with the times. Rapid urbanization, driverless cars, and evolving infrastructure are challenging cities to adapt. Hosts Vanessa Quirk and Eric Jaffe discuss one subject in detail in each episode. The duo kicked off their inaugural episode with a conversation about mass timber. Skyscrapers wouldn’t have happened without the early innovations of structural wood. The hosts are joined by wooden buildings leader Michael Green and Sidewalk’s Director of Building Innovation Karim Khalifa to discuss how wooden buildings are making a comeback.

Docuseries – Home – Apple TV Originals

Review: The docuseries “Home” explores the world’s most innovative homes, from a 3D-printed community in Mexico to a bamboo palace in Bali. A family home inside a greenhouse in Sweden. A bamboo treehouse in Bali. A 344 square-foot Hong Kong apartment that transforms into infinite layouts. These are just a few of the boundary-pushing buildings featured in the new AppleTV+ series Home. Although the houses featured are some of the most unconventional and innovative in the world, this is not your average home show. I love the series because it is centered on the concept of innovation and big ideas and solving problems creatively.

Book – Transfluence: How to Lead with Transformative Influence in Today’s Climates of Change

How do you lead with transformative influence in today’s complex world?

About: Walt Rakowich brings a real-world perspective to leadership that’s based on experience, not just theory. Walt was CEO of Prologis, the world’s largest owner of industrial warehouses and a critical partner to companies distributing products throughout the global supply chain. The company was near bankruptcy when Walt took over at the height of the Great Recession. While leading Prologis back to prominence, and in the years since, Walt realized leaders today must lean into timeless values and principles, but with a fresh perspective on the new realities of our leadership climates.

The modern leadership environment exists at the convergence of three distinct and dynamic climates: the climates of access, diversity, and acceleration. On their own or in the aggregate, these climates produce significant opportunities and tensions that will challenge leaders for generations. With a fundamental understanding of these climates, leaders develop a selfless approach that withstands the toughest storms.

Transfluence shows leaders how they can have transformative influence by overcoming their fears and pride, building transparency into their leadership, developing a strong core of authentic values, and passionately pursuing a meaningful purpose. When leaders do this, they seize opportunities, embrace challenges, and make their organizations and communities greater than ever.

→ SIGN UP for REISA’s fireside chat with Author, Walt Rakowich:  bit.ly/reisa-event

What are you watching, reading, listening to? Let us know in the comments.

Logistics Automation

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The race to have robots pick up individual items in warehouses is speeding up as companies look to accelerate the flow of goods through distribution centers. Companies are turning to more powerful artificial intelligence programs to try to apply the basics of physical robotics to the wide variety of products in supply chains.

The effort is drawing big funding, with Pitchbook estimating that U.S. venture-capital investment in logistics-focused robotics and automation companies has topped $1 billion since 2015.

Companies including Berkeley, California-based Covariant and RightHand Robotics Inc. are among those on the leading edge of the drive to use AI to help machines grasp the difference between circuit boards and boxes of household goods. Their goal is to have the robot pickers use a combination of machine learning and computer vision to learn on the go and extend warehouse automation.

Today, most automation deployed in warehouses is not intelligent. As supply chains become more complex and consumers expect same-day delivery, warehouse operators are incentivized to turn to systems that can learn on their own.

Q: What will automation do to the demand for offices, stores, warehouses, and factories?

Q: Do you think robotic factory floors require more or less industrial space than the traditional more worker-based industrial factory?