"Don't Call Me. I Won't Call You." Great Article from NYTimes.com

Don’t Call Me, I Won’t Call YouBy PAMELA PAUL
Published: March 18, 2011

NOBODY calls me anymore — and that’s just fine. With the exception of immediate family members, who mostly phone to discuss medical symptoms and arrange child care, and the Roundabout Theater fund-raising team, which takes a diabolical delight in phoning me every few weeks at precisely the moment I am tucking in my children, people just don’t call.

It’s at the point where when the phone does ring — and it’s not my mom, dad, husband or baby sitter — my first thought is: “What’s happened? What’s wrong?” My second thought is: “Isn’t it weird to just call like that? Out of the blue? With no e-mailed warning?”

I don’t think it’s just me. Sure, teenagers gave up the phone call eons ago. But I’m a long way away from my teenage years, back when the key rite of passage was getting a phone in your bedroom or (cue Molly Ringwald gasp) a line of your own.

In the last five years, full-fledged adults have seemingly given up the telephone — land line, mobile, voice mail and all. According to Nielsen Media, even on cellphones, voice spending has been trending downward, with text spending expected to surpass it within three years.

“I literally never use the phone,” Jonathan Adler, the interior designer, told me. (Alas, by phone, but it had to be.) “Sometimes I call my mother on the way to work because she’ll be happy to chitty chat. But I just can’t think of anyone else who’d want to talk to me.” Then again, he doesn’t want to be called, either. “I’ve learned not to press ‘ignore’ on my cellphone because then people know that you’re there.”

“I remember when I was growing up, the rule was, ‘Don’t call anyone after 10 p.m.,’ ” Mr. Adler said. “Now the rule is, ‘Don’t call anyone. Ever.’ ”

Phone calls are rude. Intrusive. Awkward. “Thank you for noticing something that millions of people have failed to notice since the invention of the telephone until just now,” Judith Martin, a k a Miss Manners, said by way of opening our phone conversation. “I’ve been hammering away at this for decades. The telephone has a very rude propensity to interrupt people.”

Though the beast has been somewhat tamed by voice mail and caller ID, the phone caller still insists, Ms. Martin explained, “that we should drop whatever we’re doing and listen to me.”

Even at work, where people once managed to look busy by wearing a headset or constantly parrying calls back and forth via a harried assistant, the offices are silent. The reasons are multifold. Nobody has assistants anymore to handle telecommunications. And in today’s nearly door-free workplaces, unless everyone is on the phone, calls are disruptive and, in a tight warren of cubicles, distressingly public. Does anyone want to hear me detail to the dentist the havoc six-year molars have wreaked on my daughter?

“When I walk around the office, nobody is on the phone,” said Jonathan Burnham, senior vice president and publisher at HarperCollins. The nature of the rare business call has also changed. “Phone calls used to be everything: serious, light, heavy, funny,” Mr. Burnham said. “But now they tend to be things that are very focused. And almost everyone e-mails first and asks, ‘Is it O.K. if I call?’ ”

Even in fields where workers of various stripes (publicists, agents, salespeople) traditionally conducted much of their business by phone, hoping to catch a coveted decision-maker off-guard or in a down moment, the phone stays on the hook. When Matthew Ballast, an executive director for publicity at Grand Central Publishing, began working in book publicity 12 years ago, he would go down his list of people to cold call, then follow up two or three times, also by phone. “I remember five years ago, I had a pad with a list of calls I had to return,” he said. Now, he talks by phone two or three times a day.

“You pretty much call people on the phone when you don’t understand their e-mail,” he said.

Phone call appointments have become common in the workplace. Without them, there’s no guarantee your call will be returned. “Only people I’ve ruthlessly hounded call me back,” said Mary Roach, author of “Packing for Mars.” Writers and others who work alone can find the silence isolating. “But if I called my editor and agent every time I wanted to chat, I think they’d say, ‘Oh no, Mary Roach is calling again.’ So I’ve pulled back, just like everyone else.”

Whereas people once received and made calls with friends on a regular basis, we now coordinate such events via e-mail or text. When college roommates used to call (at least two reunions ago), I would welcome their vaguely familiar voices. Now, were one of them to call on a Tuesday evening, my first reaction would be alarm. Phone calls from anyone other than immediate family tend to signal bad news.

Receiving calls on the cellphone can be a particular annoyance. First, there’s the assumption that you’re carrying the thing at all times. For those in homes with stairs, the cellphone siren can send a person scrambling up and down flights of steps in desperate pursuit. Having the cellphone in hand doesn’t necessarily lessen the burden. After all, someone might actually be using the phone: someone who is in the middle of scrolling through a Facebook photo album. Someone who is playing Cut the Rope. Someone who is in the process of painstakingly touch-tapping an important e-mail.

For the most part, assiduous commenting on a friend’s Facebook updates and periodically e-mailing promises to “catch up by phone soon” substitute for actual conversation. With friends who merit face time, arrangements are carried out via electronic transmission. “We do everything by text and e-mail,” said Laurie David, a Hollywood producer and author. “It would be strange at this point to try figuring all that out by phone.”

Of course, immediate family members still phone occasionally. “It’s useful for catching up on parenting issues with your ex-husband,” said Ms. David, who used to be married to Larry David, the star of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” “Sometimes when you don’t want to type it all, it’s just easier to talk.”

But even sons, husbands and daughters don’t always want to chat. In our text-heavy world, mothers report yearning for the sound of their teenage and adult children’s voices. “I’m sort of missing the phone,” said Lisa Birnbach, author of “True Prep” and mother of three teenagers. “It’s warmer and more honest.”

That said, her landline “has become a kind of vestigial part of my house like the intercom buttons once used in my prewar building to contact the ‘servants quarters.’ ” When the phone rings, 9 times out of 10, it’s her mother.

There are holdouts. Radhika Jones, an assistant managing editor at Time magazine, still has a core group of friends she talks to by phone. “I’ve always been a big phone hound,” she said. “My parents can tell you about the days before call waiting.” Yet even she has slipped into new habits: Voice mails from her husband may not get listened to until end of day. Phone messages are returned by e-mail. “At least you’re responding!”

But heaven forbid you actually have to listen — especially to voice mail. The standard “let the audience know this person is a loser” scene in movies where the forlorn heroine returns from a night of cat-sitting to an answering machine that bleats “you have no messages” would cause confusion with contemporary viewers. Who doesn’t heave a huge sigh of relief to find there’s no voice mail? Is it worth punching in a protracted series of codes and passwords to listen to some three-hour-old voice say, “call me” when you could glance at caller ID and return the call — or better yet, e-mail back instead?

Many people don’t even know how their voice mail works. “I’ve lost that skill,” Ms. Birnbach said.

“I have no idea how to check it,” Ms. David admitted. “I can stay in a hotel for three days with that little red light blinking and never listen. I figure, if someone needs to reach me, they’ll e-mail.”

“I don’t check these messages often,” intoned a discouraging recorded voice, urging callers to try e-mail. And this is the voice-mail recording of Claude S. Fischer, author of a book on the history of the telephone and more recently, “Still Connected: Family and Friends in America Since 1970.”

“When the telephone first appeared, there were all kinds of etiquette issues over whom to call and who should answer and how,” Dr. Fischer, a sociology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told me when finally reached by phone. Among the upper classes, for example, it was thought that the butler should answer calls. For a long time, inviting a person to dinner by telephone was beyond the pale; later, the rules softened and it was O.K. to call to ask someone to lunch.

Telephones were first sold exclusively for business purposes and only later as a kind of practical device for the home. Husbands could phone wives when traveling on business, and wives could order their groceries delivered. Almost immediately, however, people began using the telephone for social interactions. “The phone companies tried to stop that for about 30 years because it was considered improper usage,” Dr. Fischer said.

We may be returning to the phone’s original intentions — and impact. “I can tell you exactly the last time someone picked up the phone when I called,” Mary Roach said. “It was two months ago and I said: ‘Whoa! You answered your phone!’ It was a P.R. person. She said, ‘Yeah, I like to answer the phone.’ ” Both were startled to be voice-to-voice with another unknown, unseen human being.

Is your signage memorable?

The main sources of anxiety during 2011 will be

physical health (34%)

relationships with family and friends (32%)

world affairs (26%)

domestic politics (25%)

To see how things have changed, notice what the top-five worries were in 2009

money and affording home (54%)

physical health (24%)

relationships with family and friends (11%)

appearance and ageing (10%)

world affairs (9%)

Spring Office Cleaning

How many of you have more responsibilities today than you did a year ago? A virtual show of hands proves the answer is everyone! While I can't do much about that, I can help you set yourself up for success when it comes to getting it all done. We're all busy, but if you commit to set aside one day to organize your work space and put some effective systems in place for keeping it organized, you will spend less time digging and more time accomplishing your goals.

Reduce Clutter
Small and infrequently used items such as paper clips should go in your desk drawer. The top of your desk should be for things you are working on that day. Nothing else. Otherwise you become distracted and fall off your schedule for accomplishing the day's priorities. Move bulky items such as inbox trays, file folders and printers onto bookshelves.

Do you have that pile of cords on your floor and or draping off your desk? This looks messy and in turn sends a message of disorganization to your customers and coworkers. Control your cords! You can buy a fairly inexpensive cord holder that will keep everything together and out of the way.

Paper is a Fashion Don't
Keep in mind that 80% of paper you file, is never looked at again. Today, technology is allowing us to create digital storage and by creating a good back up system, we are more comfortable going paperless in our leasing offices. Often times, digital storage is faster to access saving you time in your day for other things, like figuring out what to do with the fax machine you have not used in 5 months.

Every desk will inevitably still have some paper. Don't let it take over your desk. Keep hanging files with these four categories: action, project, reference, and cluster. The cluster file may be new for you. It is one of my favorite time management techniques. When you know you have a big project coming up like writing your marketing plan, keep a file that contains notes, ideas, resources and gems. Now, when you sit down to embark on the project you will have an amazing jump start on getting your project underway. Clustering is also a good cure for procrastination.

Now that you are on your way to a solid spring cleaning, maintain order by instituting this three fold approach to staying organized:
1. Daily - every night, clean up your desk. Organize papers, files and projects so when you come in tomorrow your desk is ready for immediate action.

2. Quarterly - take and hour or so to see what systems need re-engineering and organizing. If everything is not working the way you would like it to, stop wasting time with inefficiencies and make necessary adjustments.

3. Yearly - between December and February is the time when you should annually purge old papers and files from your work area. Do it in these slower months so that when leasing picks up in March you are working in tip top shape.

Thanks for Popping In!

Who wants microwave popcorn with a note on it that says "thanks for popping in"? NOT ME! I want instant gratification. I want some comfort food or a sweet treat. Replace that tired old popcorn prospecting gift with something new, sweet and delivers comfort - the Cake Pop.

I have personally tested every flavor they sell at www.JustABiteCakePops.com and they are all fantastic. I personally like the Red Velvet cake. Customize your pops to extend your marketing theme. You can have them individually wrapped and tied with a ribbon. This makes an incredible presentation.

Be sure to tell Mindy Himmel, the owner, I sent you by exercising this discount code "ALL123".

Next time I drop in your apartment community I would rather see Cake Pops versus cookies. Try something new!

Four Bucks Is Dumb

A downside of my career is that I see the inside of an airplane more than I care to. The upside is that I like what I do when I get off the plane. Each trip enriches my thinking. Maybe it's the change of scenery that makes me notice things. Today my work took me to one of my favorite cities, Seattle. I noticed a billboard that made me think. It said "four bucks is dumb." Next to the tag line are the golden arches.

McDonald's went right to the home town of the coffee house to say the rules of the game are changing. Through the recession, Starbucks became the poster child of excess. While trying to help a renter make a decision on an apartment that was $75 above their price range, I compared the difference in price to their daily Starbucks coffee habit. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has tried this approach and succeeded. It is a fine illustration of lining up priorities and checking in to make certain you are spending your money on things that really matter in life such as your home and not your daily caffeine jolt.

I recently read that Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, came out of retirement to help Starbucks through this time of change. And, it was seeing this billboard that made him understand consumer behavior was changing so rapidly that it was time for Starbucks to seek answers. Yet he compared this to flying an airplane without instruments. You see Starbucks invented and mass marketed the modern coffee house. They did this for many years without competition. And now, responding the opportunity in a down economy, another major brand known for value was on the attack.

Two years ago, Starbucks was being forced to the middle of the market by the low end products that McDonald's and Dunkin Doughnuts offers and the high end independent coffeehouse. Starbucks feels the middle is the worst place for their brand. They decided to not let people define them and get back in control of their own destiny.

In the middle of the market is a tough place to be. There will be a better product and people to pay more for that product. And then there is the low end provider who sacrifices something to give the lowest price. But the middle guy has to compete with both ends of the scale: convincing the high end buyer that they don't have to pay more for quality, and the low end buyer that they should pay more for your product. This makes for a very tricky marketing plan. It is essential you define who you are and how you can sell it.

As our industry continues on the path of recovery, define your road map by knowing how you will compete and make the most of your market position.

Rents Could Rise 10% in Some Cities

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com
Mar 16, 2011

Already, rental vacancy rates have dipped below the 10% mark, where they had been lodged for most of the past three years.

"The demand for rental housing has already started to increase," said Peggy Alford, president of Rent.com. "Young people are starting to get rid of their roommates and move out of their parent's basements."

By 2012, she predicts the vacancy rate will hover at a mere 5%. And with fewer units on the market, prices will explode.

Rent hikes have averaged less than 1% a year over the past decade, according to Commerce Department statistics, adjusted for inflation. Now, Alford expects rents to spike 7% or so in each of the next two years -- to a national average that will top $800 per month.

In the hottest rental markets, the increases will likely top the 10% mark annually for the next couple of years. In San Diego, Alford anticipates rents will rise more than 31% by 2015. In Seattle rents will climb 29% over that period; and in Boston, they may jump between 25% and 30%.

This is a sharp change from the recession, when many Americans couldn't afford to live on their own. More than 1.2 million young adults moved back in with their parents from 2005 to 2010, said Lesley Deutch of John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Many others doubled up together.

As a result, landlords had to reduce prices and offer big incentives to snag renters.

Now that the recession is easing, many of these young people are ready to find new digs, mostly as renters, not owners. Plus, the foreclosure crisis continues unabated, and the millions losing their homes are looking for new places to live.

Apartment developers many not be able to keep up with this heightened demand, which will force prices upwards, according to Chris Macke, a real estate analyst with CoStar, which tracks multi-family housing trends.

"There will be an envelope of two or three years," said Macke, "when the rise in demand for rentals will exceed the industry's ability to meet it."

Plus, Alford added, "there's been a shift in the American Dream. We're learning from our surveys that a huge proportion of people are choosing to rent."

They've experienced the downsides of homeownership -- or seen friends and family suffer -- and don't want to take the risks or pay the higher costs of homeownership.

Where homeownership costs are particularly high, there are many more renters than owners. In Manhattan, for example, only about 20% own their homes; in San Francisco, about of third of the population does; in Los Angeles, less than 40%; and in Chicago, about 44%.

There's one factor that could rein in rent increases: the huge number of foreclosed homes that could hit the market over the next few years.

In many markets, like Phoenix and Las Vegas, there are neighborhoods filled with recently built, single-family homes going for fire-sale prices. When the cost of owning homes falls well below the costs of renting them, more people will buy.

"That's always been the biggest competition for rentals," said Deutch

Ready, Set, Lead

There are a few certainties in the world: people will disappoint you, others will amaze you and whatever you think about tomorrow is probably not going to happen. The reason? Change. And the rate of change is speeding up - rapidly. Several factors are causing this acceleration such as the expansion of technology, access and exposure to knowledge and our need to be entertained is insatiable.

By 1900, it had taken 150 years to double all human knowledge. Today it takes only two to three years. And some estimate that by the year 2020, knowledge will double every 72 days. The millennial generation (born in the 80's and 90's) are the largest to enter the workforce since the boomers. Nurtured through the era of "google it" instead of "look it up" they have a keen understanding of how to access anything. The question is, who is leading them?

In the past, leadership was an economic entity. The priority was to develop structures, set controls and raise income as effectively as possible. This was accomplished through a ladder system of people managing other people as they do tasks.

Today, the speed of change demands a evolved leader. To be that person, you must rapidly adapt to change and require constant involvement in skill development while leveraging increased knowledge. It is not enough to know how to do a report, but rather to read, react and adjust based on the lesson gleaned from the data.

We have to be experts in human capital, not just financial capital. We must master emotional intelligence not just economic competence. Control is out of style because it is the customer who is calling the shots. We have to align people based on this reality and not structures and spreadsheets.

Today's leader has a grasp of emotional aptitude and understands the new order of customer influence and peoples motivations. It less about technical or financial expertise.

Does this make you nervous? Think about what your computer can do for you. It does the counting, tracking and comparing. You have to be the person who understands what to do with the information. Now we shift from managing deadlines to managing success factors. A key success factor is to develop skills for your team members so they not only produce a report but react to the report. You lead them to direct change. Leadership does not happen while you are standing still.

Your ability to manage change will be your key success factor. And my friend, it is all changing. Winning organizations are building leaders faster.