EDITOR’S COMMENT I love September. It always feels like a new term even if you’re not going back to school. And it’s the start of a new season. The time of fresh, crisp mornings and the turning of the leaves. For me, it is the most magical of the seasons. It is when real change happens.
For me that change is going to be about re-establishing the norm. I’m going to regularly make the commute into the office and get back into the habit of separating work from home. And I don’t think I’m alone. So many of the people I’ve been speaking to over the past few weeks were waiting until September to get back to the office and start their new term as they mean to go on.
Just a few days into the month, you can feel the change. Activity is picking up, businesses are setting out their stalls for growth, opportunities are being eyed and funds are being raised to seize on them.
Granted, the new term will also likely bring with it more redundancies as the furlough scheme gets wound down, the economy will continue to suffer, we will have Brexit (remember that?) to deal with and there most likely will be a second wave of coronavirus before we say goodbye to 2020.
But, if there was ever a time to refresh our plans for the year, this new term is it.
Back in January I set out five key targets for EG. Five promises that we would deliver for you. Today, I’m reaffirming those and approaching them with more gusto than ever before. They were:
1 Continue to deliver the most in-depth, informed and accurate source of real estate intelligence in the market.
Our figures show us that this year we have delivered you on average 30% more content month-on-month than we did during 2019 and that more and more of you have been engaging with it. We have more readers than ever before. We promise to keep delivering not just what you want to read, but what you need to read. And we’ll do it even better in this new term.
2 Make sure the real estate community is equipped to deal with the challenges of transformation.
Whether it’s how digital and technological transformation is vital for the survival of business, the true impact of sustainability on your firm’s performance or what real inclusivity adds to the power of your proposition, EG has been leading the way. And there is so much more on all of these topics to come from us. Keep your eyes peeled.
3 Be objective, helpful, hand out rewards where earned and advice on how to be better when standards aren’t met.
Hello. Have you met us? We are more than just your critical friend though. In the new term we will absolutely be applying this lens on ourselves too. We are sharing this journey of learning, correcting and celebrating with you.
4 Create inclusive environments where you can meet, mingle and learn with the greatest thinkers and doers in real estate and the wider business world.
Okay, so physically mingling has been a little bit of an issue this year but we have not stopped delivering you events and places where you can learn and interact with those great thinkers. And we are continuing to evolve this offer. Make sure to sign up for the EG Tech Awards on 10 September, and tune in to our Future of Cambridge event on 15 September to see exactly how we are taking virtual events up a notch or three.
5 Prove to the world that real estate is a superhero industry and not the villain that so many outside the sector seem to think it is.
This is clearly still a work in progress, but we are shifting the perception. And, we will be shouting about this one, really loudly, at the EG Awards in October. If you want to be among the ensemble, don’t forget to enter the Superhero award.
For the year where everything changed, I couldn’t be happier with the progress we’ve made on these promises. None of us can really know what this new term is going to throw at us, but we can know what we are going to throw at it. Autumn may be the fall, but it’s time to rise up and finish 2020 with purpose.
To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @estatesgazette
