Help a Reporter Out… by Bringing Others In
Consider this: When a reporter asks you for an interview, approach it just like being asked to speak on stage.
Yes, it is about you, but do not let it be only about you.
You are there to add depth, nuance, and insight.
And sometimes, that means you are not the only voice the audience needs to hear.
My approach to interview requests:
👉 Share the stage.
📣 Recommend others.
👥 Invite a broader set of perspectives.
🎤 Elevate voices that might not get the call otherwise.
Reporters often work on short timelines and tight word counts. Help them build a well-rounded story, especially if there is someone you know who can add the missing piece.
The best interviews are the ones that feel like a full conversation. That only happens when more voices are heard.
Why Electricity Prices are Rising and What it Means for CRE, You, and Me
Electricity costs have been climbing at more than double the rate of inflation. The increases are showing up everywhere: on household utility bills at the kitchen table and in the operating budgets of businesses and commercial properties.
Three insights stand out from a recent Heatmap Daily analysis:
1️⃣ Poles and wires are the real story.
Distribution, the “last mile” of poles, wires, and transformers now makes up nearly half of utility costs, overtaking generation as the biggest driver of bills.
2️⃣ The lag effect is hitting now.
Utilities have been spending heavily on infrastructure upgrades for years. The costs of poles, wires, and especially transformers (which have more than doubled in price since 2019) are only now starting to show up in bills.
3️⃣ AI-driven demand has not yet hit.
While data centers are making headlines, their impact on household electricity bills and property operating expenses is still in the early stages. The real wave of demand from AI workloads and manufacturing expansion is ahead of us.
Zooming out, two more forces round out the picture:
⚡ Capacity markets are getting pricier. PJM alone saw ~$9.4 billion in added costs from data center demand.
⚡ Supply is not keeping up with demand; grid expansion is lagging, with new high-voltage transmission lines at a fraction of the pace seen a decade ago.
Why it matters:
📌 Rising electricity costs are not abstract.
📌 They affect families at home, businesses trying to control expenses, and commercial real estate properties working to manage operating costs and tenant expectations.
📌 And while today’s increases are challenging, the full cost increases from these factors are yet to come, particularly those driven by AI demand.
Catching up on the newest season of The Bear.
While not a universal favorite in our house, I enjoy it. Especially the music.
One scene that sticks with me (and a recurring plot point) is when the main character is locked in the walk-in fridge on a pivotal night of dinner service. Why? Because he never fixed the door handle, even though he knew it was broken.
📣 The hard-earned lesson: Fix the small, known problem before it becomes a big, expensive, and disruptive one.
In an episode from this season, as the future of the restaurant hangs in the balance, he checks in with the pastry chef: What do you need?
The answer: More horsepower.
Cough cough nudge nudge. Here is another fixable problem right in front of him.
Both scenes are flashing, neon signs 🧨 signaling the same truth: growth comes from learning, adapting, and applying those lessons forward.
Putting a growth mindset into action means we:
💠 Acknowledge mistakes
💠 Learn from them
💠 Apply that learning
💠 Look for how to do it better next time
This is just as true in the kitchen (of a TV show) as it is in business.