If you haven’t noticed the impact things have on the people around you, you are not alone. Rarely does the average person think of changing their surroundings as a way of affecting human behavior. When we don’t get the response we want from others, we look to change them, not their environment. By focusing strictly on the human side of things, we totally miss the subtle yet powerful impact of objects on our unconscious thinking—the size or scale of a room and the furniture in it, a wall color, the type and comfort level of a chair, and so much more.
In the words of Fred Steele, a sociotechnical theorist, most of us are “environmentally incompetent,” like fish who know nothing but water. In much the same way, our physical environment remains silent. Hidden in plain sight, it doesn’t speak out. There is never any friction, so we don’t realize its presence. Because of this, we miss the impact of things around us on the behavior of others. Stated in reverse, we don’t use things to our advantage to drive change when transforming our workplace.
Most people who find themselves in the process of buying custom office furniture are doing it for the first time. Perhaps you are one of them! Because of this, common mistakes are repeated often. Awareness of a few common errors will help you become a better buyer, save you money, and help you avoid the pain and aggravation of do-overs—or, worse still, the disappointment of everyone who is counting on you to make them shine.
Whether you’ve given it much thought or not, there are several things you probably want from your office furniture. The materials that your furniture is made from have everything to do with that selection. Choosing the best materials for your application will take you halfway to a great furniture choice.
Things you want your office furniture to deliver:
- These days, most people are looking for office furniture with a modern flair. That means it has to look good, be eye-catching, and remain relevant to the times.
- Another important considerat...
Effective workplace design isn’t random. It isn’t born out of thin air. It does not come about simply by throwing a few pieces of office furniture together and calling it a day. You won’t get there, effectively, by starting at the end, or the middle for that matter.
All workable workplace designs start with a purpose. It needs to have a reason for coming into existence. It needs to be able to accomplish things to make the business better. It needs to answer the questions; why am I here, what do I need to do for you, and how? Without asking the right questions, one cannot expect to generate the best answers.
Your workplace is one of the most special aspects of your business. It is the center of everything, that is, for your business. It is ground zero for creative ideas, strategic planning, customer communication, vendor relationships, team building, and sales generation, just to name a few.
Much of Excellence is Practice
-Thursday, September 30, 2021
Much of excellence, in any field of endeavor, is practice. So said the late Anders Ericsson, Comrade Eminent Scholar, and cognitive psychologist. He’s spent much of his life demonstrating that elite-level performance doesn’t come from the inherent, mental, or physical domains. He has demonstrated many times over, those who reach the top of their game get there by practice, a type of practice, different from the way most people train, something he called “deliberate practice.” In other words, "perfect practice makes perfect."
Businesses often start from a single creative idea, often had by one person for an innovative service or product. The challenge? No idea, irrespective of how creative it is, in its original form, ever lasts forever. New ideas come to the forefront to supplant old ones, and old one evaporates with new ones giving rise to trendiness. When paradigms change in science, technology, and societies shift, the world thinks and conducts itself differently. If businesses do not replicate these shifts, they will often come to see themselves on the proverbi...
Design can do a lot of things for the user. With clothing, it can flatter the body, making you look thinner, sexier, or shapelier. In the kitchen, it can make the chef more organized and creative. For the writer, it impacts the way she puts words to paper, giving the reader access to a wide range of emotions.
The modern conference room is a place where you communicate with your team, negotiate with vendors, argue points of contention, make proposals to clients and sometimes just go to relax. Many people make mistakes when designing their conference rooms.
Company culture lives in the reasons WHY a company is in business. Out of this WHY (or purpose), company culture is born. Because the WHY lives in the heart, everything a company says and does, and how it looks, smells, and tastes (if you will) exists for that reason. We call this company culture.
