I love this quote that Ali said to some kids in NY…

“The sun has a purpose. The moon has a purpose. The snow has a purpose. Cows have a purpose. You were born for a purpose. You have to find your purpose. Go to school. Learn to read and write. What is your purpose? Your occupation? Find your purpose.”

Wow… great words from  great man who clearly loved what he did.

I was one of the lucky ones (with 50,000 others) to see Sir Paul perform in Halifax this summer.  I was stuck by no only his talent, but by the energy he had!  At (now) 68 and able to put on a show for almost 3 hours, and clearly enjoy doing so, what an impressive example for all of us.In addition, it re-confirmed for me that age is increasingly not relavent to doing the things that you love to do.  I have included a pictuire of Paul that was taken by one of our tema members, Kevin Kilcup (who happens to love photography).So there you have, make sure you do what it takes to Love the Way YOU Work!Cheers.

Hello and welcome to our latest edition of the Office Interiors E-Letter.  We received lots of positive feedback on our inaugural edition so thanks for that! As we approach summer there are telling signs that the economy is starting to look more positive than it’s been for months.  That’s good! 

As I travel around the region and country I get the opportunity to speak with lots of people and I’m often asked “what are organizations looking for these days in your industry?”  Of course I take the opportunity to ask them what’s important to their organization.  More often than not it comes down to two key issues:

1)       How do I lever our workplace to maximize the return we get on our most valuable resource, our people?

2)       What can do to become a better steward of the environment, without paying a premium?Two great questions.  The answer is always a bit different for each organization for question #1, but it comes down to providing people with the right tools to help perform their best.  Interestingly for question 2, it is possible to be “more green” in your workplace without paying any premium.  You simply need to ask the right questions up front. 

In my experience, whether you are looking for ergonomic accessories or a new printer, a little focus on these two questions and you will be helping your team to “Love the Way They Work”. In these wild times, it’s more important than ever!

A couple weeks ago I was in Florida with 2 of my4 kids.  Disney World has this promotion on where if it’s your birthday (it was mine) you get in free.  Anyway, when you check in, they give you this ‘pin’ with your name, kinda neat.  As the day proceeded (Animal Kingdom, we had so much fun) no less than 30 ‘cast’ members said “Happy Birthday Jim”.  OK, a bit hookey, but these people are both well trained AND they love what they do!  It was actually fun.

 So, here’s my point.  Find something that you “Love to Do”; a way to “Love the Way the Work”.  It’s there, sometimes you just need to keep looking.  Let’s face it, life is (relatively) short, and for most of us we spent more time ‘working’ than any other activity.  Why would you settle working at something you didn’t love?  It’s simple a decision and each of us make it for ourselves. So… make sure you “Love the Way You Work”.

Here’s something new we have launched… our very first Office Interiors E-Newletter!

http://www.officeinteriors.ca/images/Newsletters/Office%20Interiors%20March%20NL.htm

We’re always trying to find ways to help our Customers “Love the Way You Work”. It’s our relentless pursuit. What we hope this will become is an interesting collection of workplace relevant articles that people will find useful.

Including the latest and greatest products and services. Our future issues will contain real testimonials from Customers of things they have done the make their workplace more productive, enhance their culture, or increase sustainability.

I hope you enjoy it, and of course ANY feedback is welcome!

PS. If you want to be on the E-Letter subscription list send me your details.

One of the neat things about being part of a Best Practices benchmarking group like I am with the Workplace Alliance (www.workplacealliance.com); a group of Haworth Dealers accross North America, is you meet some really smart people.

One of them is Vince Mudd and his award winning firm San Diego Office Interiors (www.sdoi.com).  Vince takes a unique and very successful approach to building workplaces for his clients.  It’s unconventional and it works.  Check out his web-site for more info.

Cheers.

Folks, there is no “real” excuse.  Despite great intentions I ended up side tracked on my blog.  However, I’m recommitting and will endeavour to add interesting bits and pieces to my blog moving forward.

If you have any questions or comments on “Workspace” related issues, let me know.  Cool ideas on how to “Love the Way You Work” are always welcome.

 Cheers!

I had the opportunity to visit Holland, Michigan this week and participate in the grand opening of Haworth’s new corporate headquarters. 

Very impressive… very sustainable… very adaptable… very people centric. Take a look and see for yourself.

For anyone interested in sustainable building design and construction, i.e. green building, Guy Kawasaki had a fantastic post recently detailing Stanford University’s Yang and Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building.

With a multitude of pictures from both outside and in, the post definitely worth a look.

Most everyone in business here in Atlantic Canada either knows, or has at least heard of, Bill Black. His time at the helm of Maritime Life brought considerable expansion and record profits to the business as it doubled in size to employ over 1,100 people. That’s a lot of office space.

I caught up with Bill recently and he graciously agreed to do a brief interview for the blog. He brings a pragmatic, service-focused approach to the business of furnishing and equiping office space that I hope you find helpful. Enjoy.

1. In your experience, what is the biggest mistake that companies make when furnishing their office space?

Probably the biggest mistake companies make is not starting with a clear idea of what their employees’ jobs demand.

2. How important should price be in selecting office furniture?

Even before considering price, I think the first thing to do is to get a clear idea of what is needed. Only then is it appropriate to get tenders for suppliers. And you shouldn’t sacrifice needs for price. You shouldn’t be too flexible on the needs side when it comes to getting the best price you can from the supplier.

3. In many workplaces, office furniture and office size is used to reinforce corporate hierarchy. Does this make any sense?

No, office furniture and size needs to be driven mostly by what the job requires. It depends on their role, not necessarily their position in the company. The best example I can give is the receptionist, someone who is out at the front of the office. This is a person who should obviously have the nicest furniture in the place.

4. Where is your favorite place to work?

I always worked best at the office. There are tons of support systems, such as people who can help me get things done, make my computer work when I can’t, and so on.

5. Do you have one piece of office furniture or equipment that you just cannot imagine living without?

Filing cabinets and filing spaces in a desk. That may sound strange but it’s true.

6. As a CEO, what advice would you give to Facilities Managers who are making decisions about the workplace everyday?

I would say they should understand – and hopefully the CEO would understand this, as well – that their role is to provide a service, not to be a control.

7. Do you remember the nicest office you’ve ever been in?

I’ve been in some pretty nice offices but I’d have to say the John Hancock executive offices in Boston were the nicest.

8. Did it tell you anything about the organization?

It told me that they were spending too much money on their offices!

9. A few years back, you presented a lecture entitled “What does workplace quality have to do with satisfying customers?” So, what does workplace quality have to do with satisfying customers?

I’ve always been of the theory that, if you are in a service business and want to have satisfied customers, you need to start by having satisfied employees. Give them the right training, technology and tools to do their job well. Satisfied employees can focus on looking outward at their customers’ satisfaction, rather than inward on their own level of satisfaction. If you give them inferior equipment, they’re going to be annoyed – and they’ll be annoyed every minute of the day.

10. In a connected world where knowledge workers can do their job from most anywhere, are offices going to become a thing of the past?

No, we’ll always have offices. There’s a thing that’s very important to work, even in very routine jobs. It’s got to do with the social capital developed between employees of an organization. I don’t think online connectedness allows for the same level of social capital as face-to-face conversations. People connect very frequently on the web, through email, conference calls and so on. Connecting through technology has its uses but it’s not the same thing as being able to go and sit in someone’s office, have a coffee with them or just see each other in person. It’s very interesting that, after years of no office building in places like Toronto, all of a sudden offices are being built again. It’s just an indication that people are starting to understand the value of social capital in organizations.