Where does it actually all get done?
If we’re to believe what we read in the business press, then companies large and small, and regardless of industry or marketplace, have alltaken sledgehammers to their office walls and disassembled every cubicle partition. Open office environments foster a culture of collaboration, or so we’ve been relentlessly reminded, and only collaborative workplaces can ever hope to spawn innovative ideas.
It may be true. Or not. But even if it is (and we’d love to know what the performance measures for this would be), we feel compelled to ask: Is business only about innovation and idea generation? Oh, it’s crucial. It’s essential, particularly in our profession. But when, how and – for this discussion -- where do all those collaboratively generated ideas actually get implemented?
Blue Sky Innovation’s Meg Graham reported on last Thursday’s Disrupt CRE real estate and technology conference at the Willis Tower, which included a panel called “Inside The Box: Rethinking Space”. Graham noted that perhaps “taking down walls and throwing up a ping pong table doesn’t automatically inspire innovation”.
As she reported, panelists acknowledged a growing hesitation toward the open office trend, since employees often seek out private quiet space to get work done. She quotes 1871 CEO Howard Tullman: “Frankly, if 80 percent of the time you’re exiting your space to get work done, there’s probably the case that your space isn’t working for you.”
Here at The Design Image Group, we’ve done every configuration -- from all private offices to completely open space with no partitions of any kind, some of it dictated by the space’s construction and some of it by intent. For the past twenty+ years we’ve had a mix of private offices and cubicle-style workspaces, with the emphasis on the former, and only interns or entry level contract workers were assigned to the cubes. A generously-sized and centrally located common space is furnished with meeting tables and sofa conversation pits for informal meetings and one-on-one collaborative brainstorming, but 90% of the time, the staff are in their offices (if not stuck in the print room or art studio). Are we out of step with the funky-fun collaborative workspaces many design and creative services firms favor? Perhaps. On the other hand, our staff seems to prefer staking out their own private space and appreciates the ability to focus when challenging assignments demand concentration. After all, sometimes the best ideas aren’t born out of collaboration, but out of one talented person’s creative inspiration.
Open office environments may help to cultivate a collaborative environment. Or they can merely create a chaotic atmosphere of chatter and ambient noise. But more importantly, it’s worth remembering that work isn’t all ideation. Like it or not, the better part of the day may, in fact, be spent on implementation. It’d be fun to spend every day bouncing speculative ideas off of one another. But at some point, we actually have to execute all those brilliant notions and see if they actually work.
So, perhaps your office isn’t a rumpus room. The bullpen’s not a taco bar, and the conference area isn’t festooned with throw pillows and yoga mats. But innovative ideas will erupt in a private office, a half-walled cubicle, an open loft, en route to the restrooms, on the way home from work, or in the middle of the night. Creative people simply have a knack for making that happen. And when it does, we'll still have to roll up our sleeves and get to work executing those forward-thinking bits of inspiration.
Come to think of it, maybe that’s why they call it ‘work’ in the first place.