Loading ...Building a Culture of Innovation. Literally.
In Tom Kelly’s excellent book—The 10 Faces of Innovation, he dedicated chapter 8 to a persona called “The set designer”:
“8. The Set Designer creates a stage on which innovation team members can do their best work, transforming physical environments into powerful tools to influence behavior and attitude. Companies such as Pixar and Industrial Light & Magic recognize that the right office environments can help nourish and sustain a creative culture. When the Cleveland Indians discovered a renewed winning ability in a brand-new stadium, they demonstrated the value of the Set Designer. Organizations that tap into the power of the Set Designer sometimes discover remarkable performance improvements that make all the space changes worthwhile.”
I found it to be one of the most inspirational chapters in the book. It does beg the question—does environment really matter? I believe the answer is yes, environment matters when it comes to creativity and innovation—and even productivity. So I’ve been thinking about our own environment—I’m not the only one. We’ve got a great group of talented and passionate “CM-er’s” here in our Chicago office that want to do some improvements. But where do you start? Well, like everything else that’s worthwhile—you start with an insight. We have a great space in Chicago, but one thing I’ve noticed is that people are either getting together in formal meeting rooms or cranking away at their desks. While the occasional gathering does happen in our “open” area—I feel like we could use some more spontaneous get-togethers where people can riff on each other’s ideas mixing ideation with socializing. Can you think of a type of space that supports this?
That’s right. The bar/stool dynamic.
(rendering used to visualize the project concept)
Anyone who has a bar setup in their home or apartment can relate to this. It’s where people magically congregate and hang out. The conversation and discussion flows naturally. So, if you look closely at the first photo, you’ll notice that we’re in the process of taking our our old receptionist desk to put in a bar with some stools. We’ll also have a bookshelf and a couple of small sofas across the room. It’s an organic effort with folks like our very own Neil Clemmons (president of strategy) building out the legs for the counter-top in his shop. Sometimes building a culture of innovation requires an innovative approach itself. In our case, we’re all pitching in somehow.
As someone who lived in NYC when back then Mayor Giuliani started his effective transformation of the city by starting small and focused (removing the “squeegee man”)—I’m hoping our little project starts a ripple effect within the office. If we build it—will they come? Stay tuned.
David,
In the 1980s, legend had it the entire Hill Holiday creative department would show up for work, then quickly relocate to Jason’s, a bar down the street. The rest of the agency knew to call them there.
Pat Fallon’s book, Juicing the Orange, credits a non-official role in most agencies (basically, the social organizer) as one well worth nurturing officially.
And there’s an old adage about building a university: If you could only build one building, make it a cafeteria where the students could hang out and teach each other.
“Social Infrastructure” (physical and personal) definitely matters.
Now, don’t forget to install a minibar.
Tim
“Now, don’t forget to install a minibar.”
We’ve already got one picked out Tim.
This post came at the right time, I am refitting my office in Beijing!
David -
Great post. We have come to similar observations about our office space here in Colorado. That is, the conference room/desk dynamic is rather limiting; something has been missing with respect to organic collaboration. We are revamping a neglected area and turning it into a creative ideation space. Perhaps most of all, the redesign has led me to think about furniture and other structures that naturally lend themselves to collaboration - an element critical to agency culture. I’ll send you “before and after” photos when we’re done.
Peyton, would love to see the before/after photos. Send them to davida@criticalmass.com