mindshift 2.0 recap of the kickoff

HELPING CLIENTS EXPERIENCE TRANSFORMATION

The Space/Performance Quest

The romance/reality gap of workplace strategy.

Why is the employee engagement needle stuck at < 30%?

Does workplace strategy need to sound like an insiders game?

Are we even asking the right questions?

Monday, June 4, 12

Measuring productivity has been the Holy Grail of workplace strategists for forty years. Twenty firms with a similar interests and concern about the workforce and workplace of the future launched an initiative to tackle these unanswered questions together.

The Chicago kick-off had a specific goal in the six hours we would be together. Is there a common sense that the current approach to workplace strategy is broken or ineffective? Do we feel the question is important enough to take a collective approach? Can we make a contribution to the dialogue or crack the code to justify our investment? What is the value of the journey to our organizations?

Six hours together allowed an engaged discussion around the disconnects between the romance of workplace strategy and its reality along with aligning on key goals and outcomes. A full discussion of mission and goals is scheduled for a future retreat if the outcome of the kick-off led to collective energy around the subject.


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Monday, June 4, 12

The movie Moneyball is the story of a quest by the general manager for the Oakland A's, Billie Beane, to challenge baseball's tradition for evaluating and putting a price tag on talent. Beane was a product of the system and gave up his Stanford scholarship to play for the NY Mets. He was touted as the next Mickey Mantel.

After two mediocre seasons with the Mets, two with the Twins and then two with the Oakland A's and it became clear to Beane that he was not cut out to play professional ball. He asked the A's organization to become a scout. Beane rose to become the General Manager for one of the cheapest owners in the game.

The movie plot centered around the Oakland As loss of three star players, Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Jason Isringhausen all at the end of 2001 in free agency to richer clubs. It seemed unlikely without comparable players that Oakland could repeat its 2001 trip to the postseason in 2002 without them.

Beane solved the problem by redefining it.

“It's all about evaluating skills and putting a price on them. Thirty years ago, stockbrokers used to buy stock strictly by feel. Let's put it this way: Anyone in the game with a 401(k) has a choice. They can choose a fund manager who manages their retirement by gut instinct, or one who chooses by research and analysis. I know which way I'd choose.”

Design and workplace strategy follows its own traditions with little predictability in results. We've followed 40 years of measuring lighting, air quality, temperature and ergonomics with little to show owners in terms of what they get for what they spend.


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20 Organizations - Similar Quest


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Renovous

Steven Elliott

Dr. Vincent Culotta


Monday, June 4, 12

Why don’t owners see the added value?

Why are practitioners frustrated by a lack of acceptance?

What is the code to the lock?

How does your journey and story lead you to this quest?


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Like Billy Beane, each person has a personal journey that attracted them to this quest. Rex Miller’s journey began as a project manager for Southwestern Bell(now AT&T) in 1978. They were one of Herman Miller’s largest users along with Texas Instruments and shared best practices. TI purchased the relatively new Ergon Chair. The purchase was justified using time/motion analysis that showed people sat in the chair an average of 6 minutes more per day providing an18 month payback. This was the first time Rex encountered the idea of furniture as a tool with a measurable payback.

In 1998 he toured the then new headquarters for Monsanto. Joseph Pereira, head of facilities, provided an extraordinary tour. This was the first facility Rex toured tying using space as a catalyst culture change. Monsanto was previously divided into three separate businesses; Agribusiness (Round Up) Food Products (Nutrasweet) and Pharmaceuticals (sleeping pill). Each had aging patents and no new innovations. Their strategy created a single platform under Life Sciences. All members became part of open plan neighborhoods. Floors and meetings spaces were themed. Within the first year of the restructure and new space 18 new patents were created.

Some of the new thinking included a collaborative effort between HOK, Fladd Architects and William Mackenna.


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In 2006 Rex pursued a longstanding frustration with the architecture and construction side of our business for ignoring new ideas. He began to ask other leaders in the industry if they felt the same frustration and received unanimous affirmation. Dick Haworth endorsed the cause and Mabel Casey became the lead champion for an industry initiative to explore why it is an uphill battle to create well-coordinated projects that serve the customer's interest. That initiative became known as Mindshift.

Mindshift included 15 industry leaders from diverse stakeholder viewpoints. The mutual frustrations rose to the surface within the first few hours of their initial meeting. The discussion looked like it might devolve into finger pointing and blame. During one tense moment one of the leaders observed that with all of the talent represented by the organizations in the room and the long list of happy clients we must be doing something right. At the same time there seems to be something about the system that drives distrust that leads to self-interest and can sometimes manifest in bad behavior.

That was the mindshift. What is it about the system that drives distrust? What would a trust-based system look like? That was the two-year journey for Mindshift.

The results of the research and the many incredibly successful case-studies using a trust-based approach were captured in the book, "The Commercial Real Estate Revolution." The book ended with an unfinished question. If there is so much waste in the process and trust-based teams can drive out significant waste, what does that mean for the people working and living in the space?

The book and the Mindshift effort also received the 2009 CoreNet Global Innovator of the Year Award.


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Participation in a 2010 industry world cafe on the current state of workplace strategy exposed that the conversation hasn’t evolved much in 40 years.

There are the insiders and then the masses and no bridge in-between. The latest and award winning book, “Design With Science,” is a pager turner for insiders and a snoozer for anyone else.

The timing for Mindshift 2.0 comes in the wake of the 2008 financial collapse and leaders hitting a wall with old thinking and practices.

Questions about the future are top of mind and there is no bigger question than what the future workforce will look like and demand.

The business pressures for performance and a large gap in engagement presents a need and opportunity not yet met.

The gap between technical studies and pop literature creates an additional need for research with sound theory but practical and accessible to business leaders.


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The aftershock of this event was Lehman Brother’s collapse on September 16th.

The stock market plunged and lost 50% of its value.

A few contrarian’s like Michael Burry were undistracted by the emotion, hype and trends. They saw fundamental fractures in the financial foundation and took steps to take advantage of a predicted collapse. With instruments like Credit Default Swaps Michael Burry increased the value of this hedge fund 1000 fold.

The potential lessons offer a deeper look at the fundamentals of work trends and getting a handle on the implications of a New Normal.

• What will companies do with a large surplus of office space?

• What will the office landscape look like after organizations re-examine what they really need?

• Could there really be a reduction of up to 50% of the current office footprint in the next 10 years?

• What is the new social contract between organizations and their employees?

• How do firms recruit and retain employees in this new and unpredictable environment?


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Monday, June 4, 12

Eras of Rule’s Change

AncientKingsPositionEldersAgriculture

Oral Age Print Age

Modern Era Elected Credentials Experts Factory

Prin%ng Press1455

CRISIS

Television1950

Broadcast Age

ContemporyVisionariesAppealInfluentialsService

CRISIS

Internet1992

Digital Age

Post ModernGrass RootsCommunityCreativesFederation

CRISISAuthority

CredentialsInfluenceCommerce


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Management Philosophy and Workplace Strategy

The thinking behind workplace strategy that emerged in the 1970s has peaked and is losing its relevance within the context of the new world of work.

New approaches and styles of work are emerging. These are challenging both our understanding of organizing this work and it is challenging the work spaces we’re designing

We’ve reached the end and are witnessing the domino failure of industrial era designed organizations, hierarchical structures, large bureaucracies and command and control management. At the same time we do not fully understand, have the skills or possess the instincts for structures, roles and processes that are best fit for a complex, fluid and unpredictable environment.


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By 2018, one building project away, there will be a power shift from Boomers to Millennials.

Boomers hold the controls but Millennials know the new operating system.

The immigrants are in charge of the natives.


Monday, June 4, 12

Four generations work side-by-side in the workplace for the first time in history. This adds a new level of complexity to our understanding of generational differences. Distinct markers between generations no longer provide simple solutions. The compression of these generations with the emergence of dramatic technological shifts blurs the lines. This requires a new approach.

Silent Generation (1925–1942)Baby Boomer (1943–1960)Generation X (1961–1981)Generation Y (1982–2001)

There is the print cohort made up primarily of older Boomers. There is the broadcast cohort made up of latter Boomers, GenXrs and early Millennials. Finally, there are the digital natives made up of late Millennials and the next-gen cohorts. Each cohort’s brains are actually wired differently.

The print cohort use their left side of the brain more: linear, rational, sequential, black & white, clear categories, clear roles, hierarchy...

The broadcast cohort: right side - expressive, big picture, entrepreneurial, marketing (image oriented), visionary leadership.

The digital cohort: multi-modal/multi-sensory - bi-lateral. This cohort will be intuitively system’s thinkers, collaborative, tribal, innovative, highly-engaged (when interested)


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What does it mean to have a globe of mobile knowledge workers?

(a new cohort begins - 2007)


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Unpacking the new approaches to creativity and innovation.

Johah Lerher’s book, “Imagine”

Innovation finds new answers to current questions.

A Paradigm Shift poses new questions to current answers.


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The Mindshift 2.0 Mix of Thinking

• Neuro-psychology• Decision Economics• Behavior Economics• Sports Economics• Lean Practices• Futurist• Infographics• Biomimicry• Ethnographics• Equity Capital• Real Estate Development

• Business Owners • Landlords• Architecture• Workplace Strategy• Manufacturing• Branded Environments• Change Leadership• Organizational Culture• Technology• Information Modeling

Participants who bring alternative perspectives around the issues of : Performance, Value and Metrics


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5 Big Rocks - Guiding Principles

Thinking Different

Creating Fresh Perspective

Seeing Results

A Focus on the Human Experience

Capturing the Essence of Change


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Monday, June 4, 12

Question for Our First Offsite

What is the core belief or idea that will bind us together, create an epidemic movement and bring about Transformational Change?

If less than 30% of the workforce is engaged in their work and the current domain of workplace strategy has not moved the needle over the past decade – then maybe we’re asking the wrong questions.

If we instinctively believe that the places we occupy effect how we live and work – yet little progress has been made in creating the kinds of places we would readily chose to go to, then perhaps we’re missing some key component.

If the way we work has radically changed and yet we’re still using concepts from the 1980s like hoteling and collaboration spaces – are our solutions current and relevant?

Are we similar to the scouts in Moneyball whose tradition, language and culture insulated them from recognizing just how dramatically the world and their sport had changed?


Monday, June 4, 12

A Review of the 5 Organizing Principles:Thinking Different

Creating a Fresh Perspective –New Ideas

Seeing Results

Human Experience

Essence of Change


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CORE IDEA:Thinking Different

How do we build room for divergent thinking into our process?

Where can we make new thoughts and new connections part of our strategy?

Can we learn to play? Can we get in touch with our “deviant side?”


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Thinking Different

Learning Process Radically different thinking

New thoughts & new connections

Very different thinking - new ideas

MappingBeing with people that are interested in making a difference

Help our customers think differently

Increase resources throughout the thinking chain

Getting to know more deviants

Thinking outside the box

Being with new people who see things differently

Pattern recognition

What are the real elements of great space?

What is the problem?

Divergent then convergent thinking

A brand perspective (outside/in)

What does the gaming industry have to teach us?

Insane simplicity Moving away from the obvious

Confirming 30 years of trying to solve a complex problem

How can this be applied outside the office?

Make if fun!Will virtual buildings replace built buildings

I am not nuts

Applied process design


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CORE IDEA:Creating a Fresh Perspective – New Ideas

Push ourselves to ask, “is there another way?”

Create the opportunity for exposure to varied thinking

Practice and teach the art of productive failure and risk

Making the complex simple, again.


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Creating a Fresh PerspectiveBecause it really can be better

Meet new people

Broader understanding

Learning something new Perspective

Add to the body of knowledge

Assemble multiple ideas to create new connections

Listening/debating to doing

How to engage an enterprise to reach their goal?

Increase my toolbox with new perspectives

Seeing the same thing differently

Listening and understanding occupants and bring them into the process

Innovation Relationships and networks

Ecological literacy

New Connections

What if no one wants to come into the office anymore?

Opportunity to create breakthroughs by exposure to varied thinking

The art of failure

Meeting bright people

Collaboration with a super talented team

New thinking about the principles with the hope of actionable solutions

Effective Interaction Collaboration

What do workers really want with their space?

Why do we need a workplace in the first place?

Play

Will millennials evolve these spaces organically?

Decision economics applied to behavior

Why is the day 8 to 5?

How do we improve the process for creating a great workplace?

Integrated processes

Collaboration skills for sticky decisions

Creativity and innovation

Cradle to cradle thinking


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CORE IDEA:Seeing Results

Find a way to turn our ideas into proof of concept

Experiment on ourselves

Finding the link between design and proven performance

Develop and showcase an evaluation system beyond ROI

What are the new value metrics of the new normal?


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Seeing ResultsA believable and clear business case

Understand “place” and how to improve it

Admit Boomers won’t solve every issue.

Integrative thinking

Articulating what others can’t

Crack the code for business leaders

Can the R/E market deliver value?

We are able to demonstrate results!

Where does space rank for influencingperformance?

Can the for-profit R/E market get passed one use of capital?

Just plain lucky to be contributing to real workplace change

To reach business leaders to help them see the power of place

How do you measure and quantify this?

Can we understand how everyone in the chain makes money?

Employer’s perceptions of what employees should be doing?

Move ideas to action

Get to the “C” suite for support and funding.

Positive outcome. Client buy-in.

Should we by ask owners how they measure success?

Focus on what matters.

Financial Analysis

Land use analysis using ESRI

Business areas: Admin and Mgt.

To lower the # of people that hate their job.

Energy consumption

To see a dramatic spike in sustainable buildings and behavior.

Helping our industry demonstrate impact.

How will THIS work drive business results?

What REALLY drives workplace performance?

What does the C-suite really care about?

Is ROI reductive when we need to look at adaptive criteria?

An outcome that makes a difference in the built environment.

To understand the real purpose.

Belief that it (mindshift) is possible

Taking the results out of THIS room.

What hasn’t the green message broken through to building owners?

Enhancing the message by tying data to positive outcomes

How can you connect a global organization?

Increased productivity with happy people.

How does design become intelligence for business?

Offer proof that is easy for decision makers

Business improves when employees touch with the real world.


Monday, June 4, 12

CORE IDEA:Human Experience

Celebrate work and life

We have a passion for creating great spaces and experiences–earn it a place in the workplace discussion!

Doing what you love in a place you love as the goal for the new workforce

Redefining the age range for work


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Human ExperienceWe have fun in the process

I’m passionate about helping create great spaces!

Youth - experts in technology’s use for social interaction

Passion, experience and desire to transform place

Having a day “off” To celebrate work!We need to get the millennial perspective!

Cultural anthropology

Jazz Music Ethnology - “A day in the life...”

Freak-A-Nomics: What motivates people?

How does place contribute to “meaning” in one’s life?

Relationship of kindergarten to the office environment?

Learn from college campus life.

Pursue your passion - advice to the young

How can our built environment celebrate work?

Laughter We create a marketable product Social psychology

Stress How do we resist technology slavery?

How do you embody the non-physical people issues in the physical workplace?

Helping create great space for people.

Hope Consumer behaviorSelf-Awareness

Behavior Economics

Culture

Why do behavior economics matter?


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CORE IDEA:Essence of Change

Strategize and design for the better future and new workforce

Seek to change the way work and workplace are defined

Connect workplace design to the future of work culture

What is the fractal nature of the workplace and the next anticipated transition?


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Addressing the Essence of Change

What if we’re designing a solution for a dinosaur?

To transform work Change the world a little for the better

To be part of something that can be a huge game-changer

I refuse to accept mediocrity and this effort is committed to a better future

One year after, the documentary of actual shifted minds

To help shift the field to be valued and valuable to society

An opportunity to make a difference

Changing the way work is defined

How do we transition support the future workforce + changing global perspective?

Practicing the Moneyball philosophy

Cultural transformation

Having a method to articulate and persuade others

Can space/place drive the innovation engine for organizations?

To learn and contribute to the pursuit of holistic buildings...

Appreciate the potential that mindshift hold for the marketplace

Grape growing and wine making

The pilgrims on the journey to the mindshift

How to align the all of the players that affect the workplace?

How can we connect space to culture?

Transfer our knowledge to the next generation so they don’t make the same mistake

In an increasingly digital world how do we facilitate social storytelling?

How can we eliminate the work/life line without becoming a slave...

How can architects change their pricing model (it is NOT working)?

How does life stage impact perceptions of space?


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We will identify and prioritize the buckets of interest each member has in the Mission of Mindshift 2.0.

What buckets are important to you?


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Questions Raised


Monday, June 4, 12

Summarizing Thoughts


Monday, June 4, 12

This list of take-aways captures some of the thinking form the group at the end of the day. The group was able to cover a lot of ground with candor - more than expected. People noted just how diverse the group was and that would contribute to thinking outside our normal confines. We stand a chance of not becoming the proverbial blind man describing an elephant.

There was a willingness to wrestle with complicated, gnarly, issues while acknowledging that we are looking at this topic through a foggy lens.

"It is possible to prepare for the future without knowing what it will be. The primary way to prepare for the unknown is to attend to the quality of our relationships, to how well we know and trust one another." Margaret Wheatley


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Going forward we still need to define the problem, find a venue that supports our desire to think outside the box and from diverse angle. We asked how to bring in other generational angles and need to include owners in our next conversation. We were still focused on commercial real estate and the desire is to broaden the discussion.

The consensus was the time in Chicago was a good start and ended with a commitment to take the next step to attach the current maze of issues we began to uncover.


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The Razor’s Edge

•In any organization or community fundamental change can happen quickly, when the beliefs and energies of a critical mass of people create an epidemic movement toward an idea.

•The key to unlocking an epidemic idea is concentration not diffusion.


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The Leadership Crucible

An epidemic idea or belief is not a technique but a fundamental attitude the leader embodies.

It’s the leader’s attitude that prevails over other competing beliefs, fluctuating anxiety, acute and chronic challenges.

It’s the calm stable presence of the leader that creates the holding environment where the transformational work can be done.

The “holding environment” is the crucible where transformation takes place.


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Moving Forward

• 1st Offsite - Walking Through the Maze

• 2nd Offsite - Gathering the Research, Identifying the Early Adopters

• 3rd Offsite - M2.0 Showcase - Invite the Subject Matter Experts

To gain a customer’s eye view by walking through the maze of issues, challenges, approaches and tools that owners are confronted with when they take on the task of addressing workplace strategy or design.

To discover who is breaking the rules but getting great results. Identify the common principles in their practice and the different tools they deploy.

To provide a “TED” style gathering of some of the top experts in the field to hear their latest thinking, hopes and frustrations as they continue to find ways to help companies provide engaging places to work.


Monday, June 4, 12

Renovous

Steven Elliott

Dr. Vincent Culotta


Monday, June 4, 12