Good is the enemy of great

I’ve noticed that too many of the offices I go into these days are just, well…there. They’re not offensive, or weird, or ugly, it’s just that so many of them seem like wasted opportunities. Clearly someone had to select, approve, and pay for the “design”. So why does so much of it seem so utterly uninspired? Does no one care? Doesn’t anyone think about how important it is?

Here’s what I’m talking about. This furniture isn’t terrible. It’s functional. And uninspiring.

I have no idea what this office does, but it feels like it was inspired by the former East German Police’s interrogation rooms.

And I know cubicles are, theoretically, a wonderful way to maximize space utlitization, but do the colors have to be so unremittingly dull? It’s kind of sad that someone felt compelled to enliven his or her workspace with a fuschia coat hanger.

When the United States was a manufacturing economy, offices really didn’t matter so much. What counted was the factory where we actually made things. But today, we’re moving (faster in some areas, slowly in others) to an information economy, where success will be determined by the quality of ideas. How do the buyers of the “designs” I’ve mentioned above think their choices will inspire their employees? Or do they not really even think about it?

Thousands of corporate “mission statements” crow about how “our employees are our most important asset”, and then ignore the reality of the spaces they work in. If your company’s assets take the elevator down every evening, shouldn’t you pay a little more attention to keeping those assets happy and inspired?

If you’ve ever worked in a dull, we-don’t-care-about-our-employees kind of place, let me know. And if you can include a photo to illustrate your message, all the better.