What’s that SMELL????? Surviving lunch in the open office…  
07.11.2012
Gervais Tompkin in Consulting, Consulting, San Francisco, Workplace Design

How many change managers does it take to tell you your lunch stinks? A hundred? A thousand? The answer is none, because it’s not about your lunch or my lunch. It feels like a lecture about what other people do. My homemade fermented sauerkraut never smells.

Martha Clarkson at Microsoft recently shared some of their protocol videos with me. These videos upped my happiness score for a whole week! I asked Martha if the Microsoft GWS (Global Workplace Strategy) team would be willing to share their videos with others…and she said yes!

Here’s the one with the stinky lunch…

I couple of weeks ago my wife and I went to see some comedy. The performance reminded me how important it is to laugh about the awkward moments and the things we are afraid to address. It helps us cope and move forward. These mockumetries have the power to do just that.

And stay tuned because in the coming weeks I will post more videos from Microsoft GWS’s Workplace series and discuss their implications for the future of the workplace.

Gervais Tompkin
Gervais Tompkin chooses to be optimistic. He thrives on collaborations with others and is more likely to diagram it than talk about it. His practice as a leader of Gensler’s consulting practice allows him to work with interesting people on worthy problems globally. Contact him at gervais_tompkin@gensler.com.
Article originally appeared on architecture and design (http://www.gensleron.com/).
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