“I’ve seen the future and it works”

Photo credit: Level 39 Europe's largest 'Fin/Tech accelerator', Canary Wharf, London (Gensler).

Following his participation as a panelist at two Gensler ‘The Office is Dead’ seminars at the Developing Cities Exhibition and the 100% Design Exhibition in London, Neil Usher (@workessence) returned the favour by inviting our own Philip Tidd to participate in his ‘Virtual Cuppa’ series published in December’s edition of On Office magazine.

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Superstorm Sandy and the Lessons of Mobility

For companies with mobile employees, work continues despite empty offices.

It goes without saying that Superstorm Sandy was a devastating natural disaster that will not soon be forgotten in cities on the East Coast. While the focus remains on helping those who need it most, something that cannot be overlooked is the disruption to business continuity experienced by many organizations, which simply wasn’t anticipated by most disaster recovery plans. The scenario goes like this: the building is standing, and the power is even back on, but no one can get here!

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The Challenges We Face in Open Offices

Myriad challenges arise in open work spaces.

Thanks again to the Microsoft Global Workplace Strategies (GWS) team for allowing me to share their videos about the problems that arise in open offices! Here are four more. If this is the first of my posts about their videos you’ve checked out, you might want to see this earlier post for my favorite of the videos.

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After the gold rush: a new workstyle revolution?

The Damien Hirst designed Union Jack at the closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic Games.
Photo courtesy of the Daily Mail.

The London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) should get gold themselves for organizing a showcase games in terms of planning/design/execution, sustainability and a legacy of urban regeneration. After the euphoria of Britain’s very own goldrush and stellar performances from global superstar athletes, we now return to post-Games reality in London. In time, we will see lasting benefits to the East London area as the Olympic Park physically transforms itself to become a new vibrant quarter of London, eventually to be rechristened Queen Elizabeth Park.

So what other likely Olympic legacy themes will we see emerge, post-Games? The strapline of The Games was “inspire a generation” (to participate in more sports), but what about “inspiring a (re)generation” of working styles? I believe this theme - largely unexplored until the Games themselves were upon us – has enormous potential for the Capital and other major metropolitan cities: inspiring a flexible working revolution.

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Technology has grown up...now we need to do the same

Our relationship with technology reminds me of a parent's relationship with a new child. After birth, parents marvel at the new life with wonder and amazement. Once the honeymoon period ends, they realize the child can be a bit troublesome and even has the capability to push-back. And as the child grows into a full-fledged person, parents and children evolve simultaneously and adapt on the fly.

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