The Office Chronicles

In the first part of this three-part special, Kursty and Sabine recap their experience at the LEGO Workplace Symposium in Billund, Denmark. The symposium focused on key issues in workplace design and experience. It was organized by the Ways of Working team and was attended by several corporate giants including Microsoft, Netflix, Unilever, Spotify, Ikea, and Booking.com.Kursty and Sabine share what it was like to visit LEGO’s brand new campus for the first time, how the symposium was structured, and the different topics that were brought up for discussion. They even share unusual informal events that went on - like a cookout! In fact, it is those informal moments that were a game-changer during the event. They helped cultivate an atmosphere of trust making people feel that they can let their guards down, confide in one another, and have deeper conversations in a safe environment. So, if you’re curious about how work and play merge in a conference setting - this episode will tell you how the champions of play thoughtfully design an experience like this. “For the whole 3 days so much thought was put into the informal parts and I feel those parts were actually the crucial elements to get everybody comfortable.” - Sabine EhmSupport the showTimestamps[00:30] Podcast field trip: what went on in the LEGO Workplace Symposium? [02:17] First impressions of the brand new LEGO campus in Billund, Denmark[04:25] Who was at the LEGO Workplace Symposium 2022?[06:42] How the informal aspects of the symposium made the biggest difference[08:50] What was in the LEGO goodie bags? [09:42] Why does LEGO have a space for ex-employees in their headquarters? [12:46] What went on throughout the day? What hot topics were discussed?Here are the hot topics we’ll be discussing in parts 2 and 3 of this special: Why do we do hybrid work? What’s wrong with hybrid work? How do you assign space without assigning space? What are purposeful meanings really like? You won’t want to miss these episodes. Links The Workplace Leader PodcastConnect with Kursty Groves: LinkedIn | Twitter | Ask a question or pitch an idea: kursty@shapeworklife.com Support the showSupport the showFollow The Office Chronicles Linkedin page for more information, to share an idea for an episode or start a conversation around any f the topics covered in the show.

Scott Witthoft joins Kursty to discuss how we are becoming more intentional with how we use and divide physical and digital spaces. They explore many thought-provoking questions like: why do some things work in some places and not work in others? Are in-person meetings and activities catalysts for progress? And why are some office spaces abandoned?Scott and Kursty explore how the pandemic helped us refine our improvisational skills; we've effectively become designers who create experiences between physical and digital spaces and now have to be more intentional about how we show up digitally versus physically and what we do in each space. Scott Witthoft is an educator, designer, and author. He is a co-designer of Stanford University’s d.school’s space and the author of Make Space. He is currently an Associate Professor of Practice at the University of Texas at Austin School of Design.“These virtual tools are amazing tools that I can now use in lots of different ways and I can now be intentional about what it means to be in-person when I’m in-person” - Scott WitthoftSupport the showTimestamps[00:52] Who is Scott Witthoft (and episode overview)? [06:09] What is Scott currently working on? [08:50] Are successful solutions context-agnostic?[12:25] Building spaces that trigger specific behaviours. [20:00] Abandoned spaces and what happens when people use new spaces. [28:15] How remote work can create more meaningful in-person meetings. [35:44] Everyone is a designer juggling physical and digital spaces[44:31] Do in-person activities catalyse progress? [46:18] Redesigning rituals for what it means to be with people4 Key TakeawaysIf something works in one context, there is no guarantee that the same solution would work in a different context. You can’t just lift and shift. You can use successful solutions as prototypes rather than blindly implementing them without adjusting them for context.Environments have to support the goal or behaviour you want to achieve. You have to ask yourself, “What behaviour am I trying to encourage?” and build a space that triggers that behaviour.Designing spaces goes way beyond the physical. You are not just designing to trigger certain behaviours, but designing the invitation for people to use the space a certain way. Our numerous constraints over the past few years have allowed us to explore and develop our improvisational qualities. Links Make Space: How to Set the Stage for Creative Collaboration by Scott Witthoft and Scott DoorleyThis Is a Prototype: The Curious Craft of Exploring New Ideas by Scott Witthoft and Stanford d.schoolConnect with Scott Witthoft: Twitter Connect with Kursty Groves: LinkedIn | Twitter | Ask a question or pitch an idea: kursty@shapeworklife.com Support the showSupport the showFollow The Office Chronicles Linkedin page for more information, to share an idea for an episode or start a conversation around any f the topics covered in the show.

Jason Fried joins Kursty to share wisdom on how he runs a fully remote company by simplifying things and focusing on what matters. They explore where deep work happens, how to create space for it, why rigid workplace rules can kill passion and create distractions, and why companies that want to run remotely need to adopt a new mindset. Jason Fried is the co-founder of Basecamp and has been running the company for 23 years. He is a monthly columnist at Inc. Magazine and has authored several books, including Rework and Remote: Office Not Required.“A lot of work doesn’t happen in the office. A lot of distractions happen in the office. We get in each other’s way all the time.” - Jason FriedSupport the showTimestamps[01:13] Who is Jason Fried? [04:16] How did Jason grow Basecamp?[06:32] Where do people do their best work?[09:28] How to create the space to do great work.[13:44] Why don’t people have the space to do great work? [17:58] Why remote work requires a different mindset from physical work.[22:32] 40-hour week: how much can you get done in 8 hours?[25:34] Balancing work life and home life when working remotely. [29:02]  What if employees abuse our generosity or trust?[34:18] Organisational culture is NOT created.[36:47] How to stay social when your company is fully remote (expensive but not frivolous).[41:01] JOMO - The joy of missing out.[43:25] Creating great and safe digital workspaces. [47:24] How to stay in touch with Jason Fried4 Key TakeawaysPeople need space to do great work. When space is restricted by workplace rules, people aren’t able to fulfil their potential. Restrictions include being monitored or watched, not being able to move while working, and being forced to work in specific places or at specific times. Remote work requires a different mindset from local work. Among many other aspects, it requires more trust, fewer meetings, more individual work, and less oversight. If companies don’t adopt a different mindset governing remote work, it may be worse than physical work.Being driven by philosophies rather than rules can make organisations more flexible and adaptable. It creates a more open, lenient, and thoughtful culture and more space for agency and openness.  Culture is not created; it's a byproduct of consistent behaviour. Links Why Work Does not Happen at Work: Jason Fried at TEDxMidwestBooks by Jason Fried: AmazonJason’s new email service: HeyConnect with Jason Fried: Newsletter | LinkedIn | TwitterConnect with Kursty Groves: LinkedIn | Twitter | Ask a questionSupport the showSupport the showFollow The Office Chronicles Linkedin page for more information, to share an idea for an episode or start a conversation around any f the topics covered in the show.

Trend forecaster Li Edelkoort joins Kursty to discuss the anatomy of trends, the ecology of fashion, and the post-pandemic workplace. Reflecting on the state of the world, Li discusses how to redesign the modern workplace to respond to new and upcoming trends. She explores how the pandemic has made us more in tune with nature and the good things that have come of it. Throughout the discussion, Li shares nuggets of wisdom, showing us how trends that haven’t yet reached the main stage are currently being formed.Li Edelkoort is a globally renowned trend forecaster and activist for fair, sustainable, and thoughtful fashion. She is the author of the Anti-Fashion Manifesto and a co-author of A Labour of Love. Recently, she founded the World Hope Forum.  Support the show[00:49] Who is Li Edelkoort? [01:43] The Workplace Geeks Podcast[02:28] More about Li’s impact on eco and fashion issues. [04:22] Where do your clothes come from? [07:40] The energy of immobile items and all the ideas that have shaped Li’s career. [12:05] Getting clients that align with your values. [14:28] Fashion has become old-fashioned - what does that mean? [20:01] The disappearing joy of finding a new fashion piece. [22:39] Would slavery have existed if cotton and sugar didn’t exist?[25:57] How to predict trends before they happen. [30:52] How the pandemic pushed us to live in a more seasonal way (winter hibernation). [34:05] How organizations can adapt to post-pandemic realities. [37:50] Why it’s profitable to be in smaller cities. [39:39] A simpler way to think about money and managing resources.4 Key TakeawaysWe are rooted in the earth. Our clothes are made from plants that grow in the ground. Fashion grows from the earth. We must ignite our consciousness of the connection between fashion and the environment. Society has been overloaded with shopping. There is too much choice, and that choice is overwhelming. The joy of finding a new fashion piece and celebrating when you purchase it and then go home with it is no longer as prevalent as it used to be. As mass production increases, editing and curating will become more important parts of fashion. The 'Great Resignation' movement amplified what was already in the air. This new trend may indicate that urban environments will become less populous as people move into rural areas. This may lead to the urbanisation of rural areas. The pandemic has forced us to live more in tune with the seasons. Winter is for introspection, solitude, and hibernation. Summer and spring are for blooming into the world, exploration, and togetherness. Links Listen to Workplace Geeks: Podcast Web Page | Kursty’s Episode on Workplace GeeksBooks by William Morris: Amazon | Thrift BooksWorld Hope Forum: WebsiteConnect with Li Edelkoort: Website | Support the showSupport the showFollow The Office Chronicles Linkedin page for more information, to share an idea for an episode or start a conversation around any f the topics covered in the show.

Interview with Ian Ellison and Chris Moriarty, two brilliant workplace thinkers 'on a mission to find and celebrate the most exciting and inspiring workplace research in the world'. A fascinating geek-out into Kursty's second book, Spaces for Innovation, which dives into the science and design of inspiring environments that support creativity and collaboration.Some of the topics covered include:📖 How the book itself is designed with the user in mind💡 The core themes for defining spaces that support creativity and innovation📏 Metrics, how they need to accommodate new ways of working and the spaces that supportLinks:Workplace Geeks Linkedin Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/workplacegeeks/Chris Moriarty LinkedinIan Ellison LinkedinSupport the showSupport the showFollow The Office Chronicles Linkedin page for more information, to share an idea for an episode or start a conversation around any f the topics covered in the show.

Summary Expert author Rachel Botsman joins Kursty to discuss the relationship between trust and space. They talk about how significant it is for organisations to empower individuals to have a rhythm of work that sends them into immersion mode, why getting through to-do lists shouldn’t be the most prized priority in the workplace, and what negative capability is. Rachel is the author of Who Can You Trust and the host of the Rethink Podcast. Throughout her career, she has delivered three TED talks and written two critically acclaimed books. She is the first Trust Fellow at Oxford University. Her book What’s Mine Is Yours predicted the rise of the ‘sharing economy', coining the phrase ‘collaborative consumption'.“What you give attention to is the shape of your life” - Rachel BotsmanSupport the showTimestamps[00:18] Who is Rachel Botsman (and episode overview)?[03:54] The rhythm of unconventional work: finding immersion and working in 5-year cycles[07:39] Resisting distractions and staying the course in your line of work.  [08:44]  The relationship between trust and digital and physical space.[15:22] Fake backgrounds in virtual meetings: is it inauthentic?[16:44] What does it mean to trust yourself (and what is negative capability)?[21:50] Three aspects of building negative capability in yourself and your organisations. [27:01] How busy people make time for people (how Rachel does it).[30:33] Rachel’s process for reading, reflecting, and capturing information. [34:33] Why time blocking doesn’t work (managing competing priorities and creating space). [37:23] Procrastination vs. avoidance (why we avoid work).[40:44] What Rachel is working on currently.[44:37] Rachel’s rituals when public speaking or podcasting.  4 Key TakeawaysTechnology has made the world noisier. It has become harder to resist distractions. People need to be empowered to change the rhythm of their work to allow for immersion. Trust is a space and an energy. It is a confident relationship with the unknown. When you have trust, you place your confidence in the unknown.  Space design reflects the culture of trust in that space.No creativity happens in the known; the known is the opposite of invention. Great minds can hold space in themselves; they don’t need to know the end result before they begin. Negative capability in the workplace is rare.Timeframes, language, and work rhythms can reinforce or kill negative capability in individuals and organisations. Rachel Botsman’s Books: Who Can You Trust? What's Mine Is Yours Rachel Botsman’s Ted Talks: We've stopped trusting institutions and started trusting strangers The currency of the new economy is trustThe case for collaborative consumptionSupport the showSupport the showFollow The Office Chronicles Linkedin page for more information, to share an idea for an episode or start a conversation around any f the topics covered in the show.

Summary Workplace strategist Neil Usher joins Kursty to discuss the nuances of navigating hybrid work, brain states that trigger creativity, and the research opportunities we missed in the pre-pandemic world. In their conversation, they accentuate that what makes hybrid working complicated is not just the space aspect but the time aspect as well.  They chat about self-imposing discipline, internally inspiring creativity, and managing time and space when you work from home. Neil Usher is the Chief Workplace & Change Strategist at GoSpace AI. He has 20+ years of experience managing property portfolios and large-scale organizational change. He is the author of the two books The Elemental Workplace: The 12 Elements for Creating a Fantastic Workplace for Everyone and Elemental Change: Making stuff happen when nothing stands still. Support the showTimestamps[00:41] Who is Neil Usher from Go Space AI? (and highlights from the conversation with Neil)[05:36] Why Neil wrote his two books Elemental Workplace and Elemental Change. [08:54] Why coordinating time is more challenging than coordinating space in the hybrid working world. [15:45] Is there more value to working alone or working together?[25:00] How has the pandemic changed the 12 elements of the workplace?[28:52] The value of your unpublished work (don’t throw it away)[32:32] How to leverage your two brain states (beta state and theta state)[39:18] Self imposing discipline when you work from home[43:24] How to connect with Neil Usher.  3 Key TakeawaysTime is more complicated than space. Before the pandemic, you knew where your colleagues would be at any point in time. Now, you need to make more decisions like where you will be at which point in time and where people you work closely with will be as well. Flexibility adds complexity and adds a mental burden. There is a value to being alone and a value to being together.  We instinctively feel that there’s value to being together, but we didn’t use the decades of opportunity we had to explore the value of being together in a scientific way. We have a lot more data on the value of working alone from the past 2 years because we consciously looked for it. We need a dynamic data capture to accurately understand how we work best.Inclusion has become one of the most important elements of the workplace. The pandemic has shed light on the range of considerations we need to keep in mind when we think of inclusion. Links The Elemental Workplace: 12 Elements for Creating a Fantastic Workplace for AllElemental Change: Making stuff happen when nothing stands stillConnect with Neil Usher: LinkedIn | Twitter Connect with Kursty Groves: LinkedIn | Twitter | Ask a question or pitch an idea: kursty@shapeworklife.com Support the showSupport the showFollow The Office Chronicles Linkedin page for more information, to share an idea for an episode or start a conversation around any f the topics covered in the show.

Summary Best-selling author Julia Hobsbawm joins Kursty to discuss her new book The Nowhere Office. In their discussion, they discuss how workplaces need to shift to embrace social health, how they can be a source of wellness, what managers need to do to overcome the 'Great Resignation', and the biggest powershift in the workplace. Since Covid, people have strongly insisted on a genuine work-life balance. Organizations that don’t understand this desire are losing out to the great resignation. Those who do understand this fundamental mindset shift are now in the process of becoming forever changed. Tune in for a deep dive into what organizations must do to stay relevant, productive, and desirable. Julia Hobsbawm is the author of The Nowhere Office. She is also the author of five other highly acclaimed books and is the founder of Editorial Intelligence. Julia has been awarded an OBE for her services to businesses. Support the show Timestamps[00:21] What is Space Matters about?[00:47] Who is Julia Hobsbawm (Author of The Nowhere Office). [03:51] Do you feel like you’re in a Nowhere Office? [05:30] Writing the book while dealing with heavy personal issues. [07:36] Two key approaches have shaped The Nowhere Office's ideas. [09:44]  6 ways our work landscape is permanently changing (and why the workplace will never return to pre-covid ways). [12:16] What if work was a source of well-being (instead of stress and confusion)?[16:02] The unreasonable expectations placed on HR departments. [20:00] The biggest post-covid powershift in the workplace (and how to navigate hybrid working schedules). [27:37] Where is The Nowhere Office (how physical workplaces are changing forever)? [31:26] The great resignation: what managers MUST change to attract top talent.[35:10] What’s next for Julia Hobsbawm (book launch, pilates, and what she did with her office)? 5 Key TakeawaysWork is shifting in 6 significant spheres. These are (1) time and place, (2) identity, (3) purpose and productivity, (4) the way we network, (5) management and leadership, and (6) wellness and wellbeing.  The workplace shouldn’t limit itself to providing mental health support for people who seek it. Rather, work should be a source of well-being in itself. Some workplaces can be a source of unreasonable expectations, elitism, and confusion. HR departments usually have a huge mandate that keeps them busy. Paradoxically, they are awarded too little agency to do it well. A significant result of the pandemic is a power shift between managers and employees. Knowledge workers have amassed much larger negotiating power than pre-COVID. This is particularly evident when negotiating remote working schedules and work preferences. The idea of an office filled all the time with a particular number of people is now an outdated, unproductive, and undesirable idea.  Organizations that want to remain relevant and attract top talent must shift their policies to keep up.Links The Nowhere Office by Julia HobsbawmConnect with Julia Hobsbawm:  Website</&lSupport the showSupport the showFollow The Office Chronicles Linkedin page for more information, to share an idea for an episode or start a conversation around any f the topics covered in the show.

Adding to the inspiring leaders in well-known organizations who share what they're doing and how they're implementing new ways of working, including hybrid, we'll look beyond physical space. We'll explore my hypothesis is that there are three further types of space that impact how we think, feel, behave and interact in order to do our best work: digital space, social space and  cognitive space.Embarking on a year-long journey of exploration, Kursty will be speaking with experts from the worlds of psychology. Neuroscience, organizational development, tech, architecture, and design to understand whether and how space matters in all of these different areas for high performance work. Support the showFollow The Office Chronicles Linkedin page for more information, to share an idea for an episode or start a conversation around any f the topics covered in the show.

Interview with Sabine Ehm of Locatee, and host of The Workplace Leader.We dig into what makes inspiring work environments and touch upon some of the misconceptions around creativity and collaboration:❗Collaboration does not equal everybody together all the time. ❗Creativity does not equal bright colours and post its everywhere. A thing will not make you or your people creative. So, for instance you cannot install a foosball table and then expect creativity to happen. It is much more important to understand the fundamental human elements that support creativity like ☀️ natural light, 🌳 exposure to nature and🏃 movement.Support the showFollow The Office Chronicles Linkedin page for more information, to share an idea for an episode or start a conversation around any f the topics covered in the show.