More about the Office, Watering Holes and Campfires

We’d planned where the desks and stuff will go, then I read an article on PSFK about “long table agencies.”. Malcolm Gladwell goes into more detail, stating offices should be like Hudson Street in Greenwich Village. Our space is pretty small, and David and I will be sitting right next to each other, so these ideas may not apply yet. But the idea of creating an environment where people can easily collaborate, share and always do better will be the basis of office organization.

While I don’t believe we’ll have champagne fountains, I know we don’t plan on having any meeting rooms or conference tables. When I attended thinkAbout in September, there was a presentation given by a couple cultural anthropologists. One thing they talked about has stuck with me… the idea of watering holes and campfires.

At a watering hole, there’s a hierarchy of animals… you’ve got your lions, then maybe your hyenas, then antelopes, then rabbits… there’s predator and prey. This is the way many meeting rooms are set up. The table is the watering hole, and the “animals” gather around it. There’s a hierarchy, from the client to the president to the account exec to the project manager to the designer… or whatever your hierarchy is. And if you’re old, injured or sick, you’ll probably end up as dinner. So people sit quietly; they don’t want to attract the lion’s attention. And if you don’t like what the lion has to say, go find water somewhere else.

Campfires are different. At a campfire, people gather around to hear stories. There are storytellers, audiences, and everyone can share their ideas and thoughts. They’re engaging experiences; everyone participates.

While our space is pretty small, we could have a conference table if we wanted. But we don’t want to put in a watering hole. We’re going to have a campfire. The best plans aren’t devised in meetings, they’re created through conversations, a shared passion and wanting to tell a story. You don’t get that at a watering hole. (We may, however put in a beer hole.)

Now… pics of progress:

ps. Several people have commented on the similarity of the condition of the office to my home improvement blog… apparently I have a thing for spaces that need a lot of work.