My group read Tom Kelley's book, The Art of Innovation. This book is about the company IDEO and the process that they take to create new products. One of the keys to being creative and innovative that Kelley pointed out is the importance of working in a great space. So at IDEO they have a very creative and energetic work space, where employees are allowed to express themselves. A couple of days after reading this section in the book, I saw a story on the news about another company that also promotes having a fun and inviting work space. The picture above is one of the desks that can be found in a Zappos office. If you don't know, Zappos is an online apparel and home goods vendor. These are the types of desks that the customer service representatives sit at as they take calls regarding customer's complaints or problems. I personally have ordered products from Zappos before, and found that I needed to call in to the customer service department with a question. I have never talked to a more friendly and helpful sales representative in my life. They were very accommodating and gave me store credit, even when they were not at fault. After connecting all of these together, I wondered if there are even more benefits to a creative work space, besides just giving the employee that environment to be more creative with new ideas. Both IDEO and Zappos employees have the freedom to decorate their space how they want, which could then make them feel more at home while at work. Is it possible that having more of an emotional connection with a workspace would make an employee more comfortable, happier, and therefore more willing to be loyal and give their best effort to the company? I also found another example of this in the Pixar movie, Monsters Inc. At the end of the movie (spoiler alert) the monsters realize that children's laughter gives more energy than a scream does. So when the monsters change their focus on getting kids to laugh, the atmosphere of the work space changes, literally. The monsters put more work into their job, because they love to be there. I'd love to hear any of your experiences or opinions that relate to this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak-jzSuYb9Y Jaimie Beazer
Monday, April 4, 2011
Work Space
My group read Tom Kelley's book, The Art of Innovation. This book is about the company IDEO and the process that they take to create new products. One of the keys to being creative and innovative that Kelley pointed out is the importance of working in a great space. So at IDEO they have a very creative and energetic work space, where employees are allowed to express themselves. A couple of days after reading this section in the book, I saw a story on the news about another company that also promotes having a fun and inviting work space. The picture above is one of the desks that can be found in a Zappos office. If you don't know, Zappos is an online apparel and home goods vendor. These are the types of desks that the customer service representatives sit at as they take calls regarding customer's complaints or problems. I personally have ordered products from Zappos before, and found that I needed to call in to the customer service department with a question. I have never talked to a more friendly and helpful sales representative in my life. They were very accommodating and gave me store credit, even when they were not at fault. After connecting all of these together, I wondered if there are even more benefits to a creative work space, besides just giving the employee that environment to be more creative with new ideas. Both IDEO and Zappos employees have the freedom to decorate their space how they want, which could then make them feel more at home while at work. Is it possible that having more of an emotional connection with a workspace would make an employee more comfortable, happier, and therefore more willing to be loyal and give their best effort to the company? I also found another example of this in the Pixar movie, Monsters Inc. At the end of the movie (spoiler alert) the monsters realize that children's laughter gives more energy than a scream does. So when the monsters change their focus on getting kids to laugh, the atmosphere of the work space changes, literally. The monsters put more work into their job, because they love to be there. I'd love to hear any of your experiences or opinions that relate to this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak-jzSuYb9Y Jaimie Beazer
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Sorry! That other link doesn't work, this one will:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak-jzSuYB9Y