by Brad Powell

3.28.11 | If you don’t read Steelcase’s 360º publication, take a look at it. I has some very important and interesting information about interior spaces. (360.steelcase.com) The site has a variety of information in addition to the 360ºmagazine, including White Papers and case studies. Recent White Papers include:
>New-Gen workers in India & China: Reshaping Their Workplaces & the World
>How the Workplace Fosters Innovation
>Brand, Culture and the Workplace
and much more.

Those who follow 360º know that Steelcase has begun webcasting some of its features. On March 18, we tuned into its latest offering, a panel discussion: How can educators prepare students to lead in today's interconnected world?Reena Jana, an innovation expert and journalist, moderated the the Steelcase 360 panel comprising Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management,Daniel Pink, bestselling author on the changing world of work, and Jim Keane, president of Steelcase Group.

JIM KEANE

ROGER MARTIN

DANIEL PINK

A little background on the panel may be helpful, recognizing that the content may be better understood in the context of its source. Dean Martin, the only professional educator in the group, is one of the few commentators on the subject of “design thinking” who make sense, perhaps because he is speaking from personal experience. Rather than a simplistic “we need a world of creative, right-brain types,” his position on design thinking is in line with the studied areas of reasoning – deduction (analysis), induction (synthesis) and abduction (conclusions or suggestions based on a minimum of information, intuition or a hunch) – and is thus tethered to reality rather than pure fanciful thinking.

Mr. Keane has a very strong quantitative background, but has the same curiosity and conceptual bent as his boss, Jim Hackett, Steelcase’s CEO, something that has keep Steelcase unquestionably in the forefront of thought-leadership in the interiors industry. Communication, collaboration, multi-disciplinary thinking were all pursued and implemented by Steelcase long before they became widely popular, as evidenced by its acquisitions of IDEO(of which Steelcase retains a minority interest) and Polyvision and its applied research activities.

Mr. Pink, trained as a lawyer, is a popularizer of certain themes in social science such as design/right-brain thinking and motivation. (A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future (2006 ) and Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (2009). Not apparently an expert in any of these areas, his work provides and exposure to important research and concepts that, although well established, have not been popularly adopted by mainstream business. This is very good, but his thinking has to be viewed circumspectly since his treatments, by their nature (social science as myth), lack balance and, indeed, represent very skewed perspectives.

The hour long desultory conversation was capably guided by Ms. Jana and ranged over a group of related topics including:
>How the sociology of work is changing and how shifts in educational design are implemented
>The future of the MBA
>The role of the physical environment

The discussion also devolved into subsidiary topics including
>How do we measure creative intelligence
>How can diversity and flexibility be built into the physical space
>The virtual learning environment
>Teaching business people to think more like designers

A recording of this discussion can be viewed on the Steelcase website athttp://360.steelcase.com/, so I will only touch on some highlights.

STEELCASE: MEDIA:SCAPE

First, the discussion emanated from three locations with the virtual participants in New York City (Mr. Keane and Ms. Jana), Washington, D.C. (Mr. Pink) and Toronto (Dean Martin). The panelists were connected via Steelcase’s wonderfulmedia:scape technology, and the remote audiences were connected to this via the internet connections of their computers. This worked very nicely with the three locations visible on our monitors, although the picture was blurry. I also lost audio twice, but this can be attributed to an internet problem since the media:scape connections appeared to continue uninterrupted.

In addition to the panel and moderator, there was a small audience at each location. (I believe I saw Susan Szenasy at Steelcase NYC.) I point this out because the webcast was a demonstration of the changing sociology of business and education, an important issue for interior designers. Both Mr. Keane and Dean Martin noted the trend and desirability of using real estate more efficiently as indicated by the trend of moving away from the historical lecture hall (education)/Powerpoint presentation (business) – a format that few like. Instead, the idea is to do heads-down preparatory work, and use spaces where people gather as social/idea-exchange opportunities. New technology such as media:scape is invaluable for this trend.

Takeaway 1: media:scape is good stuff. I wish I had one, although it would be overkill for my purposes.

Second, there was no foil to the conversation. Everyone was eager to present a united front, and that is probably as it should be for such a short program. I suppose that I will have to play that role a bit in this review.

Case in point: The very articulate Mr. Pink is wont to throw out glib sound bites such as “the carrot and stick approach goes against the grain of human nature,” and the “MFA is the new MBA.” Of course, we are inured to this kind of outlandish “bumper sticker” approach from politicians and marketing types, but it borders on the dangerously misleading coming from an obviously intelligent author who purportedly writes non-fiction (a category not to be confused with truth or accuracy). We can treat Mr. Pink’s statements as an attempt to achieve a better balance between existing and more enlightened thinking. Taken literally, however, like any concept taken to a logical extreme, they produce the preposterous and dance perilously close to the ludicrous.

(For those who are interested in the many and varied contemporary uses of the “carrot and the stick,” in motivation and learning, see our recent article, officeinsight 2.28.11, Gensler LA: Losing the Middle: A Workplace For A New Workforce.)

While Mr. Pink’s sound bites many be just part of his anti-quant approach to human behavior and productivity, Dean Martin presented a more realistic and insightful integrated approach to the problem of the use and misuse of data and the desirability and practicality of integrating creative and analytical thinking.

The bottom line in this discussion is that the current silos that are now intrinsic in American education display a fundamental systems axiom that each success carries the seeds of its own destruction. In this context, that means that an educational system totally focused on fine arts or quantitative analysis, as the case may be, will ultimately truncate its development and usefulness through its narrow, hypertrophic focus.

For example, as noted by Dean Martin in his presentation at NeoCon (officeinsight 6.28.10, Roger Martin and The Design of Business) while discussing Reliability Thinking and Validity Thinking:

Reliability thinking [that driven by data and measurement] requires “proof,” which kills innovation, because one cannot prove something that has not been tried.

Moreover, our society – in education and business – is generally oriented toward performance rather than mastery, and therefore avoids the failures inevitable in risk-taking. Business education is still oriented to analytic techniques and known options, said Dean Martin. What’s really valuable, however, is when someone suggests an option that is not obvious.

In this context, it may be, as Mr. Pink noted, that, in our future, “left brain thinking” will matter less and “right brain thinking” will matter significantly more. Objectively, this can only be meant as a comparison of the relative contributions of the two types of thinking, rather than of their comparative importance and value. The amount of deductive and inductive reasoning needed to translate a single creative thought into a tangible result has not, as a proportion, yet been determined, but you can expect it to be very high, ask any interior designer working on sophisticated projects. To give another example, the basics of quantum mechanics (comprising some of the creative thinking since the period of the ancient Greeks, Socrates and that group) were postulated and reformulated primarily in a period of 20-30 years (and even this involved mostly analytics), but analytical applications in the ensuing century have been growing ever since and now represent the basis for over one-third of our economy.

Takeaway 2: Analytic and data-driven approaches are invaluable in understanding, in depth, concepts and phenomena. But without creative thinking, these approaches can ultimately create a rut that narrows the horizon and restricts future development. Creative thinking, on the other hand, is necessary to explore new frontiers and approaches, but without accompanying analysis it results in little traction or progress.

Dean Martin carried on with his analysis, saying that too much of our present education is aimed at teaching students how to manipulate quantities and not enough toward teaching them to appreciate qualities. While Dean Martin indicated that the Rotman School is creating courses that help business students appreciate qualities, he didn’t really explain how this was done. I got the impression that Dean Martin was headed in the direction that qualities – he cited “beauty” – cannot be measured, but rather have a mysterious ineffable aspect that, I suppose, can only be judged by some sort of fine arts criteria or consensus among cognoscenti. Unfortunately, even a cursory review of 19th and 20th century fine arts history in art or music suggests that this creates the same sort of rut that we want to avoid when we overly focus on quantities. (Think the Barnes Collection (the early days), Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Georges Bracque (Cubism), Jackson Pollock (Drip Period), Beethoven (Late Quartets), Igor Stravinsky (Rite of Spring), Anton Bruckner (8th Symphony), John Coltrane (the later years), Gil Evans, and so on.

I think I understand Dean Martin’s point on quality vs. quantity. This is an interesting distinction that runs through every area of study and does require different types of thinking and analysis (for example, qualitative chemistry vs. quantitative chemistry). I would be very interested in learning more about his approach. I have previously suggested, however, that so-called qualitative elements such as aesthetics, including beauty and other forms of emotional arousal are subject to various forms of analysis. (officeinsight 10.11.10, A Random Walk - Interior Design: Toward a New Definition - Part 5 Some thoughts on Aesthetics). Moreover, we can certainly try to identify the circumstances in which “aesthetics” do have a measurable effect. While appreciation of “quality” in the many forms of fine arts can be – and should be – greatly enhanced through education, this in itself will not solve the analytic/creative thinking conundrum.

Mr. Keane pointed out that diversity in experience in business has usually been accomplished through “career path” training, in which an individual takes on various and varied positions within an organization. While this has undoubtedly proved valuable, these career paths do not always take a trip through creative areas. And, as Dean Martin noted, the transition phases are often areas giving rise to failure.

A couple of things can be done:

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• individuals can be taught the value of “good design” even if they do not, and cannot, understand or appreciate it. There are many good examples of this, but for business people, Apple stands as a readily available example. (Apples success rests both on great product design and great business design.)
• The Rotman School has developed practicums in which design students and business students combine and collaborate to tackle real-life problems. According to Dean Martin, these courses are highly popular and successful. This approach is also fairly common in some Italian design schools. (see IFIRoundtable Discussion, Thinking Into The Future, presentation of Luisa Collina, http://www.ifiworld.org/#Publications). Part of Dean Martin’s approach is an implicit recognition, and properly so, that individual differences preclude some creative or analytical people, respectively, from developing the skills of the other.

IFI COVER

The most exciting development in this area is the approach being taken by Dean Martin and the Rotman School in their development of a whole field ofInterdisciplinarity. As Dean Martin indicated, it is one thing to believe in the value of interdisciplinary collaboration, it is quite another thing to know how to do it and what concepts, techniques, technology and physical spaces will facilitate it. For example, Dean Martin’s comment to one interdisciplinary setup was: “So, you put different disciplines in a single building on separate floors. How’s that working out?” Answer: Good point. Not very well. (See How to Solve Wicked Problems Using Integrative Thinking,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOGXhg8_aFc)

Takeaway 3: The answer to elevating the importance of creative thinking and Design in business is not sending analytics to Asia, as suggested by Mr. Pink. It lies in studying how these two approaches and capabilities can be most effectively integrated and used. The Rotman School has a 3-day executive leadership course, Integrative Thinking Program (http://ep.rotman.utoronto.ca/open/integrativethinking/). Designers and business people alike, who are seriously interested in distinguishing their work from others, might find this a good way to begin.

How can the physical space enhance learning, provide for the multiple requirements of work (concentrated, collaboration and social activities) and facilitate a productive amalgam of analytical thinking and creative input?

Everyone insight the interiors professions and businesses are talking about is collaboration, and rightly so. Leadership in the effective use of space often comes from businesses with a focus on saving real estate expenses. But, authorities such as Frank Duffy, Work and The City (Black Dog Publishing 2008), open space advocates, collaborationists, and, now, those who advocate that the workplace should be used for interaction, have brought a degree of legitimacy and rationality to what has essentially been a return to the “bullpens” of the pre-1970s.

STEELCASE NODE CHAIR

Treating the classroom as a workplace, as it is, Mr. Keane noted that educators study themselves and the educational process, but relevant research on the utility of space is not always implemented, or is implemented awkwardly. For example, for many years furniture for education has been moveable, thus facilitating reconfigurable learning spaces. But, even so, mobility is often hampered by, for example, backpacks on the floor. Steelcase’s node chair is an example of how to solve this problem.

Steelcase University Learning Center, a reuse of an old factory, is one of the best examples of interior design for the workplace

Mr. Keane also discussed Steelcase’s experience with the Steelcase University Learning Center, which was intended for training and related activities. What the company discovered is that the gathering of mixed activities in a single building, which is open and, generally, on a single floor, acts as a magnet for everyone. As a result, many of the company’s personnel hold their meetings there. Another attraction is that the building is configured in such a way that traffic is not limited by the usual rectilinear grid, and its many pathways and rich environment encourage fortuitous interactions.

STEELCASE UNIVERSITY LEARNING CENTER: CAFE AREA

The 60,000 sq.ft. Steelcase University Learning Center, an adaptive reuse of an old factory, is one of the best examples of interior design for the workplace that I have seen. Of course, not everyone has an old factory and site hanging around to build upon, but this facility represents some of the latest advances in the thinking about how permeability of space can create a dynamic workplace, or even community. I’ve been there a few times and have my own photos and those of others, but none of them begins to capture the energy of the space and what it feels like to be there. Of course, this is also part of the Steelcase emphasis on the total experience of a Steelcase tour. It’s Worklab is housed in the same building.

STEELCASE: WORKLAB

Mr. Pink weighed in on this discussion, hitting a home run. Discussing ethnographic studies and flexibility of spaces, he suggest that we “follow the actions of the workers.” In a limited sense, that is what designers and furniture manufacturers have been doing for years now by incorporating in products and places characteristics that have a degree of flexibiity intended to accommodate worker needs and preferences.

But what if the furniture did, indeed, follow the workers. We would expect this to significantly disrupt our present concept as workplaces as place-art. The worker would become the focus and the configuration and aesthetics of a workplace could not be envision as the fairly static space that we now have in mind, as captured in photos, magazines, etc. The aesthetic would appeal to those attuned to the workplace dynamic. Design would begin with the work, and radiate out through the workers, the furniture, the interior spaces, and finally, the architecture. The conceptual design of the space would come at a much later stage, and it would have to be in harmony with, and harmonize, the dynamism of the workplace. Rigid rules such as clean desks (except for security), conformity in furniture selections, placement of accessories, and so on, would have no place. Needless to say, this would bring new dimensions to interior and furnishings design, and would also increase the rate of change and the importance of that design.

Takeaway 4: I don’t think the world, design or business, is yet ready to explore Mr. Pink’s suggestion of “follow the worker.” But it will most certainly be part of the future. Steelcase’s University Learning Center, however, is another case. It is up and running and everyone who has a chance should spend some time there. Of particular note, the emotional response generated by the Learning Center is not a result of its aesthetics, but generated by the interactions and interpersonal responses resulting from its space plan and the architectural lessons incorporated from Steelcase’s Workstage project, which unfortunately met an untimely demise early in the latest recession.

The Steelcase 360º, and in particular its recent webcast: Educating the Creative Leaders of Tomorrow, has proven its worth to me and generated a lot of thinking. This invaluable resource is available for all, for free.

Websites:
http://360.steelcase.com/
http://www.ifiworld.org/#Publications
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOGXhg8_aFc
http://ep.rotman.utoronto.ca/open/integrativethinking/