What is the shape of your workplace?

The physical workplace, as we have all?known it, from saddest grey walled, Dilbert-esque cube farms that no one ever wanted to report to, all the way to the highest end tech-office-topias that attracted the best talent in the world...

...is soon to be... extinct. ?

The?entire global workplace industry is reeling as it faces an unprecedented level of uncertainty about the viability of its future, searching for solutions without clearly articulating the problem that needs to be solved.?

The majority of corporate?executives seem to be falling into two camps; those who have acted quickly to reduce their workplace expense and real estate footprint, or those who are basically frozen in their tracks, waiting for someone to lead the way forward to a?new normal or back to the way things used to be.?

But for the vast majority of companies around the world, they are not going back to the way it used to be... ever. The flexible workforce genie is so far out of the bottle that there is no way it is ever going back in, and the days of running workplace monopolies are over.?

Does that mean the corporate office is dead? Well, I personally very much hope not. But, will it ever look the same as it used to? Again, I truly hope the answer is, NO.?

So, where do we all go from here??

I strongly believe there is value in humans being physically proximate to one another, not just for social events and entertainment, but for learning and work. ?

I believe there is real value generated for?teams, organizations and companies when individuals make a personal sacrifice and deal with the inconvenience of coming into a physical workplace (at least some of the time), in order to be a more active and engaged piece of the collective. ?

What organizations should be asking themselves is; Why should we have a workplace? Meaning, what specifically do we hope to accomplish with our workforce by asking them to invest their personal time to be in the same physical place??

Only once they fully understand and articulate WHY they need a physical workplace, can they begin to develop the strategy and design the spaces for their future workplace experience. ?

From there, it is my hope that the most progressive organizations begin to chart a course to something new. Something better than what we used to provide. Something that both acknowledges and enables individual choice, while celebrating and empowering the team.?

The exciting news is,?the biggest thinkers out there are already embarking on experimental programs and spaces. They are vigorously testing new and forward leaning ideas, as they seek the insights, opinions and feedback of their workforce, to ensure that their new normal will be the best possible answer to their individual WHY.?

It is in this moment of existential change and almost limitless opportunity to reinvent what the workplace can be, that I am launching my new business endeavor.

Introducing: Workshape.

The goal of Workshape is to lead the?workplace industry in defining the unique shape of its workplace experiences.?

Workshape will be supporting organizations and companies of many types, across a number of industries and from end to end of the workplace ecosystem. We will be looking for opportunities to partner with those who want to answer the toughest questions that will help them chart their own course into the brave new frontier of the future of the workplace. ?

If you are interested in starting a conversation about the shape of your workplace, check out the new website, that is proudly launching at this very moment... or connect right here on Linkedin. ?

Onward and upward. ?