Sarah Jersild
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Turning workspace into 'thinking space'

Sarah Jersild, Special to the Tribune.  Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Ill.: Jul 19, 2004. pg. 1

WHAT'S AHEAD. GET AHEAD. The corner office may be doing your career more harm than good. In fact, that long-revered symbol of corporate power is a minefield of distractions that can actually sap your productivity, contends Shannon Waller, director of new program development and coach at The Strategic Coach, a firm that offers training and career- enhancement programs for entrepreneurs. The Chicago- and Toronto-based company suggests entrepreneurs adopt the "No Office Solution"--move out of their offices so they can concentrate on the tasks that are really important to their business. Waller is not suggesting executives become homeless. Instead, her firm advocates clearing your workspace of all distractions-- paperwork, phone messages, files for peripheral projects and the like--so you can concentrate on big ideas. "We tease that a lot of our clients have attention deficit disorder--they're easily distractible," said Waller. "The office, unless you're extremely organized, is a huge source of distraction and not necessarily a source of creativity. If you ask people where they feel most effective, it's usually in some sort of conversation with a client or a prospect, not somewhere where they're dealing with paperwork." To curb an entrepreneur's latent ADD, the program demands the worker start the day with a clean desk, then hand off all paper or other clutter at the end of the day. "You can make as much mess as you want during the day, but when you wrap up for the day, that desk is cleaned off," Waller said. Creating a focusing space That way, Waller said, the workspace becomes "more of a thinking space, a focusing space than a paper space." This paper doesn't disappear, alas. Instead, practitioners of the No Office Solution hand off the details to an administrative partner who keeps everything organized. The administrative partner keeps the lists of phone calls to be returned, schedules meetings and puts the files where they can be found. Waller cautions that the administrator is not a baby-sitter. "It needs to be a partnership perspective, rather than 'I'm looking after the paper because he's incompetent at it,'" she said. "It needs to be a respectful relationship. Not all of us were blessed with organizational talents, and not all of us were blessed with risk-taking talents. It needs to be a mutual appreciation." Michael A. Campbell, chief executive and founder of Conditionomics LLC, a Pittsburgh-based financial-services firm, went officeless three years ago. "It's been great. It created an environment that was clean, professional and uplifting," he said. "It's incredibly efficient." Campbell converted his office into something more akin to a conference room--a place to meet clients that anyone can use. "The overall morale has gone up, and the front-stage experience that the client has is superior to what it was--it's just a better environment," he said. Works for big-picture people While anyone can benefit from this utopia of order, such an approach may make the most sense for people who spend most of their time thinking big thoughts or building relationships, Waller said. "It's great for anyone in sales--paper is almost always their downfall," she said. The officeless approach is less viable for those of us who are cogs in the corporate machine. It is applicable for those "higher up in the company, [who are] counted on to provide direction and leadership, make critical solutions rather than deal with the minutia. You need to be able to keep a clean brain," Waller said. The cogs help the big thinkers by allowing them to focus on the most important aspects of the business. Waller said not all entrepreneurs leap at the idea of giving up their office--or their clutter. "As soon as we suggest that they give up their comfort zone, they get scared--it's a place to go and hide when you're not feeling confident," she said. James Schrager, clinical professor of entrepreneurship and strategic management at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, is cautiously approving of the idea. "Financial consultants and people like that don't make any money sitting in the office--they only make money out in the field," he said. "If this provides them with more time out in the field, I think it's good." He is not convinced that a pristine workspace guarantees you greater productivity, however. "I don't think a clean desk, in my modest studies, is any predictor of success," he said. "I find really brilliant people who attained huge success with a messy, filthy desk, and with clean desks. It's like saying everyone should be tall." As an example, Schrager cited Bob Pritzker. "One of the richest folks in Illinois, a legendarily brilliant business guy, and when he spoke was always crystal clear." But his three desks, Schrager reports, were always awash in paper. - - - Breaking out of the office What's new A consulting firm based in Chicago and Toronto is encouraging bosses to work without offices. How it works: - Start the day with a clean desk. - Have a list of the most important goals, and use that list to gauge the work you do. - Hand off all paperwork at the end of the day - Who it's best for: - People who make their living thinking big or pressing flesh. How practical? - If you're part of an established corporate structure, you'll probably need a swanky title to warrant the administrative help. - If you run your own business, you need to be making enough to pay someone else's salary. But the more time you free up from non- revenue-generating activities, the more money you can make. It's a balancing act, and only you can decide if you're ready to take the risk.

Copyright 2004 by the Chicago Tribune