Is it time to re-design the Oval office? By Ralph de Amicis
Up until Franklin Delano Roosevelt the President of the United States worked in a rectangular office. Now, for all of the acclaim showered on FDR, remember that he was the President that dragged America through the great depression. He didn’t cause it, but he didn’t do much to fix it either. Then he slammed into WWII, and it was only when the USA was called upon to make weapons for the world did the depression really end.
Then he presided over one of America’s costliest wars in resources and lives, had himself elected for the third time (no one else had the gall to do that before). He also changed the date when the new President was inaugurated, putting it deeper into the winter. Since then every President has a bigger chance of freezing on one of the biggest days of their lives.
This was the same man who ripped out the walls and made the oval office. Who also has an oval office? Mayor Bloomberg. When he took over he gave up the traditional rectangular location and moved his office into the central oval usually used for meetings. Then he arrayed his staff around him in circles so that he could see everybody.
This is the same man who worked with the council to change the city charter so that he could run for a third time. Are we seeing a theme here? Makes you think! In my next blog I’ll explain how FDR’s transformation of the most important office in the land changed the signature of the ‘office of President’ for many years to come, and how it affected the men who followed him for good and bad.
Ralph de Amicis is an author and professional speaker one the subject of Motivated Design whose books and topics can be found at www.spaceandtime.com.
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