There are so many types of offices and workspaces that we could create a good-sized chapter just listing them. The most important element for creating a design that is going to make the energyrun smoothly in a space has to do with the mission that the space is focused on. As helpful as the cash flow that businesses produce can be, it's the mission that provides the spark that keeps the engine of commerce burning.
As much as we might like to provide extremely detailed solutions here, the best solutions we can offer are going to be applicable to a wide variety of environments. Now, in case you're thinking that we've just thrown away any chance of providing something useful, keep in mind that every workspace has two things in common: It has to serve a function or mission and it has to accommodate the human body. Even the most intensely industrial, dangerous and inhospitable situations, someplace along the way have to be manipulated by the human hand, the human eye or some representative of those two powerful tools.
Simply using that as a baseline, there are a multitude of considerations that can improve and personalize a workspace. However, since we want this to be a book and not a tome that you can use as a doorstop, we're not going to provide a multitude, just a double handful of the most powerful techniques.
The best offices are a do-it-yourself project because who is going to understand your needs as clearly as you. While some professional design guidance is helpful, don't be hesitant to speak up and voice your needs or objections. Designers, Feng Shui or otherwise normally don't read minds, although they are pretty good at body language, so they depend upon your input to fit the place to your needs. Your requirements in a workplace are dynamic, even though they depend upon repetitive motions, your need to adjust to the changing demands of clients, materials, markets and whatever else can stick its nose into the gear box. This means that a working environment has to adapt along with you.
A good workplace should have the ability to change without giving up the energetic patterns that make it work best. In order to create a successful workplace you need to answer some questions. Then, based upon youranswers, create a design that maximizes the results. First: How fast do you and others make the transition from the personal world to the business world when arriving in the space? Second: Are there visual cues in the space to keep people focused upon the mission that the area serves? Third: Is there some flexibility built into the workstations to accommodate individual needs? Fourth: What images are people using at their workstations and are those images programming them in support of the mission? Fifth: Are you facing a direction that makes you feel physically stronger? Sixth: Are the light sources helpingyour eyes? Seventh: Are the electronics frying your nervous system? Eighth: If the space needs to accommodate visiting clients, is it welcoming? Ninth: Do the colors support the type of work being done in the area? Tenth: Are there environmental conditions that could be making workers sick? Eleventh: Does the scent in the space promote emotional stability and mental clarity? Twelfth: Are the workstations convenient, efficient and adaptable?
To read the rest of this excerpt, including the solutions for these questions purchase the book Prosperity Lessons
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