7. Ecosystem—Habitat/Workspace
How does it feel when you sit at your desk? Are you really inspired when you’re there? Does your workspace bring out the best in you, open you up to your greatest ideas and visions, motivate you to go beyond yourself, and live the best version of your life?
The correlation between space and performance has long been known. In his book, Back to a Future for Mankind, Dr. Ibrahim Karim presents the concept of biogeometry. According to his research, the architecture of rooms and their furniture have a considerable influence on the occupants’ energy, harmony, and vitality. Not concerned with the immeasurable spiritual vibe of a place, his studies focus instead on scientifically verifiable results regarding the effect of spaces on people. Experiments prove that pictures on the wall have the potential to produce higher concentrations of serotonin than any chemical drug. Paying attention to the physical environment can be extremely important because of its potential to optimize our work. Because we spend so much time in the office, we owe it to ourselves—and to our potential—to use this time efficiently! Creating an inspiring living and working space is fortunately not so difficult.
My Five Tips
Order
Order brings focus and sharpens the senses. Order is structure and boosts productivity. Pieces of paper just lying around with no specific places for them affect both clarity and structure. This means that all documents, all pieces of mail, and all other “stuff” are best handled immediately. Don’t put it off. Smart office tools—such as hanging files—should not be piled up, but instead hung in a row, arranged and neatly labeled. In psychology, the Zeigarnik effect states that we tend to remember open tasks more than completed ones. This means that any unfinished task remains in the back of your mind and sucks precious resources. The same applies to your desktop, calendar and email inbox.
Very important: if you have a lot of email, rather than trying to handle it in one sitting, it may be better to divide the task into manageable sessions. For instance, after 90 minutes, take a 10- to 20-minute break—go for a walk, eat something, have a conversation. Then return fresh and continue.
Pictures
Photos and decorative pictures create visions. They create escape spaces and inspiration. They stimulate and connect you with the emotions of your choice.
As I’m writing this chapter, I have a few photos on my desk: my wife and daughter, my parents and family, Michael Jordan in tears, clutching the NBA Championship Cup, and my business partners.
Yes, Michael Jordan.
Pictures push emotional buttons. They transport us to other worlds, give us security and strength, and represent our feelings. Even a quick glance at them creates a healthy break, providing strength and support. The eyes are the windows to the soul. It’s not just what you see, but also what moves you. Let only beautiful images into your soul—things that make you joyful, proud, and happy. Every picture is worth more than a thousand words.
Kitchen
While I attended house parties in college, it quickly became clear to me that the best part of the party happens in the kitchen! And even today in our office, the kitchen is still an important hub—a kind of control center. But why? The kitchen is informal. The usual laws of the desk do not apply. Here, you’re just one hungry human being. Since you can have normal conversations and decompress, suddenly the expectations drop. Yet, these are all important prerequisites for relaxed thinking and getting fresh impressions.
Cooking, you create a break in your routine by give yourself a new environment and a new task. You’re here for dinner, and for a moment you allow your gaze to turn away from the unsolvable task of the day. But then, suddenly, the solution comes to you.
The potential of the kitchen is enormous, multiplied many times over if it is also filled with the right ingredients. I recommend fresh fruit and vegetables, lots of water (best to get a fridge with a water dispenser), fish (smoked salmon tastes great, is healthy, and is ready to eat), protein powder (for the body builders), whole grain bread, freshly squeezed juices, and nuts or trail mix. It’s best to eat together as a team as often as possible, to laugh, to have good conversations, and enjoy the partnership. The kitchen always provides a good opportunity to define and strengthen the culture of the company and the philosophy of the team.
Light
I don’t like hospital-style fluorescent tubes that try to imitate daylight, but instead look sterile and boring. Lots of real daylight, bright wall colors, and decorating with warm tones create a more pleasant atmosphere.
What can you do to keep you and your team in the office as long as possible? Put another way: What would you do to prepare your apartment for a nice date? Right! Clean up and create the proper, pleasant atmosphere. It has to be cozy and beautiful, pleasant and inspiring. In our office, we have floor-to-ceiling windows, a large roof terrace, warm light sources, and soft ceiling floodlights, as well as colored LED lights. Concerts, festivals, and clubs create their very own worlds just by using concepts in lighting. So, make it nice and you’ll enjoy being in the office. Soon you’ll associate positive emotions with your work!
Culture
What does your workplace stand for? What are the foundational values of your team? Your philosophy, mission, leadership, interaction, and ethics are the emotional furnishings of your workplace. What does your workplace culture feel like? Is it rather sterile and flat? Is it cozy and warm? Or is it just a little bit different?
A fulfilled person, a strong team, and a successful company all have a clear vision, share it a lot and openly, and do everything they need to fulfill their dreams. Members of a strong team trust each other blindly, share the shirts off their back, agree on fundamental principles, and share a common passion and faith—all this they do so harmoniously that an unstoppable energy arises. They resonate with each other. You can recognize their will to win, see it flashing in their eyes, and feel it in every handshake.
My tip for a better corporate culture—or just for you to create more meaning for yourself in the daily craziness of building your dreams—is to ask some good questions!
Ask good questions, get good answers, and change the spirit of your environment in minutes!
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Offense Instead of Defense
We are on the road a lot. I live and work in countless cities—both because of our events and my work as a speaker—but my home base for the moment is Cologne. Actually, not the city, but a small village fifteen minutes outside of town! It is surrounded by forests and lakes yet close enough to the city not to feel completely excluded. This location was chosen deliberately: the rent is much cheaper than in the city, I like to go for walks by the lake, and there is plenty of parking. But above all, I always play offense out here—in the city, you often only play defense. Everyone wants something from you, so they invite you to lunch, to coffee meetings, to drinks in the evening—your productivity often falls victim to the city. But my village location allows me to make the rules: I invite people to come to me if I want that, I have peace of mind, and I live according to my own schedule instead of the city’s schedule, with its the rush hour and the crowds. I’m proactive and not reactive—a productivity strategy that allows me to do a lot more and be much more relaxed.
Find a location that positions you on offense, not on defense—then you’ll score!
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