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A Lesson Learned the Hard Way – Hire an Expert
They say a defendant who represents himself has a fool for a client…
We relocated our offices this past spring into a new, spacious, mixed-use building. The new space had never been occupied, was raw and needed a designer’s touch to get it ready for our use. As designers, we decided we were up to the task of completing the work ourselves.
The project was an opportunity to creatively address our own needs. In the end, we designed a space with community work areas, where anyone can gather for impromptu meetings or work tasks. Environmental issues were addressed with office-wide recycling, indoor, wall-mounted bike racks and loads of natural light. We created an open office atmosphere with high ceilings and low interior walls to enhance staff communication. And we have a comfortable library nook that offers an alternative place to do work away from our desks.
But, before the final product was completed we fell into the trap described by the adage above.
We have an office of great designers with great ideas, sometimes very different ideas, and as a result some of the going was choppy. We really could have used an outside consultant to help us navigate the process and steer us to the best answers more quickly.
We ended up with a very successful work environment, but getting there certainly could have been more efficient. So take the advice of someone who has been there – hire an expert for your next project.