More Than a Chair

Mina Starsiak Hawk- co-founder and owner of Two Chicks and a Hammer, start of HGTV's show “Good Bones”, she's a realtor, and a mother and recently partnered with Business Furniture to open her first office space for the company. Special guest host, Gerry Dick, talks about this major moment for this team so focused on revitalizing Indianapolis, one house at a time.

Cathedral High School Principal, Julie Barthel, took the lead at the high school in 2020 as the world shut down and educators pivoted to a virtual learning. Special guest host, Gerry Dick, sits down to talk about the challenges and the future of education. Plus, the new Cathedral Innovation Center and how it's preparing students for the real world.

How does space impact a company's Culture? Tiffany Sauder, CEO of Element Three, a full-service marketing consultancy in Indianapolis breaks down the current climate.  She talks about competing against home for employee engagement and creating a space where her team wants to work and grow.   

How does a company move to a mobile work environment? We all know change can be scary, we sit down with Elise Moote, experienced project manager with Bastian Solutions to talk through the lessons she learned when taking the company from cubicle workstations to a mobile work environment with an open floor plan. Bastian Solutions- is a Toyota Advanced logistics company, a trusted supply chain integration partner committed to providing clients a competitive advantage by designing and delivering world-class, distribution and production solutions.

Is the office dead? In this episode of the More Than a Chair podcast, celebrating 100 years in business for Business Furniture, JLL's Matt Waggoner sits down with Gerry Dick to discuss the future of the workplace in a hybrid world. How have real estate needs changed post covid and what employers need to know to create a space that attracts and keeps talent.

Business Furniture's Dick Oakes joins Host Gerry Dick to discuss the 100th anniversary of the company. The discussion focuses on changes in the office over the last ten decades and changes coming in the future. 

Join us as we sit down with Kathleen Lemaster, Partner and Interior Designer with Axis Architecture as she discusses her MINDSET on the future of the workplace. Plus, her role in the new Business Furniture + Choreo ancillary showroom. 

Business Furniture + Choreo designer, Heidi Dellekamp, sits down to deep dive into designing the company's first showroom devoted to ancillary furniture. Why the pandemic has made the concepts even more relevant and how a trip out west inspired a new MINDSET for the team. 

"The timing couldn't be better," said Business Furniture + Choreo Chairman Emeritus, Dick Oakes. Join us as we sit down with Oakes and Business Furniture + Choreo Director of Audience Development, Hannah Freiherr, as they dive into the details of our new showroom in downtown Fishers, MINDSET. LEARN: Why opening a new business in the middle of a pandemic is so exciting What employers need to do to shift their MINDSET about a return to the office And MORE on why ancillary furniture is the future of the workplace

Tackling the topic of meeting people where they are. How can we promote a safe and compelling workplace while also meeting the needs of employees and cultivating a culture that's meaningful? Our guest, Arik Orbach, is a People Partner at Google where he's been a “Googler” (Google employee) for over two years. He is a trusted advisor and guides the 'people' strategy for a subset of Google's Global Business Organization Also, Rita Schaefer is an experienced change management consultant at Choreo a partner with Business Furniture. Rita uses her background in interior design to help employees' transition into new working environments.

Work-life fulfillment and the path to engage employees in a meaningful way post-Covid.  Guests, Dr. Tracy Brower, a work environment sociologist and principal with the applied research and consulting group at Steelcase weighs in. She's also the author of "Bring Work to Life by Bringing Life to Work: A guide for leaders and organizations to focus on work-life fulfillment.  Also with us, Mary Beth Oakes, CEO and Owner of Business Furniture + Choreo.  Join us as we search for work-life balance in a new world of work and how change management leaders can help guide the process to find fulfillment again. 

What is the future of the workplace? What is the potential impact on workplace culture as employees continue to work remotely? How do you make the connection between remote employees and employees in the office as seamless as possible? To get the answers, we have Susan Juvet, Strategy Director and Senior Associate at Gensler and Mary Beth Oakes, CEO at Business Furniture + Choreo. 

Sometimes we have to take an alternate route to get to where we're going.  A new approach to the workplace is required – one that is compelling and safe for employees and smart for the business. Our guests, Business Furniture + Choreo Interior Designer, Heidi Dellekamp and Steelcase Business Development Manager, Whitney Fuchs have both been boots on the ground, helping clients re-work and re-design their spaces for resilience.  

Employee focused research is more important than ever. First, it's essential to pinpoint your location on the roadmap to resilience and that means asking your employees questions about what's working well while working from home, and what needs to happen for them to feel safe and confident about returning to work.     Gensler Strategist, David Craig and Principal and Founding Partner at Axis Architecture + Interiors, Drew White, weigh in on how meaningful data can help drive good decisions, plus how we take what we learn and make the workplace better and more flexible. 

Resilience is the ability to recover from difficult experiences and setbacks, to adapt and move forward. At Business Furniture + Choreo we know we're all working to get on the ROAD TO RESILIENCE. Business Furniture + Choreo CEO, Mary Beth Oakes and Choreo President, Patty Clark sit down to explain the step by step guide to create a roadmap to resilience and help employees get back to work safely and confidently. 

Change can be scary. Especially when it's happening at work, it's why CHOREO was born with a vision to make the workplace evolution a strategic people and business tool. Since Choreo's birth in 2008, the certificated woman owned business has worked with dozens of companies in helping minimize the disruption associated with major moves and renovations--- all while lessening the burden and maximizing the success of work-place change. The masterminds behind CHOREO tell us how it all started. Join CEO of Business Furniture + Choreo- Mary Beth Oakes and CHOREO President Patty Clark for the Choreo story. 

Construction and engineering projects around the world have been impacted by COVID-19. Experts predict we will see some long-term ramification for many aspects of the U.S. Construction industry but what does that mean for us here in the Midwest? On THE MORE THAN A CHAIR PODCAST by Business Furniture + Choreo we have Vice President of Business Development at Meyer Najem Construction, Dan Lawson is here with us today to give us insight on what the long-term effects of Covid could be when talking construction. Also, Dainen Tolman, Director of K-12 Education Business Development at Business Furniture + Choreo to help us understand how schools are managing their projects and how the future could look. 

Covid-19 will change the way we work in offices-perhaps indefinitely but what does this mean for office culture? According to a recent CNBC survey, 54% of workers say their jobs have become more difficult due to the pandemic. Managers will need to learn new ways to connect with their teams and continue to engage and create a culture where people WANT to work and feel safe. Today, on The More Than a Chair Podcast we have guest, Amy Woodall- Executive Vice President at Sandler Training Trustpointe- where she focuses on helping companies grow their people, profit and effectiveness in sales, service and leadership. Plus- Business Furniture + Choreo CEO, Mary Beth Oakes to help examine the new office culture and why it has to remain a priority. 

Social distancing, six-feet apart, screens, and masks, The world can feel very cold, sterile and separate right now as we navigate our workspaces post-pandemic. How can we give the safety of space and personal boundaries without compromising design? On this episode of the More Than a Chair podcast, we have with us expert guest Gale Moutrey, Vice President of Communications for Steelcase, the global leader in the office furniture industry and Mary Beth Oakes, CEO and Owner of Business Furniture + Choreo.  Can boundaries exist without compromising on design?

Sanitizer, Bleach, Clorox Wipes… Right now we're all cleaning machines trying to stay healthy and create work environments where people feel safe. But what works? What's over kill? And What should we be cleaning around the office? On this episode of “The More Than a Chair Podcast” we have Business Furniture + Choreo's Hannah Freiherr, Director of Audience Development and Caryl Sugden, sales representative for Designtex, the leading company in the design and manufacturing of applied materials for the built environment. Together, we're finding the balance of a clean office without being sterile. 

As the pandemic and stay at home orders have left offices empty—it has many people asking if our days in the office are over?  This conversation isn't new—technology and demands for flexible work life have had many Americans working remotely for years- but this sudden and drastic change connected to the Coronavirus has re-ignited the questions around if offices are a necessary part of business. To get some perspective we have Matt Waggoner, Managing Director at JLL in Indianapolis. Matt leads a tenant representation advisory team partnering with organizations to create and execute a real estate strategy to retain and attract top talent. Also, joining us is Mary Beth Oakes, CEO of Business Furniture + Choreo to help explain the long term impacts of remote work and why just because we can, doesn't mean we should. 

To mask or not to mask... that is the question. As our communities and businesses slowly phase into a re-opening, many are asking about the importance of wearing masks. Some leaders are "recommending" masks while others are "mandating", leaving us trying to determine what's right and best to keep employees safe. So to get the facts we've brought in the experts, Dr. Robin Ledyard, Chief Medical Officer and Indianapolis region physician executive for Community Health Network and Mary Beth Oakes, CEO of Business Furniture + Choreo to see how we can get back to work while keeping safety top of mind. 

Social distancing. Six feet apart. What does it mean for the future of workspaces?  We are discussing how we'll design for distance with Parallel Design Group's Studio Director and Senior Interior Designer, Kaitlyn Barrett.  Join Business Furniture + Choreo, Director of Audience Development, Hannah Freiherr, as we find out how collaboration and social distancing can co-exist in this new world. 

As we navigate this new world, new normal, and new mindset, we are all asking, ‘What's Next?' Join Business Furniture + Choreo CEO, Mary Beth Oakes and Choreo's Senior Workplace Strategy Consultant, Rita Schaefer, as we discuss the change curve and how to approach the changes to the workplace with a plan and purpose. 

Join Mary Beth Oakes, CEO of Business Furniture + Choreo and Bryan Brenner, CEO of First Person Advisors as we start planning for a post-pandemic workplace. How will we return to the office? Will remote work no longer be considered a perk? How can we start to move past the shock of stay in place orders and start embracing new habits?