Podcast appearances and mentions of diane hoskins

We don't know about you, but we spend more time than we'd like to admit worrying about our future. Central to our concerns is how we're responding to climate change. It's a massive, multi-dimensional problem. People like Diane Hoskins and Andy Cohen of Gensler, one of the world's largest architectural firms, bring our anxiety levels down a notch. Under their leadership, Gensler has been innovating in material science and design to mitigate the impact buildings have on our environment.  Diane and Andy have a new book called Design for a Radically Changing World, and we wanted the back story on what inspired them to write about a more sustainable approach to architecture and urban planning. We also spoke with Diane and Andy about their childhood and how they found their way into architecture, and what's kept them excited about staying at the same company for 30-40 years (a rarity in our current era).  Find bonus content, full show notes, and more on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/diane-hoskins-andy-cohen Bios Diane Hoskins Diane Hoskins, FAIA, is Co-Chair of Gensler, overseeing a global network of over 6,000 employees across 50 offices worldwide. An MIT-trained architect with an MBA from UCLA, her career spans architecture, design, real estate, and business. Diane founded Gensler's Research Institute to drive innovation and improve the human experience through design. One of its groundbreaking studies, the Experience Index, demonstrated the critical role design plays in enhancing retail experiences, driving sales, and boosting consumer loyalty. Diane is active in organizations such as the Urban Land Institute and the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Cities & Urbanization. Named one of Business Insider's 100 Creators, she is a frequent speaker and media contributor, sharing insights with outlets like The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, and Bloomberg TV. Andy Cohen Andy Cohen's core philosophy is based on shaping the future of cities. Since 2005, he has served as Co-CEO of Gensler and continues to lead the world's foremost design and architecture firm as Global Co-Chair. He is extremely proud of what their global team has accomplished. Gensler is a people- and client-centered organization, laser-focused on enhancing the human experience. *** Premium Episodes on Design Better This ad-supported episode is available to everyone. If you'd like to hear it ad-free, upgrade to our premium subscription, where you'll get an additional 2 ad-free episodes per month (4 total). Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, early and discounted access to workshops, and our new enhanced newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.   Upgrade to paid *** Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show: Design Thinking + AI Workshops: We've been continuing to run our AI + Design Thinking workshops, including for Fortune 100 companies that are developing some of these technologies. Participants love the chance to play and experiment with some of these tools, and we have an additional public session coming in mid-November. One of our big takeaways is that many people simply don't have time in their day-to-day workflow to explore this new technology, and this workshop provides just that—a valuable space for experimentation, discussion, and reflection on how the world and our jobs are changing with generative AI. Register for November 13th If you're not yet a Design Better Premium member, if you sign up for a yearly account we've got a few 50% off tickets for new yearly members. Just sign up for a new account at the yearly level and we'll share the discounted ticket code with you if you write to us at subscriptions@thecuriositydepartment.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Willy was joined by Diane Hoskins and Andy Cohen, global co-chairs of the world's most influential architecture design planning firm with over $2 billion annually in revenue, Gensler.  They covered ways to drive meaningful change through the power of design, creating office spaces of the future, ways they're working to lower emissions, how Gensler has secured their place as an industry leader, how AI and autonomous vehicles will change the face of our cities, building a culture of collaboration, and how to stay ahead of the curve in a constantly shifting environment.

If a butterfly flaps its wings in India, will your pizza arrive on time?In this episode, we explore the idea of interconnectedness and the role it plays in our lives and creative work. We delve into how the chaos and randomness of the world influence ideas and decision-making, and some strategies for dealing with the uncertainty. Our guests include Diane Hoskins and Andy Cohen (co-CEO's of Gensler and authors of Design For A Radically Changing World), and Brian Klaas (author of Fluke) as we discuss the strategies and philosophies they employ to navigate the complexity of interconnections, leverage them for greater impact, and cultivate creativity in the face of uncertainty.Key Ideas:1. Overcoming fixation on the first idea: The danger of latching onto the first idea and missing out on alternative, more profound connections.2. Leveraging randomness to our advantage: The idea of fighting randomness with randomness and increasing experimentation to anticipate unintended consequences and broaden the scope of options.3. Collaborative leadership and embracing difference: How harnessing diverse perspectives and bringing together people with different strengths can lead to innovation and problem-solving.4. Balancing local and global perspectives: The importance of understanding both the specifics and the broader patterns to gain deeper insights and have a greater impact.5. Applying creativity to solve global challenges: Utilizing design and creative thinking to address interconnected global issues such as climate change, housing shortages, and social inequalities.Get full interviews and daily content in the Daily Creative app at DailyCreative.app

Gensler began as a corporate interior design firm in the 1960s. Today, it is the world's largest architecture firm in terms of revenue and staff. In 2023, Gensler employed 6,000 professionals across 53 offices globally, reaching 3,500 clients in more than 100 countries.  The influence of this firm within the building and design industry cannot be overstated. Given its reach, it is encouraging that Gensler consistently demonstrates concern over its global corporate responsibility. In the last 20 years, Gensler's co-CEOs Andy Cohen and Diane Hoskins have become notable figures for their talent in design and business leadership, but also for their thoughtful consideration of the company's climate and equity impacts. Accordingly, they have been asked to speak many times before the United Nations and other global audiences.  Earlier this year, Andy and Diane accepted new roles as Gensler's global co-chairs. Marking this transition, they have recently published what could be considered a culminative reflection of their time at the firm thus far, including the two decades they spent as co-CEOs. “Design For Radically Changing World” explores the potential within the design sector to address some of the world's most pressing issues, from significantly reducing carbon emissions to reconnecting and uplifting historically disinvested communities.  In this episode, Ten Across founder Duke Reiter talks with Andy Cohen and Diane Hoskins about findings in this latest book, comparing the efficacy of Gensler's design forecasts from 10 years past, and traveling through more than 40 years of the firm's history. As industry pioneers, they help us imagine the characteristics of the future city, specifically through the lens of innovative architecture and urban design.

Over the past few years, many cities around the world have changed dramatically as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with shifts in office use and commuting patterns as well as where people choose to live, work, and play. But there are other major changes to communities on the horizon as well—such as the need to adapt to the changing climate and sea level rise, and move urban infrastructure away from dependence on fossil fuels.Andy Cohen and Diane Hoskins are co-CEOs of Gensler, a global architecture and design firm, and authors of the new book Design for a Radically Changing World. They join guest host John Dankosky to talk about how design can help communities adapt to global crises, and the importance of involving local communities in design decisions.Transcripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. David Dierker, Associate Partner & Shipping Practice Co-Leader at McKinsey & Co, talks about supply chain risks due to disruptions at Panama Canal and in the Red Sea. Andy Cohen and Diane Hoskins, Co-CEOs at Gensler, discuss their book Design for A Radically Changing World.Hosts: Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec. Producer: Paul Brennan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. David Dierker, Associate Partner & Shipping Practice Co-Leader at McKinsey & Co, talks about supply chain risks due to disruptions at Panama Canal and in the Red Sea. Andy Cohen and Diane Hoskins, Co-CEOs at Gensler, discuss their book Design for A Radically Changing World.Hosts: Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec. Producer: Paul Brennan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If a butterfly flaps its wings in India, will your pizza arrive on time?In this episode, we explore the idea of interconnectedness and the role it plays in our lives and creative work. We delve into how the chaos and randomness of the world influence ideas and decision-making, and some strategies for dealing with the uncertainty. Our guests include Diane Hoskins and Andy Cohen (co-CEO's of Gensler and authors of Design For A Radically Changing World), and Brian Klaas (author of Fluke) as we discuss the strategies and philosophies they employ to navigate the complexity of interconnections, leverage them for greater impact, and cultivate creativity in the face of uncertainty.Key Ideas:1. Overcoming fixation on the first idea: The danger of latching onto the first idea and missing out on alternative, more profound connections.2. Leveraging randomness to our advantage: The idea of fighting randomness with randomness and increasing experimentation to anticipate unintended consequences and broaden the scope of options.3. Collaborative leadership and embracing difference: How harnessing diverse perspectives and bringing together people with different strengths can lead to innovation and problem-solving.4. Balancing local and global perspectives: The importance of understanding both the specifics and the broader patterns to gain deeper insights and have a greater impact.5. Applying creativity to solve global challenges: Utilizing design and creative thinking to address interconnected global issues such as climate change, housing shortages, and social inequalities.Get full interviews and daily content in the Daily Creative app at DailyCreative.app

In its annual Design Forecast, global architecture and design firm Gensler identifies eight key trends at play that will help move the industry forward in 2024 and beyond. Stranded assets like offices are being re-thought and re-tooled into residential spaces to help with the housing crisis, for example, and leveraging technologies like AI and creating more engaging experiences will continue to reshape the built environment for the better. In this episode, Gensler co-CEO, Diane Hoskins, explains how design can solve a complex set of challenges that design practitioners face today, and unpacks the firm's 2024 Design Forecast report to better understand what's behind the trends it uncovered. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/iandsdesign/support

Diane Hoskins and Andy Cohen have been co-leading global design and architecture firm Gensler for 18 years. Gensler has 53 locations and 6,500 designers distributed across the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Gensler has designed some high profile projects including airport additions like SFO's T2 terminal, office redesigns like the Marriott HQ in Bethesda, MD and sports stadiums like the New York Mets' Citi Field. Hoskins and Cohen believe great design is researched-based and responds to the crises and innovations transforming our world. In fact, they've written a book about the need for great design, entitled “Design for a Radically Changing World,” set to publish in February 2024. In this episode of Leadership Next, hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram chat with Hoskins and Cohen about the return to work trends revealed in Gensler's 2023 Workplace Report and how the design of office spaces should change to accommodate these trends. They also discuss the opportunities and challenges of converting empty office space into housing, the demand for sustainable design, and how they've been able to successfully navigate being co-CEOs for 18 years. Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

Gensler co-CEOs Diane Hoskins and Andy Cohen join the podcast to discuss what sets Gensler apart from other firms, its perception as a corporate office, and how maintaining a focus on people positively impacts the built environment.

For as long as Diane Hoskins can remember, she wanted to be an architect. It began with Legos as a child, and eventually led her all the way to architecture giant, Gensler— an unusual company with two CEOs. One CEO is based in Los Angeles, and the other CEO, Hoskins, is based in Washington, DC. Together, they've created a unique leadership model where hierarchies don't really matter and internal collaboration— not internal competition— is rewarded.

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Diane Hoskins. Diane Hoskins serves as co-CEO and chair of the board of directors for Gensler. As an MIT-trained architect and an MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA, Diane's career has touched architecture, design, real estate, and business. She has broad responsibility for running the company, which spans over 6,000+ employees across the globe.Diane Hoskins shared how her upbringing impacted her professional and leadership choices as well as leadership lessons from her career at Gensler and the challenges of leading Gensler through the pandemic. Diane Hoskins also addressed how Gensler focuses on purpose by aligning actions, big and small. Finally, Diane shared insights on rethinking collaborative spaces and the future of work.Some Highlights:- Diane Hoskins on choosing MIT and becoming an architect- Why Diane Hoskins decided to go to business school - How business and architecture connect- Diane Hoskins on leading people to collaborate on a purpose-driven mission- The impact of the design of workspaces on work performance- The influences of technology on workplace experience - Diane Hoskins on purpose-driven leadership- Future of work: connecting and bringing people back together through renegotiating and reimagining the work environment Also Mentioned:- Linda Rabbit, Founder and chairman of rand* construction corporation (Listen to Linda's episode on Partnering Leadership here)Connect with Diane Hoskins:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianehoskinsGensler: https://www.gensler.com/people/co-ceosConnect with Mahan Tavakoli:MahanTavakoli.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mahan/More information and resources available at the Partnering Leadership Podcast website: PartneringLeadership.com

Introducing a new four-part series, Waves of Change, in collaboration with Oceana. Over the next four weeks, we'll explore the climate, economic, and environmental justice impacts of offshore drilling and plastics. 12 years after the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, fossil fuel companies are drilling deeper than ever before off of America's coasts. Lawmakers seem to have learned little from the oil rig explosion that killed 11 people and spilled more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf over 87 days. However, today's guests are pushing regulators and businesses to do more to prevent the next offshore oil disaster. Cynthia Sarthou is the Executive Director of Healthy Gulf, which is focused on protecting the Gulf and everyone and everything that calls the Gulf home. Diane Hoskins is Oceana's Campaign Director focused on stopping offshore drilling. Vipe Desai is serial entrepreneur dedicated to protecting the ocean and coastal communities by sitting on the boards of organizations like Lonely Whale and AltaSea. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!  

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Diane Hoskins. Diane Hoskins serves as co-CEO and chair of the board of directors for Gensler. As an MIT-trained architect and an MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA, Diane's career has touched architecture, design, real estate, and business. She has broad responsibility for running the company, which spans over 6,000+ employees across the globe.Diane Hoskins shared how her upbringing impacted her professional and leadership choices as well as leadership lessons from her career at Gensler and the challenges of leading Gensler through the pandemic. Diane Hoskins also addressed how Gensler focuses on purpose by aligning actions, big and small. Finally, Diane shared insights on rethinking collaborative spaces and the future of work.Some Highlights:- Diane Hoskins on choosing MIT and becoming an architect- Why Diane Hoskins decided to go to business school - How business and architecture connect- Diane Hoskins on leading people to collaborate on a purpose-driven mission- The impact of the design of workspaces on work performance- The influences of technology on workplace experience - Diane Hoskins on purpose-driven leadership- Future of work: connecting and bringing people back together through renegotiating and reimagining the work environment Also Mentioned:- Linda Rabbit, Founder and chairman of rand* construction corporation (Listen to Linda's episode on Partnering Leadership here)Connect with Diane Hoskins:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianehoskinsGensler: https://www.gensler.com/people/co-ceosConnect with Mahan Tavakoli:MahanTavakoli.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mahan/More information and resources available at the Partnering Leadership Podcast website: PartneringLeadership.com

This Fresh Take interview featured Diane Hoskins, Co-CEO of Gensler. JB Holston and Diane discuss the future of talent, Gensler's goals as an organization, and their commitment towards inclusive growth within the Capital Region.Hosted by JB Holston.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Ramir Cena, Christian Rodriguez, and Nina Sharma. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.About our guest:Diane Hoskins is one of two Gensler co-CEOs whose collaborative leadership is fundamental to setting the company apart as a leading design firm. For her innovative leadership, Diane, along with Co-CEO Andy Cohen, ranks on Business Insider's elite “Creators” list, a who's who of the world's 100 top creative visionaries. As a hands-on leader, Diane oversees Gensler's global platform and its day-to-day operations, with some 6,000 people networked across 50 offices, serving clients in more than 120 countries. Diane is focused on Gensler's global talent strategies, performance, and organizational development to ensure that we serve our clients with the world's top talent. She is the catalyst for Gensler's Research program, for which Diane is committed to delivering value to clients through strategies and innovations like Gensler's Workplace Performance Index® (WPI).A registered architect, she graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holds an MBA from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA. Diane received an Outstanding Impact Award from the Council of Real Estate Women and is both a Regent of the American Architectural Foundation and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Her insights have appeared in the Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, the Washington Post, and The Economist; and she was a featured speaker at Bloomberg BusinessWeek's CEO Conference.In her role, Diane serves as a key contributor to what is acknowledged, by its peers, as the most admired and largest architecture firm in the world, pioneering project types and design innovation strategies for the next century and acknowledged by Fast Company as one of “The World's Most Innovative Companies.”

Is your office safe to re-open? How much space do you need? Is remote-work really more productive? Diane Hoskins is co-CEO of architecture firm Gensler, which advises businesses from Google to Bank of America. With the pandemic, Hoskins explains, now is a critical moment to ask important questions about what your team needs to work smarter and successfully, and to build a physical space that is not just healthy but enables both collaboration and individual work. From new technology tools to insightful data, Hoskins shares insights that help us move toward the answers we need.Read the full survey from Gensler: https://www.gensler.com/research-insight/blog/insights-from-genslers-u-s-work-from-home-survey-2020Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/rapidresponse/Coming soon: Season 7 of Masters of Scale! new season begins Sept. 29.

Is your office safe to re-open? How much space do you need? Is remote-work really more productive? Diane Hoskins is co-CEO of architecture firm Gensler, which advises businesses from Google to Bank of America. With the pandemic, Hoskins explains, now is a critical moment to ask important questions about what your team needs to work smarter and successfully, and to build a physical space that is not just healthy but enables both collaboration and individual work. From new technology tools to insightful data, Hoskins shares insights that help us move toward the answers we need.Read the full survey from Gensler: https://www.gensler.com/research-insight/blog/insights-from-genslers-u-s-work-from-home-survey-2020Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/rapidresponse/Coming soon: Season 7 of Masters of Scale! Our new season begins Sept. 29.

Diane Hoskins is the co-CEO at Gensler, the largest global design and architecture firm with over 6,000 professionals across 50 offices. You may have seen some of the structures they have worked on, including the Shanghai Tower, the Facebook Headquarters in Menlo Park, the Microsoft headquarters in Ireland, the Ford Foundation Center in New York, and countless others all over the world. When speaking about the work that Gensler does, Diane says, “We bring insight-driven and research-driven design solutions to some of the most challenging and most amazing opportunities out there, all around the world. Working with leading companies in the tech industry and governments, and law firms, and organizations all over the world and also projects like airports, and sports stadiums and hospitality and even health and wellness. And really bringing a full 360 understanding of really the transformation of live, work, and play. And our deep research is helping us to bring insight into the design solutions that we offer with a goal of, at the center, really at the center of all of our work is the human experience.” Traditionally we have thought of workspaces as a place where people just show up to work, but it is really so much more than that now. It’s no longer just a space where we go from 9 to 5, because of the integration of work and life that is happening. As Diane shares the workspace is what allows people to connect, collaborate, share, innovate, and make a difference. A workspace should reflect the culture, the mission, and the purpose of the organization. This is a major shift that is taking place in workspace design. The old debate between open and closed spaces in the workplace is quickly becoming something of the past. It is becoming more apparent that it is a diverse work environment that is what makes the most sense. It’s important to have a mixture of open spaces that encourage collaboration and interactions as well as some closed spaces for phone calls, meetings, and individual work. Gensler is utilizing a lot of new technologies to help design workspaces that make sense for the needs of their individual clients. The ability to use data sensors, wearables, and algorithms in the design process is something that couldn’t have been done years ago and it is impacting the future of workspace design. So with all of these updates and changes, how do you keep your workplace relevant for years to come? Diane says, “There used to be a lot more specific design around the process, almost this idea of taking apart the process and then overlaying that on the floor plan and designing each department in its own way, and really looking at the actual work activity. And with the rate of change of what people do, and how companies are transforming, to your point, you basically can design something that will be obsolete you in a year, six months, or two years. And so the the understanding of what work is and how people work, is less about the process, which is probably a little bit more of a factory mindset, and more about, as we were talking earlier, it's about really supporting individual work, group work, and the organization itself. And ultimately then, there's total flexibility to be able to then support any work process, any new type of offering that that organization is going to bring to the markets, new kinds of people they may be bringing in, different generations and so on and so on.”   What you will learn: A look at the new role workspaces play How real estate impacts climate change and how Gensler is addressing the problem What role technology plays in workspace design What it’s like to work at Gensler How to keep your organization’s workspace relevant for years to come A look at the future of workspace design

Andy Cohen is one of two Co-CEOs, alongside Diane Hoskins, overseeing Gensler’s global platform and its day-to-day operations. With 6,000+ employees across 48 offices, Andy ranks on Business Insider’s elite “Creators” list as the world’s 100 top creative visionaries.    In this episode, we discuss collaborative leadership, smart cities and how to nurture talent.    Also Available on: iTunes: http://tiny.cc/MINDED_iTunes Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/5JxKVhZ... TuneIn:http://tun.in/pi9l8 or at https://www.mindedpodcast.com/ --- MINDED is an outlet for people who want to learn from industry and creative leaders that have an innate drive for excellence. Our guests set themselves apart by challenging the norm and pushing ideas forward. In a never-ending pursuit to succeed, we thrive to have an in-depth conversation about life, business and the world we live in. Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindedpodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MINDEDPodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/yuriaxavier

Ken is a member of Gensler’s Board of Directors and the Gensler Management Committee and the Co-Managing Principal of Gensler's Southeast Region. Gensler is the largest global architecture, design and planning firm with more than 5,000 professionals networked across Asia, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and the Americas.   Ken Baker is considered a global expert on workplace design and planning, having designed more than 10 million square feet of corporate headquarters and offices for law firms and financial institutions around the world. His background is also fine arts, music, 20 years of piano and voice, acting, and drama. In this interview we discuss: How do you create a unified culture across a firm with more than 5,000 international employees?   How do you maintain innovation in the workplace through design?   Why is it important to keep listening to clients and being receptive to new ideas? 1:08 - Introducing Ken and some background on his career.   1:55 - Digging into what makes Gensler so successful.   3:03 - Creating a unified culture across a firm with more than 5,000 international employees.   6:38 - The importance placed on people in the company and how Gensler is innovating on the traditional ideas around architecture and design firms.   9:01 - What drove the move away from older models of architecture businesses and how Ken’s artistic background influenced his approach.   10:55 - Using interior design as a key differentiator in the field.   13:20 - Ken’s memory of his first client meeting and his mindset around the meeting.   15:32 - Getting a perspective on how much Gensler has grown since Ken came on board and how that molded their business model.   17:31 - Understanding the importance of culture in a growing business.   18:44 - Providing a link between design and the bottom line of businesses through the workplace surveys.   21:38 - Wielding the learnings from the surveys to develop the Gensler Experience Index.   23:12 - Maintaining innovation in the workplace through design.   25:01 - Surprising findings from the surveys.   27:07 - When companies began understanding the importance of people and culture.   28:33 - Gensler’s big hairy audacious goals and projecting where they’ll be down the line.   29:53 - How Ken sees people working in 10 years and how offices will evolve to foster productivity.   32:40 - Playing the long game and constantly trying to improve and find new things.   34:44 - The changes that Gensler has been driving through their design and research.   36:36 - Why it’s so important to just listen to clients and stay receptive to new ideas.   39:33 - Clients that Ken has worked with for over 20 years and the importance of accountability.   42:45 - Authentic passion and trust as underpinnings for successful client relationships.   46:40 - The questionnaire.   49:22 - Learning more about Ken and Gensler.   50:31 - Ken’s story about inviting people in to check out the Gensler offices.       Resources and Links Mentioned:   Gensler   Art Gensler   Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill   Gensler Workplace Surveys   Gensler Experience Index   Atari   Apple   Moonshots versus Roofshots   Starbucks   Diane Hoskins   Gensler Research Catalogue Volume 1   Gensler Research Catalogue Volume 2

Diane Hoskins, the Co-CEO of Gensler explains the importance of workplace design and what organizations can do to improve employee experience, productivity, and innovation.   Diane Hoskins is the Co-CEO of Gensler, which is a global design firm that focuses on creating a better world through the power of design. The company started in San Francisco 50 years ago and they now have about 5,000 employees and 46 offices all over the world. Hoskins has degrees in Architecture and Business.   Over the past 10 years Gensler has been conducting research on workplace design and how it affects productivity, innovation and competitive dynamics. In all of their research they came to the conclusion that workplace design does in fact contribute to innovation and productivity. When Gensler gets an initial call from an organization wanting to update their workplace they start by getting an understanding of what the core needs of the organization are. They have to get a sense of what the organization’s current culture is like, what its values are, and where the company is going in the future. During this process they interview employees, give out surveys, observe day to day activities and collect data in order to best serve the needs of the company. There are no two companies that are exactly the same, so it is important to design a workplace that uniquely fits each one.   One topic in workplace design that has been debated a lot over the past few years is open vs. closed office spaces. Some people think it is better for everyone to have their own offices or cubicles and they believe that meeting spaces should be closed off and private. Others think open workspaces creates a better working atmosphere where people are more creative. Hoskins believes that it is all about a diversity of spaces and giving employees choices in their workplace. She says it is not about choosing either open or closed spaces, but having a mixture of both. For example, an organization could have closed meeting spaces of various sizes, open informal meeting areas with soft seating, and coffee bars and cafes for working and “unplanned chance encounters”. Hoskins says it is all about “unlocking the pathways that allow employees to step out of a routine”.   Business leaders have begun to see that there is a relationship between their workplace design and the performance of their employees and their company as a whole. They can see it in examples such as Airbnb, Facebook, and Etsy. The most innovative companies are not using the office spaces of the past where the whole building had one static floor plan that was built with the job in mind instead of the employee. Now, organizations are realiizing that their workplace needs to be more fluid and adaptable and one that is designed to create an atmosphere where employees can do their best work. Hoskings says ideally companies would be adaptive, making small changes to their workplace all the time to keep up with their employees and the current technology. However, that is not always possible monetarily or physically, so she suggests that companies take a look at their design every 2-4 years to make sure it is the most effective use of the space.  So what do employees want in a workspace? Based on Gensler’s research, the things that employees want are pretty basic and not anything over the top. The four main things that employees want are individual spaces that have a functional layout, adjustability that allows them to adapt their workspace to their current needs (sitting down, standing up, etc..), noise management, and access to the resources they need. After those four basics the next things on the list were food related such as a cafe or a coffee shop. Things that were not high up on the list were the over the top additions such as slides and ping pong tables.   The fact is that most of us spend the majority of our waking hours in our work environment and that is why it is so important to have a space we can go to that allows us to feel connected, be productive, and stay focused. This also in turn helps the business because as Hoskins says, “healthy, strong people do great work”.    What you are going to learn:  Are offices going to disappear?  What smart offices with automation look like How psychology and sociology impacts design and architecture   Is designing a new workplace something that is only feasible for large companies with a large budget?  What do employees want from workspaces  How choice impacts engagement  The benefit or impact that workspace has on employees and organizations as a whole  Which is best, open work spaces or closed work spaces?  Links From The Episode: Gensler.com Gensler Workplace Survey   (Music by Ronald Jenkees)

Host Phalana Tiller talks with Diane Hoskins, co-CEO of Gensler, and Greg Parsons, vice-president of the New Landscape of Work at Herman Miller, about how their companies help others achieve better outcomes through well-designed work environments. And Forbes.com columnist Rick Wartzman delivers a piece on the Big Data revolution.