Don't Get All Spacey on Me!

You have a business and things are kind of okay but employees are nervous and so are you. You wonder how you can streamline and get your "back burner" marketing plan back up to the front.

1. You're not sure if your systems are working anymore.
   
2. You finally admit to 'yourself and another person' that you may not be reading your P&L correctly.(!)
3. You've stopped having regular Company/Employee meetings.
   
4. You wonder how your physical space is working or not working for you

This one can speak to your employee issues or you working at home. I'll take the first one right now. Some questions to ask yourself:

• Is your space too big because you have to walk too far to see other people?
• Is your space too small and it's too noisy to have professional phone conversations?
• Do you generally find your space a little sad but believe it's the least of your priorities?
• You know you want to move but how can you afford it?

Stop me here if I'm off-base, but generally woman are more concerned about the way things "look" in a work space. The word here is concerned. Everyone is affected.

Because I'm a consultant I get the opportunity to visit a really broad variety of workplaces. It's truly amazing to me how some folks just see what they have in terms of workspace as a given. What? Move the furniture? Time away from "real work". Yeah, and then there's the employee issue of coming up with a consensus regarding the changes.

Having standard issue generic office furniture does not make you more of a real business. Neither does letting employees do ANYTHING with their space make you a better boss. At the very least, providing a positive workspace is the least you can do to give yourself and your folks a positive hand-up.

The cost part of making an office a happier place may be the cost of a painting party over the weekend. It may be a big trash day where everyone gets rid of stuff they don't need that's taking space. It may be taking suggestions in a meeting with everyone about where they would like to be in the space that would make things easier for them.

Whatever it is that you and your folks need to make your space work for you, it will pay off in spades. This place that you spend 8+ hours a day needs to be a happy place. Sometimes a change (like moving the couch at home) is all you need for a new perspective.