“That’s Not A Stick, That’s A (B)Log”
Tags: Design, Office Design, Workplace, Business, Interior Design

To kick off 2019, our first event of the year was held by Orangebox, exploring Gerard Taylor’s latest publication “That’s not a stick, that’s a log!”. For those who haven’t read the book, it focuses on 20 observations and insights into emerging cultural trends within the workplace.

The title serves as a metaphor, exploring the difference between the stick and the log, and how that fits in with the modern day workplace. The author describes that his English Pointer is overrun with excitement on their walks. He thinks he can jump straight in, avoid the sticks, fetch a log, but the reality is, the dog can’t always keep that up. Regardless of how you wish to interpret the phrase, I learnt from the seminar, that it’s symbolic to how we often function in the workplace. We get a bright design or tech idea, jump straight in, but how often do we think of the long term outcome? Or, if we do, how do we predict that in the first place? In a fast-paced, technology-obsessed environment we think everything can be easy, but more than likely, we’re going to drop that log at some point…

The “That’s not a stick, that’s a log!” event was held at Workpattern, in our newly designed space, and was presented by Orangebox’s Nathan Hurley, who did a great job hosting the seminar! Notably, one of the first things Nathan quoted from the book was “It used to be that in business that the big ate the small. Now the fast eat the slow.” which I felt was not only true but also symbolic of that metaphor. Why isn’t Blockbuster, Netflix? How did Monzo become “bank of the future”? Could HMV have avoided administration? We all know changes are coming, but sometimes businesses aren’t quick enough to react and before we know it, the change has happened and another business with bright ideas has taken over. It’s finding a balance and the confidence to differentiate between the stick and the log, realising the importance of our tools, and the best way to use them.

Throughout, the book focuses on Millennial’s in the workplace, and being a Millennial myself in a new career, both the book and seminar were intriguing and relatable in many areas. Born in the mid 90’s I have been a part of this rapid growth of technology. I haven’t had to adapt because I was already living in a world where it was growing around me, and like a sponge, just absorbed it. The discussion of Millennials is fairly frequent; we use the web differently, spend our money differently, live life from a screen, obsessed with the Instagram lives of other people and I hate to admit it but it is true — we do operate differently. All of these factors filter into the workplace. If there’s one thing Nathan covered, it’s the obvious difference between the cluster of generations working under one roof. The question is, how can workplaces adapt to suit these differences?

For me, this is where workplace design comes in, it’s important to all generations. As a new designer, I’m learning the importance of a homely, multi-functional and adaptable workplace and for us at Workpattern, this is part of what we do. It took years for office interiors to adapt to these changes, because, if you weren’t at a desk — you weren’t working, and we now know that simply isn’t true. This is is just a prime example of those innovative businesses acting quickly, they now understand the need for competitive design solutions. Nathan highlighted an excellent point, referencing his own flat in London; his cost of living is extortionate, his flat isn’t up to scratch and simply doesn’t compete with what Orangebox can provide for him — so when we check in with the office, homeliness is key.

One of my favourite sections is “Algorithms ate my job” a graph that illustrates a variety of job roles and their risk of being taken over by the supercomputers we call robots. Although you may or may not agree with them all, the graph is visually interesting, quite scary and shows a reality that is likely to creep up on us quicker than we think.

“Slowly, slowly, all at once” is another highly powerful quote that runs through the book. With rapid changes happening in the world around us, we should help ourselves anticipate change as the key thing is, we just don’t see the future very clearly.

On a whole, there was a lot covered from the book, most of which put a lot of the observations into perspective. For me, this post is about those observations I felt I could relate to, and Nathans presentation really narrated the book after reading it, delving into to those areas just a little bit further.

With an excellent turn out and a chance to try out the new space, we would like to thank Orangebox in helping make our first event of 2019 a huge success!