Steelcase's future, collaboration-friendly chairs

Today I spoke with Jim Keane, president of the Steelcase group, about two new chairs (see them later in this post) designed for better office collaborations. “Collaboration is a hot topic. Nearly all of our customers put it high on their list as they modify and create new spaces,” Keane says. “Companies are seeing collaboration as key to innovation and global business.”

What struck me as most interesting about our conversation today was the topic of building a better workplace that is designed for more informal and face-to-face, physical contact among employees. After all, in the age of IMs and teleconferencing, the main advantage of having an office is to maintain those in-person brainstorming sessions, to pick up on spontaneous spoken nuances and hand gestures.

Keane says that Steelcase has been researching how to help companies create these types of environments—to rethink the office, the cubicle, the conference room, and even the open-plan space. Buying new chairs might even make sense—as oposed to remodeling an office—when budgets are tight.

The furniture maker will release these two chairs in early 2009, but they were on view at NeoCon World’s Trade Fair, the furnishings industry’s biggest convention, earlier this week. One chair, the cobi (see above), looks a lot like a familiar desk chair.

That's intentional, says Keane. It's meant to work well at table settings, and not seem intimidating in any way. But what's new is that it intuitively adjusts as a person moves in it to turn and talk to her neighbor, beside or behind her, thanks to its design. The top of the back of the chair is made from a plastic that slightly bends with the pressure of an arm, making such a movement more comfortable.

And the entire seat is soft, as opposed to only the center of the seat, as most desk chairs are. This is to allow a sitter to occupy any part of the seat--even if moving more toward the right or left, to move closer to a collaborator during a conversation.

For more on this article.

Matt's Leap Week

Day 3

It’s the third day of sitting in the Leap Chair, and I seem to have reached the point where I want one. I visit our studio (ie store) often and always spend a few minutes sitting in as many things as possible (since I can choose from premium quality office chairs) before doing whatever it is I’ve gone over there to do, and I pretty much always want whatever it is I’m sitting in at the moment.

But now I really, really, want the Leap Chair. For real. I figured out that the one thing I thought was lacking can be adjusted. When I reclined as far as I could my lower back felt unsupported, which seemed kind of odd as the lower back needs lots of support in order for the chair to be comfortable. Leap has a support band that spans the width of the back, but it didn’t go down as far as I wanted it to. Until now. It turns out that I’m a weakling and just needed to use more effort to move the lumbar support as far down the chair as possible, so now my entire back is covered and feels really comfortable. And that makes me happy.

Another bragging point for Steelcase is the number of places that the Leap Chair’s pivots. The back reclines smoothly, and the level of resistance is ultra-adjustable- ranging from “Effortless Recline” to “He-Man Couldn’t Budge It.” Once you’re reclined, however, you can keep moving; the back itself pivots against the chair’s frame, making it easy to take a nice long stretch, or stare right up at the ceiling, if that’s what you want to do. For me, this is advantageous because when I listen to my iPod at my desk I like to bob my head up and down, and the flexibility of Leap’s upper half lets me extend this pleasant bobbing motion down my back, so I can kind of pretend that I’m dancing while seated. I’m sure the image that comes to mind is not as cool as I make it sound, but I guarantee it looks cooler than me dancing fully upright. That would belong on Fail blog or an equally disgraceful website.

Matt's Leap Week

Day One

So it's Thursday at Smart Furniture and I've been rocking spreadsheets like it's my job. Rocking spreadsheets *is* my job (or part of it), so no surprises there. What was a surprise was the opportunity to test one of our new office chairs from Steelcase - the Leap Chair. Not only does this give me the chance to sit in what I can already tell is a pretty sweet office chair for at least a week, it also gives me the opportunity to show off my creative writing skills! That doesn't mean I have any experience writing commentary of this sort or imply that my creative writing skills are above average, nor does it ensure that I have the capability to deliver to you, the reader, an unbiased review of a chair that I would love for you to buy. But it does mean that I get the chance to share my thoughts in a candid forum as honestly as I can and hopefully assist some shoppers in their chair-purchasing decisions. It also means that when I’m writing I’m not looking at any spreadsheets! Already, the Leap Chair makes a difference.

I usually sit in the Bungie Chair, which seems to be the default at the Smart Furniture office. It's a great chair; but it's definitely lacking in some areas. Most notably, there's no pivoting mechanism between the seat and the back, so when you lean back your legs go up in the air, which means that your legs aren't supported, and your knees start to feel weird. I love to
lean back, and I have bad knees, so that's a problem.

As you may have guessed, this is not an issue with the Leap Chair. When I first sat down in it, I noticed that the back flexes while your legs stay parallel to the ground. Of course I had to make some adjustments; as I mentioned earlier, I love to lean back, so I adjusted the lower back
firmness to a very relaxed setting. This let me tilt as far back as I wanted, but my butt started to slip over the edge of the seat when I was fully reclined. Fortunately, this was quickly remedied when I adjusted the seat depth. Most office chairs that have this option rely on a rolling
mechanism at the front of the seat that actually increases how long the seat is, but not with Steelcase. The Leap Chair’s seat actually slides forward and backward, and you can make adjustments even when sitting down in it (with one hand, no less). The only downside is that when you’re sliding backwards, you have to grip the casters with your feet to prevent the entire chair from moving. With the seat depth adjusted to fit yours truly, the Leap Chair felt great in a reclined position. So I stayed that way for a good chunk of the afternoon. My back feels good as the day is drawing to a close, and I’m looking forward to spending the entire workday with Leap
tomorrow.

Geneva, meet Amia. Amia, Geneva.

Final Day

I will be parting with Amia as my week is over, and I am very, very sad. It's back to flimsy, unsupportive, sticky leather, generic office chairs for me. My experience with this amazing chair has opened my eyes to the possibilities of office chairs being comfortable and adjustable. It also makes me acutely aware of just how regretful of having to give it up I will be next week when I stand up and grab my back, hobble a few steps, then stand upright.
Yes, it is possible to miss a chair. I know, because I miss my green, cushy, sturdy, flexible Amia already. Good bye Amia. You have a special place in my heart.

Day Five

The strain of moving office equipment with my colleague yesterday took more of a toll on my back than I had thought, because I could not walk properly after I got home. I felt as if I had an eighty year-old's body. In light of that, I spent most of the evening seated. When I tried to stand up it took me (I kid you not) three minutes to get vertical. It hurt. A lot. On the ride to work this morning, I had some lingering pain issues and riding took a lot longer than usual. I was heavily anticipating being able to sit in Amia, having previously experienced its helpful qualities.
Now that I have been sitting in it for a while, I feel worlds better. I can get out of my chair with a spring in my step, instead of meandering along at a granny's pace ... which is decidedly unbecoming for an eighteen year-old.

Geneva, meet Amia. Amia, Geneva.

Day Two

Let's talk fabric. My old chairs were leather, or something like it. You know, the kind that sticks to your skin until the last possible second when you are standing up? Yeah, that kind. Not the Amia though. It's a very nice comfy fabric. I wasn't sure at first, because when I first touched it, I thought it was a bit rough. Once I sat down I was reassured by the fact that I felt swathed. Comfortable. Snug. Not one ounce of an itch or annoying cling in this fabric.

Over the course of the day I move around in my chair a lot, even going so far as to sit cross-legged. The Amia copes with it! I can adjust the lumbar support to my back no matter how I am sitting, leaving me always supported, provided I remember to change it. So far, this chair rocks it! And by "it," I mean my comfort. This green, comfortable, mobile chair ... rocks my comfortability.

Steelcase Racks Up on Awards at Neocon

Steelcase Receives Five Best NeoCon Awards and Best Overall Showroom for Nurture- Awards Recognize Outstanding Design Innovation in Casegoods, Seating, Tables and Fabrics -

CHICAGO, June 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Steelcase Inc. (NYSE: SCS), a global office environments manufacturer, today announced that the Steelcase family of companies won five Best of NeoCon awards, including two Gold awards, and two showroom awards. Nurture(R), a Steelcase company and a leading manufacturer of furniture for healthcare environments, won the Best Large and Best Overall showroom awards. Products recognized with a Best of NeoCon award include casegoods, seating, tables and a rug collection, all of which are on display at this year's NeoCon 2009 World's Trade Fair for Interior Design and Facilities Management in Chicago.

IIDA/Contract Magazine Showroom and Design Competition at NeoCon 2009

Sponsored by the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and Contract magazine, the 14th annual IIDA/Contract magazine Showroom and Booth Design Competition honors originality of design, visual impact, effective use of materials and the outstanding use of space, color, texture, lighting and graphics in showrooms and booths at NeoCon 2009.

Nurture won Best Large and Best Overall Showroom, picking up two of the five available awards in the showroom design competition. Over 3,000 square feet in size, the Nurture showroom is a testament to the company's bold vision to shape and improve the future of healthcare delivery by making healthcare environments more comfortable, efficient and conducive to the healing process. Nurture's showroom was commended for authentically recreating a healthcare environment within The Mart and successfully showcasing the integrity of the product and what it does.

Best of NeoCon 2009

Sponsored by Contract magazine and celebrating its 20th year, the Best of NeoCon awards recognize the top new products introduced at the show. Steelcase Inc. received a total of five Best of NeoCon Awards, taking home two Gold awards, one Silver award, the Innovation Award and Editors' Choice Award.

The first of two Gold awards went to Denzien by Coalesse, Steelcase's premium life/work furnishings division, in the Case Goods: Desks & Credenzas category. Denzien is a new collection of casegoods that fit as easily at home as they do in the modern private office. This collection offers a more socially inviting space and bridges the gap of work and life by infusing insightful work process solutions. The elements of the multi-modal Denizen collection -- storage units, tables and desking -- offer unmatched functionality for seamless transitions and offer smart features that include self-closing doors and drawers and integrated, clutter-free technology access points.

More on article

Stay Home and Work

Ms. Kanter writing for Harvard Business has some interesting policy ideas:
Stay Home and Work

ROSABETH MOSS KANTER THE CHANGE MASTER
President Obama, here is a deceptively simple action item to put on your agenda for business growth, working families, and a green future: Make it the norm for everyone to work at home at least one day a week. That single step could raise productivity, save energy, decrease pollution, reduce traffic congestion, cut household expenses, increase quality of family life, and keep educated women in the work force.

Workers of the world, go remote!

During this time of economic crisis and reinvention of global capitalism, one of the things crying out for reinvention is the rigid workplace of the last century. It is amazing in the digital age that most work is still associated with industrial age work rhythms and the symbolic chains that tie workers, knowledge and otherwise, to fixed locations. Flexible workplaces with flexible hours and days are long in coming.

Many U.S. cities have become commuter nightmares as urban sprawl sends people across longer distances in their cars every week day. According to the 2008 U.S. Census estimates, 84 percent of the U.S. population lives within 363 metropolitan areas that spill over central city boundaries and, in some cases, over state lines. Jobs within central business districts have been declining, while jobs outside a ten-mile ring have been growing. Vehicle miles traveled have increased twice as fast as population growth.

The daily commute to work has high costs in time, aggravation, fuel consumption, and pollution. If it became a staggered commute of four days a week for everyone, then perhaps 20 percent of the traffic could be gone, vanished, poof, just like that.

. . . 

To reinvent the work place, we need public officials to put the infrastructure and permission in place, companies to start the change process, and people to learn how to work together with new norms. With Stephanie Khurana, founder of several high-tech companies and now the flexible consulting firm, Higher Aims, I want to start a dialogue about etiquette for the flexible workplace. Let's do it with the time we are saving and the energy we are conserving by not going into the office one day a week.

View full article: http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/kanter/2009/04/stay-home-and-work.html