Open Office Space

My Visit to AMWorks - A Coworking Space in Dublin, Ireland

     
A little over a week ago, my wife and I hopped on a plane to Dublin, Ireland to check out the sites, sounds... and Guinness.

While in Dublin, we had an opportunity to visit AMWorks, a coworking space right in the heart of the city. 

Alan Richardson, Founder of Amworks, was extremely hospitable throughout our stay and a tremendous help in organizing the filming of this interview. Aside from the slight accent (we couldn't agree which one of us had the accent), I found it very interesting how the residents of AMWorks described the benefits they derive from working out of a coworking space. Definitely highlights some common threads that a coworking space offers...regardless of location.

A few quotes from the interview are below:

"The best feature of AMWorks is definitely the diversity of its members. There in a broad range of businesses which creates opportunities for collaboration." Alan Richardson - Founder of AMWorks

"You also engage and you find people quite helpful as well to help you do certain things. So from that perspective, I have to say its been a very impressive exerience so far." John Kamara - Co-Founder of Achieve More Business Training www.achievemorebusiness.com

"We have worked with several of the other small business in here..." Conor Lynch - Founder Connector www.connector.ie

"It's a great opportunity to network internally and share advice and help spur each other along to work more effectively." Greg Fry - Co-Founder of Achieve More Business Training www.achievemorebusiness.com

"The reason I got a good deal on my logo design is because the people here told me to go to someone. So you use each others connections, each others networks, I find it absolutely perfect." Herbert - Founder of CareerTrotter     www.careertrotter.eu

Other Ways To Follow The Interview Subjects:
Achieve More Business/Career Coach: (Greg Fry & John Kamara)
Blog:
http://wwwcareerscoacheu.blog.com
Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/gregfry
http://ie.linkedin.com/in/johnkamara
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/achievemorebusiness
www.facebook.com/thecareerscoach
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/careerscoacheu
You Tube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/achievemorebusiness
http://www.youtube.com/careerscoacheu

Connector: (Conor Lynch)
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/connector.ie
LinkedIn:
http://ie.linkedin.com/in/conorlynch
Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/connector_ie

Career Trotter: (Herbert Croezen)
Web:
www.careertrotter.eu
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/careertrotter
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/careertrotter

Alan Richardson

Web.

http://www.vpm.ie

http://www.inviewmedia.ie

Linkedin:

http://ie.linkedin.com/in/alanjrichardson

Related Posts
Officebytes TV - Officeport CHI (Coworking in Chicago) A Quick Tour + An Interview

Officebytes TV - WorkBar Boston (Coworking in Boston) A Quick Tour + An Interview

 

 

 

The Single Best Piece of Business Advice I Ever Received

   
I was recently invited to attend a Working Lunch with Rob Basso. 

At each Working Lunch event, guests view the premiere of the latest Basso On Business episode, and get involved in a live, interactive business discussion with Rob and leading experts.The goal of Rob's lunch program is to motivate and support small businesses with innovative presentations, business growth strategies and informative speakers.

The focus of the event I attended was Matt Silver of Ultimate Class Limousine. Matt runs a very successful company but seems to have a little trouble managing the long list of tasks that he is faced with on a daily basis. In many cases, even handling tasks that are responsibilities of his employees.

After the 30 or so business owners watched Matt's video a spirited conversation ensued regarding what Matt could/should do to better organize his business. My contribution during the event = a BIG ZERO!

Anyway, a few days after the event it dawned on me that I missed an opportunity to share one of the single best pieces of business advice I ever received...especially as it is so relevant to Matt's organization challenges. 

The following is a letter I sent to Rob detailing this advice (It was re-posted as a guest blog on Rob's site)

Hi Rob,

Not sure if this is too little too late, but before you write me off as a chickensh** for not participating during your event, here is my 2 cents.

My focus for the last 10 years has been growing various internet ventures which in most cases has been a relatively one-man show. Unfortunately, during the event I did not participate simply because I did not go back far enough in my pea brain to recall (aka “blocked out”) a 3 year period in which I was in a very similar situation to Matt.

In 1999-2001 I gave up my 15 client per day/7 day per week personal training business to become the managing partner in a 30,000 sq. ft health club in Long Beach that we took over from an existing company. The health club had well over 75 employees, 6 Indoor Pools, Indoor Track, Sauna, Steam Room, Nursery, Physical Therapy, Aqua Therapy, free weights, cardio, and much more.

Much like Tony’s business, the pace was frenetic and I dealt with one problem after another, making it almost impossible to ever get ahead of the oncoming barrage of problems.

Unlike Matt however, I really had NO experience in the health club business, so it was doubly challenging for me as far as getting organized. (ex. Running  a facility, sales, personnel management, bookkeeping, etc. ).

Here is a small sample of a few of the “small” (yeah right) problems I had to deal with:

-   The Hydraulic line which powered the underwater therapy bikes and treadmills ruptured filling an entire pool filled with jet black oil from top to bottom (think BP disaster in Long Beach)

-   The entire wall of one side of the building fell into the parking lot

-   The heavy glass/steel lid on the pool filter exploded nearly decapitating one of our maintenance workers

Anyway just when I thought I was never going to get my arms around this huge disaster of a business, I received the BEST piece of business advice that I ever received.

It was called the 20-80 rule for employees. If a problem occurred in any area of the health club, an employee should spend 20% of the time focused on determining the root of the problem and 80% of the time should be focused on a solution to the problem. AND most importantly, employees were not allowed to come to ME with a problem without 3 possible solutions.

I basically called for a one on one meeting with every single employee and told them that moving forward if they wanted to keep their jobs they would have to abide by this rule.

The results were amazing!!!

1)   It empowered every single employee to OWN their dept, even if their dept. was simply keeping the bathrooms clean. Almost immediately everyone became an expert  in their position.

2)   It  allowed me to make quick decisions to fix problems without having to delve into possible solutions myself.

3)   It made it much easier to see which departments might require staff changes

Most importantly, it allowed me to oversee the business without having to “do it all myself”. Based on what I heard at the event, this seems to be one of Matt’s biggest issues.

Perhaps this piece of advice that was so helpful to me can also be helpful to Matt.

 

Dave

 

If you or your company has a knowledge that would help entrepreneurs or small businesses to improve the quality of their workplace, openofficespace.com would love to interview you.

 

Topics might include:

- Commercial Real Estate Expertise

- Workplace Wellness

- How To...(any topic related to improving the workplace)

- Creating an Eco-Friendly Office

- Office Products and Office Furniture

- Workplace Interior Design

- Streamlining Office Expenses

- Property Marketing Solutions 

Why Are There No Coworking Spaces In Long Island? Inspired By The Centre For Social Innovation

I just finished reading Emergence - The Story of the Centre for Social Innovation. Emergence is the first of a three part series published by CSI entitled Shared Spaces for Social Innovation. The three part series offers a comprehensive overview of the CSI shared space model...talk about sharing.

Part 1 - Emergence - The Story of The Centre for Social Innovation

Part 2- Rigour - How To Create World-Changing Spaces

Part 3 (coming soon) - Proof - How Shared Spaces Are Changing The World

I dare any entrepreneur to read this book and not feel at least a little ping of interest in opening/ working out of a coworking space. As a matter of fact, I was so personally inspired by this book, I am seriously considering putting out my feelers to see if there is any real interest from others in starting a coworking space here in Long Island, New York. 

Based on my preliminary research there are a grand total of ZERO coworking spaces on Long Island.

I want to know Why?

Is it because Long Island is just too spread out?

Is it because mass transit is somewhat limited and getting to a space would require a car?

Is it because there are not enough entrepreneurs on Long Island? 

Is it possible that there are coworking spaces in Long Island and I just don't know about them?

I did find a couple of random past threads from others looking to start coworking in Long Island but these folks never seemed to get beyond the planning stages. Why?

With the amount of colleges situated in such a relatively condensed area you would think that some young motivated entrepreneur would have led the coworking charge by now. But to my knowledge, this has not been the case. 

So for the last time, as quickly as coworking spaces are popping up throughout the country, WHY hasn't anyone launched one in Long Island? It seems to me that Long Island can certainly benefit from an infusion of entrepreneurial energy.

To quote from the book Emergence "If you're in, I'm in..." If you have any interest in exploring the concept of coworking in Long Island, please reach out to me as I would definitely be willing to coordinate a meeting. I can be reached at david (at) openofficespace.com

Here are a few of great excerpts from the book:

Animation As Practice. Community animation is what turns "a place to work" to a space of social innovation. We've been building the practice of animation and developing its role as a central feature of successful shared spaces.

Openness & Light. "...light is how you achieve openness...I don't think people should be anywhere where they can't have access to natural light."

Equally essential to creating and sustaining this sense of community are common spaces. Everyone coming into or out of their office in CSI has to pass through the common area, and much like the living room in your house, it contains all the essential for a comfortable break: an arrangement of couches, a rug or two, a coffee table piled with newspapers, a few plants and knick-knacks that have been picked up over time.

There is much wisdom in the old adage that bonds are forged and friendships formed over the breaking of bread. It is wisdom that hold to this day, and it was over shared meals and communal lunches that CSI's members first and most strongly developed connections to one another.

The selection process itself was an exercise in breaking traditional workplace models in which factors beyond a potential member's ability to make rent were taken into account.

Animation as opposed to programming, is all about enabling community rather than directly trying to create it: it's a philosophy of supporting and fostering an environment in which collaboration emerges naturally rather than intervening to try to instigate collaboration by sheer force of will.

Now, on to the next book in the series, Rigour.

Content Source: Centre for Social Innovation

Related Posts

Officebytes TV - WorkBar Boston (Coworking in Boston) An Interview + A Tour Of The Space

Officebytes TV - T3 Advisors Discuss The "3 izes" For Start-Ups Looking To Find Office Space

10 Inexpensive Ways To Spruce Up a Small/Shared Office Space

Small Biz/Entrepreneurs - Estimating The Right Amount of Office Space For Your Company

  

Shared Office Space and White Noise - A Toe-Tapper, A Candy Wrapper...A Knuckle Puncher

My previous shared office space was in an awesome loft building in trendy SOHO, NY. While the space was awesome, it was situated in an old building and the wood floors were somewhat creaky.

I am not sure if the guy a few desks in front of me was trying out for the Tap Dance Kid or he was getting ready to take over drums for Neil Peart of Rush, either way, he was a compulsive toe-tapper. From the minute he sat down, to the minute he left for the day, his foot was going.

Step back a few years earlier and the star of the "annoying show" was played by the famous "candy wrapper", a.k.a the guy who only purchased candy covered in loud wrappers. And much like "toe tapper", "candy wrapper" was busy doing his thing ALL DAY LONG.

The part of Knuckle Puncher would have been played by me, luckily I was able to control myself. Therefore we will just chalk up knuckle puncher to a character that only made the cutting room floor.

Conclusion: Quiet workplaces need office white noise systems (Follow this link to a pretty funny post explaining the need for white noise by Dudley B. Dawson of the Examiner)

White noise machines are small, compact devices that emit a gentle “humming” sound, much like that of a fan. The white noise machine's hum is actually composed of every sound audible to the human ear, so that any one individual sound in the environment is “absorbed” into the white noise machines sound. This phenomenon is similar to the way in which one individual voice is indistinguishable from that of a large crowd. 

Content Source: sleepwell

Whether you're a space holder or an entrepreneur/small business looking to move into a shared office space, you really need to consider the acoustics and potential for distractions. Over time these little annoyances can add up to hours of lost production for everyone sharing the space.

Even a simple white noise system can help to increase everyone's focus within an office space. Here are a few resources for white noise systems:

Ear Plug Superstore

Avlelec

Sound Machines Direct

By the way, if you happen to know "toe-tapper" or "candy-wrapper" please keep this post quiet. I would hate to be forced to drag "knuckle-puncher" out of retirement.

Related Posts

Shared Office Space Part 1 | An Entrepreneurs Perspective 

Shared Office Space Part 2 | A Space Holders Perspective

Small Biz/Entrepreneurs - Estimating The Right Amount of Office Space For Your Company

Whether your company is looking for its very first office space or your current lease is ending and you are looking for some new digs, it is very important that you first carefully assess your office space requirements both from a short and long term perspective.

While a small and cozy space might cost a little less initially, if there is a strong possibility your company will need to expand its staff within your lease term, choosing this less expensive space can result in some very tight quarters and severly hinder productivity in your workplace. (#7 on our list of the Top 10 Leasing Misaktes)

Conversely, while it might be fun to have a football catch across the office, taking on too much space can result in a big drain on your company’s bottom line and a potential blow to morale.

Estimating how much office space you will need is not an exact science. The nature of your business, corporate culture, workflow and even your individual preferences might vary significantly from other company’s. These variations make it virtually impossible to standardize a specific guideline that will work for every company.  

As you contemplate the amount of space your company actually needs, it is helpful to understand the difference between rentable and usable space.

Landlords charge tenants based on the number of rentable square footage leased. The rentable square footage is calculated by adding the usable square footage (the amount of square footage to be used exclusively by you, the tenant) to a portion of the common area (areas shared by all tenants such as the lobby, restrooms, shared hallways, etc.).

The distinction between the two is especially important as you estimate the amount of usable space that will best suit your company.

As many leases will lock you into your space for at least 2 years, it is vital to carefully consider your company’s future growth before making a final decision on how much space you need.

Terminating your lease early because your company outgrew its space will cost your company money, time and probably serve as a major distraction from your normal course of business.

OK, good advice but how exactly are we supposed to estimate the right amount of space for our company?

Good question.

Open Office space recently launched Office Space For Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses: An Evolving Guide to Leasing. The guide breaks down the entire leasing process and offers several strategies to ensure you accurately estimate the amount of office space that is right for your company. 

The guide includes an indepth look at the Top 10 Leasing Mistakes, a breakdown of The 4 Steps involved with the leasing process and also includes 50+ ways to streamline office expenses.  

In addition to valuable content, the guide also features two powerful (and FREE) tools to help you estimate and plan the right amount of space for your company:

1) The space planner/floor plan tool allows a user to layout their entire office space including furniture...before the moving van arrives. The extremely easy to use interface features an ability to drag and drop furniture directly onto a floor plan. Finished plans can be saved, printed and shared.

2) A space estimation tool  which will give you a head start with regards to estimating the right amount of office space based on your company's needs.

As an entrepreneur or small business it is very likely that a large portion of your time/overhead will be devoted to your office. With stakes so high, it is mission critical that you take the time to plan accordingly.  

If you do find yourself in a situation where you are left with unused office space, consider posting it on our site and we will do our best to promote it for you.  

 

 

 

Open Space Ventures LLC Launches a New Website to Help Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Find and Plan the Perfect Office Space for Their Company

Woodbury, NY (PRWEB) October 26, 2009 -- Open Space Ventures LLC. launches OpenOfficeSpace.com (http://www.OpenOfficeSpace.com) an innovative new website that allows companies to post their available office space online, while offering small businesses and entrepreneurs an opportunity to find and plan the "perfect office space." It's a win-win situation: companies with unused office space can eliminate the extra carrying cost, simultaneously small businesses can find niche office space at the right price. Best of all, there is no cost associated with either listing or finding a space.

Created by David Gise and his partner Marc Spector, OpenOfficeSpace.com (http://www.OpenOfficeSpace.com) was designed with ease of use as the number one priority. "We set out to create an extremely clean and user friendly experience that is unlike any other typical real estate or classified website" said Gise.

OpenOfficeSpace.com (http://www.OpenOfficeSpace.com) streamlines the process of finding and posting office space, while providing insightful advice and powerful interactive tools to help small businesses throughout the leasing process.

Gise, a former personal trainer turned entrepreneur and social media consultant, conceived the idea for Open Office Space after meeting with several of his clients. He noticed a trend of companies hampered with carrying the cost of their extra office space but unsure or unaware of the options available to ease this burden.

The comprehensive "Evolving Guide to Leasing" (http://openofficespace.com/index.php?mistake=1&mod=top_10_leasing_mistakes_made_by_entrepreneurs_and_small_businesses) alone is worth a visit to the site. The interactive guide explores the "Top 10 Mistakes" made by companies during the leasing process, outlines in layman's terms "The 4 Steps" it takes to be successful every step of the way and even offers more than 50 ways for companies to reduce their office expenses. From finding the right space and negotiating the lease to planning the layout and creating an eco-friendly work place, the site's powerful interactive tools and easy to understand content simplifies the leasing process for everyone involved.

One of the most common mistakes made during the leasing process is estimating how much space a company actually needs. Leasing too much can result in an unnecessary expense while leasing too little can leave a company in some very tight quarters. The site's free space estimation tool (http://openofficespace.com/index.php?guide=4steps&mod=space_estimation_tool) helps entrepreneurs and small businesses calculate the right amount of square footage based on their specific requirements. Whether a business requires a single desk, a cubicle, a shared office, a private office, a coworking space or an executive suite, the space estimation calculator will ensure that a company gauges their space requirements correctly.

Once a company determines their correct space requirements, the space planning/floor plan tool can be used to lay out the entire space by dragging and dropping furniture directly onto the plan. "It's a lot easier to arrange furniture using the space planning tool than to be surprised when the moving van arrives" Gise explains. Determining the placement of phones, computers, printers and copiers before the day of the move can help save entrepreneurs valuable time" adds Gise. Floor plans including furniture layouts can be saved, printed or shared with friends and colleagues or even posted on other property listing sites.

"The site is an excellent resource, not only in this economy but in any economy. It can really help many companies streamline their expenses while helping others create an ideal working environment" said Spector.

Open Office Space is based in New York. Users can design, find or post available office space at no cost anywhere in the US and Canada. Featured cities on the site include Austin, TX; Charleston, SC; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Toronto, Ontario; Baltimore, MD; Chicago, IL; Miami, FL; San Jose, CA; Vancouver, British Columbia; Boston, MA; Dallas, TX; New York, NY and Seattle, WA.

Cool Huh? pick of the week (The Surf Shelf) No more excuses! Surf the internet while you exercise.

As we announced last week, we just launched a new weekly feature on the Open Office Space blog called Cool Huh?  Each week  we will select a new product, tool, application, website or technology that we think will make at least one entrepreneur or small business person (besides us) say "Holy s...! That could really be helpful to me and my business. How did I not hear about this before? "

Our featured subject for Thursday August 20th - The Surf Shelf

Description: The Surf Shelf is a shelf made of 100% polycarbonate and affixes to most cardiovascular machines for the purpose of surfing the internet during exercise.

       

The Features of The Surf Shelf:

- It is completely transparent so you can easily see the exercise machine readout

- Adjustable angle settings fit any exercise machine console

- 100% Polycarbonate- The same material used to make bullet-proof glass

- Easily collapses for storage in a briefcase or gym bag

- Built-in Velcro strap secures any laptop or DVD player

- Air vents keep the laptop or DVD player cool

- Stays out of the way while you exercise

Why we chose surfshelf.com as this weeks subject: As I mentioned in a previous post, for 17 years prior to getting involved in the whole technology thing I was a personal trainer. During this period, I worked with a very diverse group of clients including: professional athletes, CEO's of public companies, stay at home moms & dads, weekend warriors, children, teens as well as basically every personality type you can think of.

A by-product of working with this diverse clientele is that I became an expert on fielding all types of excuses. I became very accustomed to clients using a "lack of time" as the #1 reason they were not able to adhere to a regular exercise program.

Note: This excuse came in especially handy for the entrepreneurs I worked with.

Therefore, the reason we have chosen the Surf Shelf as this weeks pick is to help entrepreneurs kill two birds with one stone. There is overwhelming data which supports the positive impact exercise can have on a persons brain, stress levels, self confidence and overall ability to handle difficult situations.

I hope that the "inactive entrepreneurs" out there aren't going to be too angry with me as The Surf Shelf might just have eliminated their most effective excuse.

After we have had a chance to test this product ourselves we will offer our opinion. 

Content and Image Source: Surf Shelf Website

Related Posts:

Cool Huh? pick of the week (usertesting.com) - Great Resource for Entrepreneurs/Small Businesses

Entrepreneurs - Are your thumbs the most fit part of your body? 

As we announced last week, we just launched a new weekly feature on the Open Office Space blog called Cool Huh?  Each week  we will select a new product, tool, application, website or technology that we think will make at least one entrepreneur or small business person (besides us) say "Holy s...! That could really be helpful to me and my business. How did I not hear about this before? "

Our featured subject for Thursday August 20th - The Surf Shelf

Description: The Surf Shelf is a shelf made of 100% polycarbonate and affixes to most cardiovascular machines for the purpose of surfing the internet during exercise.

       

The Features of The Surf Shelf:

- It is completely transparent so you can easily see the exercise machine readout

- Adjustable angle settings fit any exercise machine console

- 100% Polycarbonate- The same material used to make bullet-proof glass

- Easily collapses for storage in a briefcase or gym bag

- Built-in Velcro strap secures any laptop or DVD player

- Air vents keep the laptop or DVD player cool

- Stays out of the way while you exercise

Why we chose surfshelf.com as this weeks subject: As I mentioned in a previous post, for 17 years prior to getting involved in the whole technology thing I was a personal trainer. During this period, I worked with a very diverse group of clients including: professional athletes, CEO's of public companies, stay at home moms & dads, weekend warriors, children, teens as well as basically every personality type you can think of.

A by-product of working with this diverse clientele is that I became an expert on fielding all types of excuses. I became very accustomed to clients using a "lack of time" as the #1 reason they were not able to adhere to a regular exercise program.

Note: This excuse came in especially handy for the entrepreneurs I worked with.

Therefore, the reason we have chosen the Surf Shelf as this weeks pick is to help entrepreneurs kill two birds with one stone. There is overwhelming data which supports the positive impact exercise can have on a persons brain, stress levels, self confidence and overall ability to handle difficult situations.

I hope that the "inactive entrepreneurs" out there aren't going to be too angry with me as The Surf Shelf might just have eliminated their most effective excuse.

After we have had a chance to test this product ourselves we will offer our opinion. 

Content and Image Source: Surf Shelf Website

Related Posts:

Cool Huh? pick of the week (usertesting.com) - Great Resource for Entrepreneurs/Small Businesses

Entrepreneurs - Are your thumbs the most fit part of your body? 

Cool Huh? pick of the week (usertesting.com) - Great Resource for Entrepreneurs/Small Businesses

Today, we are launching a new weekly feature on the Open Office Space blog called Cool Huh?  Every Thursday from here on out,  we will select a new tool, application, website or technology that we think will make at least one entrepreneur or small business person (besides us) say "Holy s...! That could really be helpful to my business. How did I not hear about this before? "

Here's the catch! The selected subject will be featured in 2 parts.

Part 1 will simply mention the featured product or site, include some basic information detailing what it's all about, describe why we selected the subject and then welcome any comments from others who have experienced the subject.

Part 2 will be our review of the subject after WE had a chance to experience it ourselves.

Our first featured subject - Thursday August 13th - Usertesting.com

   

Description: UserTesting.com uses the Web 2.0 crowdsourcing model to dramatically drop the price of usability testing. It lets website owners easily get pre-screened users to rapidly do usability testing of their websites.

What this low-cost user testing service offers:

• A Flash video of a user speaking their thoughts as they browse your website. Watch a sample video.

• A written summary where that same user tells you what they liked, disliked, and what would have caused them to leave your site. See a sample summary.

UserTesting.com lets you "look over the shoulder" of people in your target audience while they use your website. And makes it fast, easy, and inexpensive, so you’re more likely to do it.

Why we chose usertesting.com as this weeks subject:  Because we know that the overwhelming majority of us plot, plan and strategize our online initiatives in a vacuum. Whether it's because we are too "thin skinned", think we know it all, or simply because we think we can't afford it, we usually launch with only feedback from our inner circle. 

Take a look at the powerhouse list of testimonials and you will see why we have such high hopes for this one.

Just because people aren't emailing us telling us why our stuff sucks, does not mean it doesn't. Most people will just move on the someone else's stuff.

Content and Image Source: usertesting.com website

Entrepreneurs - Are your thumbs the most fit part of your body?

     

For 17 years prior to getting involved in the whole technology thing (and even to a small extent today), I was a personal trainer. Throughout my career I have worked with a very diverse group of clients including: professional athletes, CEO's of public companies, stay at home moms & dads, weekend warriors, children, teens as well as basically every personality type you can think of.

While there were many obvious differences between each one of my clients, there was definitely one constant...a noticeable improvement in mood and mental clarity immediately following a workout session. 

As part of another venture I am involved with, I have been exposed to fascinating research detailing the positive impact exercise can have on a persons brain. Spark - The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise And The Brain, written by John J. Ratey MD, is a groundbreaking exploration of the connection between exercise and the brain’s performance that shows how even moderate exercise will supercharge mental circuits to beat stress, sharpen thinking, enhance memory, and much more.  Here are some interesting facts and tidbits from the first few chapters of Spark:

- Chicago's Napperville District 203, consisting on the 19,000 students is one of the fittest in the nation...they are also one of the smartest. They consistently rank among the state's top ten in terms of academic performance

- Napperville students use heart rate monitors to gauge their progress. Their students are graded on how much time they spend in their target heart rate zones during any given activity. Using heart rate monitors to measure progress, as opposed to relying solely on athletic performance, prevents less coordinated students from becoming discouraged and building a lifelong to distaste for exercise.

- Napperville's school system is far ahead of the national norm for fitness. Only one out of every 130 students was obese.

- Exercise can postively affect mood, attention, self-esteem, and social skills. The cruel irony is that old school physical education programs, discouraged a lifelong adoption of exercise by alienating shy, clumsy and out of shape students.

- In a 2007 study of humans, German Researchers found that people learn vocabulary words 20 percent faster following exercise.

While the subjects in this book are mostly children, there is a lesson that can be applied to all age groups. I cannot help but be amazed at the amount of 20,30 and 40 something entrepreneurs that are completely physically inactive...except for getting a vigorous thumb workout on their blackberry's. 

The launch of Open Office Space has provided me with the good fortune to connect/converse with new entrepreneurs and small businesses every day.The 3 most common excuses by entrepreneurs for not including exercise as part of their daily routine are time, money and motivation. Here are my quick and dirty rebuttals to these excuses.

Time - Get up 30 minutes earlier, go to bed 30 minutes later or bring your clothes to work and exercise during lunch. You do not need to spend 2 hours in the gym to get results. I would bet that you waste much more than 30 minutes per day on things that are not truly productive. Replace these time wasters with a 30 minute bout of exercise.

Money - You absolutely do not need to pay for a gym to exercise. If you are not sure what kind of exercise would be right for you, pay a trainer for one hour of his time. They can create a workout you can do at home or in the office...for free.

Motivation - C'mon people we are entrepreneurs! We have more motivation than most. If you are not persuaded by the health benefits of exercise, spend a few minutes researching the benefits that exercise can offer you as abusinesseman. Perhaps your risk-reward analysis will produce a different result.  

From my own experience, nothing helps me break through a mental road block, manage stress or come up with creative solutions to tough issues better than a good workout.

I really hope that the fitness intiatives being launched in the school systems today are carried over to the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

Content Source: John Ratey MD website 
Image Source: The Wireless Report

"Talk to me, Goose. Talk to me." Where Do You Turn For Answers as a Small Biz/Entrepreneur?

                                 

A couple of days ago I was channel surfing and caught the beginning of the movie Top Gun...of course that is where I spent my next 2 hours. After the first hour I lost count of how many times I said the word "corny and "cheesy" to describe some of the dialogue.

If you get a chance, take a few hours and re-watch the movie but be prepared for the headache you will get from rolling your eyes.

(Click here for a  funny post titled "Talk to me, Goose. Talk to me" from a 2003 post on Espn.com by Bill Simmons detailing a lot of these corny lines and how it pertained to that years upcoming football season) 

The reason I was watching TV in the first place was because I was working on mock ups for some future upgrades to Open Office Space, hit a BAD mental block and needed to clear my head. 

In the past, instead of watching TV, I would have meandered over to one of the other entrepreneurs in my shared office space and chatted it up until I found the answers I needed to break through the given mental obstacle of the day.

About a month ago I moved into a new office space, and while awesome in many respects, it does not offer the same colloborative environment of the past.

So speaking of "cheesy", here is my segue.

Do you remember the scene in Top Gun where Maverick was rubbing his fallen partners Dog Tags while contemplating whether or not he should re-engage in battle? - "Talk to me, Goose. Talk to me." I am not sure why, but watching this scene made me realize the importance of doing a little soul searching before making a final decision on an office space. The goal being to identify the type of work environment in which we would be the most productive. Ex. collaborative, quiet and isolated, or bustling corporate.

If you are like me and depend on constant feedback, approval, naysaying and often tough love to help guide your business decisions, then a quiet and isolated environment might not be the right fit for your entrepreneurial intiative/small business. Just to be clear, isolated in this case might not mean there are no people around, but rather you cannot lean on anyone for feedback.   

If you spend a few minutes searching the ever growing inventory of unused office space on our site, you will quickly see that the average asking rent has dropped and the amount of affordable spaces have increased. In other words, you can be a little bit more selective in your final decision.

Moral of the story, if you constantly need a "Goose" to lean on for direction or inspiration, make sure that your decision for a new office space is not only a function of the cost of rent but also finding the type of space that meshes most effectively with your individual/corporate personality.

Image Source: Top Gun Day

Related Posts

Looking For Office Space? Price is only one of the options you need to consider.