the new hr

For most chief
executives, the C-suite
is an anchor to nourish
their personal energy.
in a secluded corner office, disconnected from
employees, is receding. Instead, a wide range of
workplaces and work styles can be seen, including
progressive leadership traits such as agility,
craftsmanship, and portfolio lives.
Over the course of 50 columns, companies of
different scales—major to minor, across sectors and
geographies—run by chief executives of differing
ages and temperaments have been featured. The
qualifying criteria included having a distinctive
space, a unique way of working, and a compelling
and credible business story.
A few caveats: from the original set of 50
interviews, I was unable to include in the book
all those who were interviewed (although all are
available online). Also, some cities are underrepresented
(not for lack of trying, in many cases).
Connecting business and design
A workplace represents a significant investment of
financial and physical resources,
and human capital. This
investment in tangible assets—
furniture and technology—is
meant to enhance intangible
assets—company culture.
I wanted to interview chief
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executives in their personal spaces to decipher
how tangible assets related to intangible assets, and
perhaps even to provide a simple framework for
business leaders and architects to communicate
better with each other.
During the course of the series, two important
findings emerged, which shed light on the
connection between business and workplace design:
• What your office says about you: I noticed it
was possible to classify C-suites into four distinct
workplace archetypes, based on their design,
usage, and primary purpose. These workplace
archetypes provide insight into a CEO’s business
priorities and personality.
• How to manage intangible assets: It was
also apparent that some CEOs were using
workplace design as a tool to manage their
most importable intangible assets in specific
ways, namely through 15 workstyles, or ways of
working. These workstyles capture nuances of
their leadership traits and personality.
What your office says about you
As I conducted my interviews, I discovered
that chief executives generally use their private
workplaces (or C-suites) in one of four ways,
depending on their primary purpose, usage,
and design.
For most chief executives, the C-suite is an
anchor to nourish their personal energy. For many
others, it is a tool to build organisational capital,
i.e., workculture, structure, and processes. Others
leverage it as a platform to communicate brand
values. And finally, some have begun to think of
workplaces as a resource, in terms of sustainability
and the environment. Thus, each C-suite can be
categorised into a specific ‘workplace archetype’,
based on which of the four intangible assets
it supports.
Of course, there is substantial overlap for any
given C-suite, as most chief executives will be
interested in managing most, if not all, of these
intangible assets. For example, several C-suites that
I feel serve mainly as ‘tools to build human capital’
are also ‘anchors to nourish personal energy’. What
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