The oval problem-solving table
Avangate Oval Table
Last night I woke up at around 3 o’clock and I couldn’t go back to sleep. When I cannot sleep I usually think of work. What I have to do the next day, what I left pending the day before and so on.
Last night though I was thinking of our oval table (I’ll explain what that is), picturing a constant flux of people coming at the table, sitting down with a problem and leaving with a solution and a maybe a to do list.
In our office we have loads of meeting rooms: a biggish training room and various other meeting rooms, with/ without projectors/ conference phones/ even a couple of cozy ones for up to four people only.
These are usually for pre-scheduled meetings, maybe longer meetings/ meeting requiring PPT presentations etc. However, the oval table is our favorite ad-hoc meeting place. I couldn’t help thinking how essential this “corner for problem-solving” is for our business.
It’s inside the open-space office, so you don’t need to get out and go to a “dedicated meeting room”. It’s inviting and has a positive, feel good factor attached to it – it’s also the place where we bring cookies every time we celebrate something significant or somebody’s birthday. But the most important thing is that it helps us solve day-to-day problems fast and efficient.
Do you have an oval table in your office?
Tags: Avangate, management, team, time
February 16th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Thanks for writing this Delia!
We have a conference room but we’ve been talking about making an area like you suggest — out in the open, inviting, available. We’re also small enough (10 people in the Austin office) that there’d be no problems with contention for the space.
We’ve been delaying the decision as “unimportant,” but reading this has convinced me to make it high priority.
Thanks!
February 17th, 2009 at 2:32 am
Don’t get me started on oval tables!
http://successfulsoftware.net/2008/07/18/a-mathematical-digression/
February 17th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
@Jason – thanks, happy to hear the post was helpful. As I replied on Twitter, it works for a 60+ team, it will surely work for a smaller one. Good luck and send us a photo with your first quick meeting!
@Andy – I’ve read your post and.. no, I won’t :-) Glad to see you found a solution though.
March 5th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I am happy to report that we also have an oval table… but it’s not actually oval and it’s not really a table… its more like a coffee table.
When we designed our office we created this big meeting room, the same as you have, and very small area where guests in our office could wait.
The meeting room is of course not very popular, so all the guys now have their meetings on the big Fatboys (too bad we only have 4 of them), around the XBox.
Here are some pictures: http://www.joobs.ro/photos/code40/5137613783793981361/fridaycoding-team1b/5137613886873196594/
And the good part… it’s all colored green :)
Now, how can top this one :P?
March 13th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Nope, we cannot top that. But we do actual work @ our oval table :-)