Objective

Re-purpose the private office of a nonprofit from a neglected space to a highly-functional room.

Background

Sitting at lunch one day at a coworking space, I struck up a conversation with the program manager of a nonprofit. He spoke to me of a vision to refresh their private office. He wanted it to become a showcase for their growing organization, and had even procured a map to highlight their growing presence. In its current state, however, their office was far from inviting.

A private office in a shared Coworking space

The nonprofit’s private office sits within a larger coworking space, which the team is free use as well. This means they can choose to work anywhere they like: in the shared café, at a free desk in the coworking space, or in their private office. The private office held considerable potential to supplement the other oprions, but not in its current state

starting state

Over the life of the nonprofit, the private office had become neglected. The team was using it as storage for unwanted items: giveaways from event sponsors, bulk drinkware for events, and misprinted T-shirts. It was a mess.

The team was still going into the space for private phone calls and individual focus work, but the clutter made them embarrassed to bring in sponsors and interviewees. They needed to clean things up. And they weren’t going to do it by themselves.

Process

This is when I came in. I brought the energy and influence to catalyze the nonprofit to revitalize their office. But I didn’t go head first into tossing everything out.

Visioning session

To better understand how this private workspace could enable the nonprofit‘s team to meet its strategic objectives, I needed to understand their mission and goals. What better way than to map it out together on a whiteboard?

In addition to telling me about the company‘s mission, the program manager shared stories about the objects they had accumulated. This helped me build a genuine connection with him and better understand the nonprofit’s beliefs and values.

With a better understanding of the nonprofit, we were able to shape goals for the project.

Here’s my involvement blah blah blah. this is what we did Tadaddad.

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Goals

• Feel proud to bring people into the space

• Limit storage to personal items

• Function as a showcase for the brand and organization

• Open access to whiteboard to improve planning

Decluttering

But scheduling times to show up, I created a time and space for us to de clutter the office. I set the expectation that we were going to clean up .

Catalyzing the team to reduce the number of items accumulated over time. It was fun, and an opportunity to get to know the nonprofit’s people better.

Iteration

Testing several layouts to find an optimal solution

AftEr

Outcomes

• Access to whiteboard, aids visual thinking, planning out work

• pride in the space

• Ability to join video conferences with a professional backdrop

I feel proud to bring in sponsors. It feels welcoming.

I can join video calls with a professional backdrop.

New functions

“I think visually. Now that the whiteboard is available, I can plan out my work visually. It helps me keep track of my grant applications.” - Head of Partnerships and Philanthropy