Positioning Yourself as an
Education Resource
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news
Washington, D.C. Dealer MOI Moves Quickly to Support Haiti Relief Efforts
The Only Thing
Better Than a Learning Organization is a Teaching Organization In 1990, a business professor at MIT named Peter Senge published a book called The Fifth Discipline in which he examined in a new and very original way the concept of a learning organization. Senge’s argument, putting it simply, is that the only way organizations of any kind can prosper in periods of rapid change is by becoming flexible, adaptive and productive. And for that to happen, he argued, organizations need to discover how to tap people’s commitment and capacity to learn at all levels.
MOI staff at their recent Haiti fundraiser. Left to Right: Ti Schulze, Arlington, VA director of sales; David Noel, MOI president, and Khalid Itum, VP-Best Practices, Marketing & Business Development. Business conditions for office furniture dealers may be more challenging today than they’ve been in generations, but that hasn’t lessened the dealer community’s traditional commitment to community involvement and support of deserving causes. Case in point: Washington D.C.’s MOI, Inc. Like the rest of the country, MOI team members watched in horror as the full impact of last month’s earthquake in Haiti became clear: Over 230,000 killed, as many as one million left homeless and all this in a country that was already one of the poorest on the planet. For MOI vice president Khalid Itum, the disaster called for a strong and immediate response. Khalid immediately scheduled a phone call with his team and suggested the idea of a special Haiti fundraiser at a prominent D.C. hotel. Just three days later, it happened. The event, which featured speakers from the National Capitol Chapter of the American Red Cross and other local Haitian support organizations, drew close to 500 attendees from the area’s A&D and commercial real estate communities and raised some $187,000 for disaster relief, reports MOI’s Linsey Jorgenson. “As we watched events unfold on the island, all of us felt we needed to do something to help and do it quickly,” she explained. “We created an aggressive grassroots marketing campaign using a web site, e-mail blasts and Facebook. continued on page 3 FEBRUARY 2010
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Certainly, if you’re not part of a learning organization in an industry that’s subject to as much sudden and dramatic change as the office furniture business, you’ve got more than enough reason to be concerned about your future. So how do you think your clients feel? Our cover story this month focuses on some innovative dealers who are finding some equally innovative ways to answer that question. Just about all of them have played key roles in turning their own companies into learning organizations but they’re also going one step further and providing expertise and insight to help their clients become learning organizations also. At a time when actual purchase orders are still distressingly few and far between, positioning your dealership as a source of expert knowledge and advice represents more than just a nice way to add value. It’s also—as the dealers featured in this month’s cover story can testify—a terrific way to maintain and strengthen key relationships so that when business does start heading in the right direction again, your dealership will still be front of mind with the folks who carry the checkbooks. The message this month: If you’re not serving as an important educational resource for your customers today, now is the time to start learning how. Simon DeGroot Editor in Chief OFDealer
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Dealer News } continued from page 2 Our clients and business partners responded magnificently. The Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill also joined the effort by donating ballroom space for the evening. We are incredibly thankful to all of our sponsors who included Vornado, Arent Fox, Barbara Nolan Inc., Skanska, and Jones Lang LaSalle.”
professionals, including Lane Office president Gregory F. Burke. The winning designs, by Erin McDaniel and Kyoungmin Lee, were selected based on their creative and effective use of the ICE design specification software program.
As successful as last month’s event was, it is just the beginning of MOI’s efforts to help, says Jorgenson, and planning is already underway for further fundraising in support of Haiti later this year.
Haworth Ottawa Dealer Advanced Business Interiors Steps Up to the Plate in Support of Continuing Education In Ottawa, Canada, Haworth dealer Advanced Business Interiors (ABI) has come up with an innovative way to find talented and enthusiastic temporary help while giving back to the community at the same time. For the past four years, ABI has worked with the Ottawa campus of Herzing College to provide work experience for their business management and accounting students. Last year, reports ABI accounting and administrative manager Carol Sollows, the dealership took the relationship to the next level by sponsoring three bursaries or scholarships for students at the college. “Herzing typically serves more mature students who are looking for a career change,” Sollows explains. “We ended up hiring the first Herzing student who came to work for us and we’ve found them all very hard-working and enthusiastic since then. The bursaries are a logical way for us to give back to the community as a whole and express our commitment to continuing education in a very concrete way.”
New York City Dealer Lane Office Announces Design Student Grant Winners Last month, the winners of the DIRTT • Mogens Smed Grant for the School of Visual Arts in New York City were announced at an awards presentation held at furniture dealership Lane Office.
One of the winning entries in the School of Visual Arts Grant contest. Lane Office sponsored the grant and competition to introduce designers to ICE, and to identify innovative ways to utilize the software. Both winners will receive $2,500 toward tuition for the spring semester.
Marathon Office Interiors, St. Louis Steelcase Dealer, Opens a New Window to Sales Growth Business these days may be a lot more challenging than any of us might like, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still opportunities out there. Just ask Frank Sovich and Gregg Wolff, owners of Marathon Office Interiors in Columbia, MO, midway between Kansas City and St. Louis. Frank and Greg just closed a deal to acquire a local commercial awnings and window treatments company that, says Sovich, further strengthens the dealership’s position as a one-stop commercial interiors resource for its customers.
Winners were selected based on a design competition open to all undergraduate students at the school.
The acquisition came about from a chance conversation at a late summer Rotary Club meeting between Wolff and the owner of the window company and, says Sovich, represents “a natural fit” for Marathon.
Students were given a two-month timeframe and invited to submit a workplace environment design incorporating DIRTT walls. Submissions were judged by a team of industry
In addition to buying the window company’s name and assets, the dealership is also bringing the former owner and his two installers into the Marathon fold and embarking on a continued on page 4
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Dealer News } continued from page 3 re-branding effort to reflect its expanded product and services offering. Sovich candidly admits 2009 was a challenge but, he says, the Marathon team took steps early on to prepare and have weathered the storm “better than most.” “We knew going in that it was going to be a difficult year and cut expenses and refocused our sales and marketing accordingly,” he explains. While Marathon had no layoffs last year, they downsized through attrition and put more emphasis on pre-owned furniture and getting more “feet on the street,” Sovich reports. The result: the company finished out the year up 2% on the bottom line and while expectations for the coming year are “flat at best” for office furniture sales, their latest acquisition should bring about $500,000 in sales in 2010, with a goal of doubling that over the next five years. Meanwhile, Sovich and Woff took advantage of the deal to generate some nice PR in their local business press and are certainly open to other potential acquisitions should the right candidates come along. Stay tuned!
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BIFMA December Numbers: Orders Down 12%; Shipments Off 20%
Industry Index Is Mixed In Latest Survey
The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) released its market statistics for December 2009 earlier this month and they reflected continuing stability, even if signs of an actual business recovery for the industry remained largely absent. BIFMA estimated December orders declined 12%, while shipments were down by 20%. For the full year, both orders and shipments were down by 30%. Key economic drivers of office furniture consumption remain mixed, noted analyst Budd Bugatch of the Raymond James investment house. Corporate profits have begun to improve (though this has been driven largely by cost cutting rather than revenue growth) and capital budgets are restrained, Bugatch said. After hitting a trough early in 2009, CEO confidence continued to rise, with December’s 85.4 reading representing the highest level since September 2008 and marking the third consecutive month of year-over-year improvement, he noted.
The latest industry survey from Michael A. Dunlap & Associates, completed last month, had pretty much something for everyone, from the most starry-eyed optimist to the gloomiest pessimist. The survey went to more than 600 individuals involved with office furniture manufacturing and suppliers worldwide and yielded a series of apparent contradictions. Gross shipments improved, but the order backlog declined. Employment held steady while hours worked increased to its highest level since October 2008. Capital expenditures and tooling expenditures among manufacturers declined significantly in the fourth quarter of 2009, while new product development increased significantly. The overall survey index came in at 50.64, a modest decline from the 51.45 posted in the last survey, conducted in October 2009. The highest recorded index was 59.72 in July 2005; the lowest was 41.45 in April 2009. The average is 54.06 since the survey started in August 2004.
Bugatch also pointed to moderating losses in service- providing payrolls and a modest increase in the AIA’s Architect’s Billing Index (43.4 compared with 42.8 in November and 34.1 in the prior year) as encouraging indicators.
“I’m a little disappointed in the results this quarter. It’s a real ‘mixed bag,’” commented Dunlap. “I was expecting to see improvements in order backlog and personal outlook. I am surprised in the decreases in capital expenditures and tooling expenditures, but I think this will bounce back in the next quarter.”
However, he also pointed out the Conference Board’s tracking of new office construction posted a 26.7% year-over-year decline in December, the fourteenth consecutive month of year-over-year declines and the sixth in a row down 20% or more.
The majority of respondents continue to cite economic conditions, threat of a “double dip” recession, commercial real estate values, healthcare costs, low cost imports and energy costs as the largest threats to the industry.
Given tight credit conditions and long lead times between planning and completion of new office buildings, project-related office furniture demand is likely to remain challenged for the foreseeable future, Bugatch predicted.
Added Dunlap, “2009 was, without question, the worst single year in modern history for this industry. There are enough indicators in this survey that tell us that the current industry recession is not getting any worse, but it reinforces the theory that it will take a long time to come out of it.”
Looking ahead, BIFMA estimates 2010 orders will decline 2.3% and shipments will decrease by 4.6% with the industry returning to year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter of this year.
The survey repeats in April 2010. continued on page 6
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Industry News } continued from page 5 AIS Provides Office Furniture for the Largest Build in ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition History AIS, recently partnered with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (EMHE) to provide office furniture to a newly rebuilt school in Washington D.C. Airing this past Sunday, February 14th on ABC, the Emmy Award-winning reality TV series stormed the nation’s capital to rebuild The Fishing School which offers after school programs to children ages 6-13, empowering the youth to dream big and provides the tools to make those dreams a reality. AIS’ donation includes the office furniture for three floors and installation services, provided by Maryland Office Interior and design resources from Interior Architects (IA) of Washington, DC. AIS’ donation includes over 24 Matrix workstations, three private offices, four teachers’ stations, one conference room table, 43 Element chairs, and 80 storage units.
“Our goal in creating the new portal was to consolidate all of the information and resources that used to be housed on multiple sites—and put it conveniently on one site. HON Ready will give dealers and channel partners easier access to information, a single sign-on and password, and one spot to find anything and everything related to doing business with HON. Plus, looking ahead, HON Ready will be the tool we use to continue to streamline communications and deliver innovative, tailor-made tools to our dealers and channel partners.” Specific materials and resources offered at the HON Ready portal include: n Marketing Resources — Literature, press releases, brand guidelines, and additional tools n Products — Thorough information on HON and basyx products
“The moment we heard about The Fishing School, our design team called AIS, as we were confident they could pull this off. From the space planning and design concept stages, to the production and install, AIS truly took the design and functionality of the new Fishing School to the next level. We are beyond grateful for their generosity, support and dedication to this amazing organization,” said Kim Lewis, Art Director, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
n Design Resources — Updates on textiles and finishes, specials, specification services, and more
“This is the second time AIS has contributed to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The first Extreme build in Hawaii was such a success and inspiration, it was a simple decision to supply the requested donation of product and effort again to another encouraging project,” said Rob Lazarus, executive vice president, Sales & Marketing, AIS. “We also could not have done this without the teams at Interior Architects and Maryland Office Interiors who provided ground level support to ensure this is a perfect build from start to finish,” continues Lazarus.
n General Library — Brand Guidelines, catalogs and pricers
New HON Web Portal Provides One-Stop Access to Dealer Support Materials and Services The HON Company last month launched a comprehensive new web site for dealers and channel partners, HON Ready. Located at www.honready.hon.com, the site brings together more than 25 dealer sites which the company formerly offered. The previous web sites, including honbusiness.com, honliterature.com, honsmart.com and honimages.com, have been permanently moved to HON Ready. “What can dealers and channel partners expect to find on HON Ready? In one word — everything,” said Mike McClaflin, director of e-business for The HON Company. FEBRUARY 2010
n Pricing & Proposals — Bids, contracts, pricers, and competitive information n Order Information — e-Ordering and support n Programs & Rewards — HONors and HON HONORS, channel partner programs, promotions and forms
n Learning Center — Training tools Channel partners with questions about using HON Ready can email honready@honcompany.com or call 1-800-552-0012.
HPFI Hits the Screen HPFI (High Point Furniture Industries) has announced its products are being featured not only on two hit television series but have also made their way onto the big screen. Several models of its traditional seating, including captain's, guest and executive wing back chairs, will be featured in CBS Television’s new drama The Good Wife, starring Emmy Award winner Julianna Margulies. HPFI has also just received an order for a Leaders model High Back Executive chair to ship to New York for use on the set of NBC’s Saturday Night Live Moving to film, the Chesterfield Collection of traditional reception furnishings will be featured in The Other Guys, a police comedy co-starring Samuel. L. Jackson, Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson due to release this summer.
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Annual OFDA Dealer Financial Comparison and Benchmarking Guide Open
categories: training, product lines, service and support, sales and marketing, management and technology.
Reliable business performance benchmarking data is more critical now than ever before. OFDA is committed to providing dealers with impartial, industry-wide research and benchmarking data to help them identify specific ways to improve their financial and operations results.
Survey data is collected, consolidated and analyzed by an independent third-party, Industry Insights, on behalf of OFDA and its members. As such, your individual survey data will be treated as confidential and will not be disclosed to any other party. As a thank you for your participation, you will receive an electronic copy of the final survey report so you can compare your suppliers with other industry manufacturers.
The 2009 OFDA Dealer Financial Comparison and Benchmarking Guide survey was redesigned in 2008 and is open and available online to all office furniture dealers. This financial tool will provide you with the data needed to assess your operation’s performance, compare your company’s financials with the industry’s best players of similar business and market size, determine your operation’s strengths and weaknesses, and set targeted goals for improvement.
For more information, contact Billie Zidek at bzidek@iopfda.org. DMSI Survey https://www.iisecure.com/ofdasurvey2010.htm
Benchmarking information can also help dealers maintain strong control of their businesses — staying on top of expenses, managing cash, managing debt and setting realistic goals — which is especially useful during tough economic times.
OFDA Announces Plans for 2010 Dealer Strategies Conference
In appreciation of your participation, each participant will receive a FREE custom Company Performance Report (CPR) based on the final study, and a copy of the comprehensive survey report in an electronic format. The closing date for the survey is June 30, 2010. For more information, contact Billie Zidek at bzidek@iopfda.org. Survey https://www.iisecure.com/OFDA/login.asp
How Satisfied Are You with Your Manufacturer Partners? The annual OFDA Dealer Manufacturer Satisfaction Index (DMSI) survey is your opportunity to evaluate the products, policies, service and support of your manufacturer business partners. The purpose of the survey is to improve dealer-manufacturer relations by both identifying topics of dealer concern and recognizing best of class performance among industry manufacturers. It’s easy to participate and takes less than five minutes. You may evaluate up to four of your primary suppliers in six key FEBRUARY 2010
The closing date for the survey is April 16, 2010 with results shared with the industry press and manufacturers in early June. Top ranked manufacturers will be presented with OFDA’s annual Dealers’ Choice awards at the NeoCon show.
"Winds of Change" Conference Theme Looks to the Future of the Office Furniture Dealer OFDA has recently unveiled plans for its 2010 Dealer Strategies Conference. The conference will be held October 9-12 at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa in Bonita Springs, Florida. Chris Bates, president of OFDA, highlighted the 2010 conference theme Winds of Change: New Realities, New Strategies as one that “reflects the very significant changes in business strategy and execution that dealers and their business partners are actively considering and implementing to move beyond the present economic doldrums toward shaping a profitable future in the years ahead.” Bates added, “Our industry and dealers in particular are in a period of dramatic adjustment, right-sizing and transitions to new business revenue models. Building on the success of our 2009 educational program, OFDA’s 2010 conference will bring together a sharply focused educational program that addresses these critical strategic issues and decisions, drawing heavily
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OFDA News } continued from page 8 upon the practical experiences of industry dealers in all segments of the market.“ There will be in-depth, hands-on workshops, general session keynotes to stimulate fresh, big-picture thinking and numerous breakout sessions covering key strategy, operational and especially new business development topics. And all of this will take place in a compact two-day event.
dialog and effective networking at every turn. A more intimate display setting keeps product and service introductions in and around one central meeting area that allows for interaction https://www.iopfda.org/index.asp?bid=3718. throughout the conference. Private meeting suites also will be available to conference vendors for scheduling one-on-one discussions with key customers and prospects. https://www.iopfda.org/index.asp?sid=25. Save $100 when you register early
After the successful redesign of last year's conference held in Austin, TX, this year's event will once again feature an informal environment that is highly conducive to learning and networking. Experienced industry and non-industry presenters and panelists are charged with interacting with attendees to encourage
Not ready to commit yet? Want more information? Check out comments from last year's show, view last year's educational offerings or give us a call. We're happy to talk to you about how OFDA's conference has changed and brought new energy and more practical education to dealers and their business partners in the office furniture industry.
Looking for Fast Relief? Office Furniture Dealers Alliance (OFDA), THE industry association for dealers and their key business partners, is your one-stop source for: z Management education programs for company principals, sales and operations managers
z Industry-leading financial and operations benchmarking z Online forums for member networking, product and
OFDA
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best practice exchanges
DA
z Practical web-based training, webinars and other online resources for employees
z Scholarships and Group Insurance programs for families of member company employees
z Special member pricing on other valuable business services
800.542.6672 FEBRUARY 2010
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www.ofdanet.org PAGE 9
National Office Furniture believes in building environments that promote healing and well-being for both those being cared for and their caregivers. The healthcare industry is faced with many challenges, so we would like to do our part in assisting caring organizations with an opportunity to win a $25,000 Gift of Inspiration. This gift can be used to support the needs of healthcare environments in areas such as technology, the patient experience, staff morale and training or facility enhancements. Have your customers register at www.NationalOfďŹ ceFurniture.com/Healthcare for their chance to win. It really is that simple. No purchase necessary, no strings attached. Registration is open to all types of healthcare organizations through March 31, 2010.
Healthcare organizations can register at www.NationalOfficeFurniture.com/Healthcare.
800.482.1717 www.NationalOfficeFurniture.com
Positioning Yourself as an
Knowledge is power and nobody has the power to educate customers about furniture and design issues and trends like a successful office furniture dealer. Indeed, a marketing plan that includes a healthy dose of educational opportunities is a terrific way of keeping in touch with customers during tough times and adding value at any time.
Education Resource
Elements IV Interiors in Dayton, OH, could very well be the poster child for education in the furniture and design space. Three years ago they repurposed an existing building north of Dayton. They tore this former manufacturing facility apart and completely rebuilt it, creating a LEED CI Silver building.
By Scott Cullen
“We use this building to tell our story about sustainable design and how the furniture product fits into that shell to support it,” explains Jack King, president. The facility also has an interactive learning center that is available free of charge to the local IFMA, BOMA International, and AIA chapters, as well as virtually any other organizations that want to use it. At any time during the week, one or two organizations are meeting in the space, says King.
“What that allows us to do is tell our story to an audience that we might not necessarily reach otherwise,” he explains. “We’ve probably had close to 2,000 people through the facility over the last three years for meetings. It keeps us fresh in current clients’ as well as prospective clients’ minds and allows us to showcase who we are, what we do, how we support the community and how the furniture we sell supports a sustainable design strategy. That has probably done more to raise our visibility in the community than just about anything else.” How does Elements IV Interiors gauge the success of their educational outreach? Other than attendance, King says the firm is viewed a lot differently than they were previously. “As far as our interior design staff and our installation staff is concerned we’ve seen a pretty significant increase in architectural firms coming to us for interior design support,” notes King. “In 2008-2009 we had a sustained increase in our top-line revenue number that is meaningful enough to see that the only thing that’s been different is this facility.” DS&D in Somerville, NJ, also takes client education seriously. They host a variety of informational sessions throughout the year, including CEU-accredited courses, presentations, and other events. They also publish SuccessfulSpaces, an e-mail newsletter for clients, vendors, and industry continued on page 12 PAGE 11
Education Resource } continued from page 11 partners. The newsletter often provides information on emerging workspace trends and new product applications, innovation in interior planning and design, and client success stories. Last year DS&D offered three seminars and partnered with a certified LEED trainer for a successful event to help attendees achieve LEED AP certification. For that event, the company invited clients, architects, designers, and other influencers for a three-day session. Typically an event like this would cost $2,500 per person, but with DS&D subsidizing, it cost clients less than $200 per person. “In a fairly weak economy we’re trying to prepare the community we serve whether it’s architects, construction firms, or clients on how to build green and get certified,” says Steve Lang, principal with DS&D. “To me it’s a good opportunity for us to give back to those communities. There was a subtle message that we were sponsoring it, but we didn’t do any promotions. We just said, ‘Come in because we think there’s value here.’” CEU-accredited courses on sustainable buildings are also useful for those needing continuing education credits, and DS&D has worked with the U.S. Green Building Council and the Willow School in New Jersey, whose founder is an internationally known
expert on building sustainable communities and buildings, on sharing this information with clients and the A&D community. “Our success in the future is going to be predicated more on being a resource and a knowledge base much like a consulting firm,” opines Lang. “That’s more our model today than 10 years ago and in the next 10 years you’ll see us do more consultative, educational-type events.” “We strongly believe in client education,” echoes Kelly Burke, chairman and manager of the office furniture division of OEC in Louisville, KY. “That’s the key to our selling.” OEC hosts three CEU-accredited events a year. Those events are marketed on OEC’s web site, the web sites of the local chapter of IIDA as well as through AIA groups. The company also sends e-mail invites to its database of designers, facilitators and contractors. “It’s definitely part of our business because we’re trying to take an angle that we don’t just want to come in and fill your office with furniture, but want to be part of the planning,” says Burke. OEC leverages education to engage clients in discussions, particularly those who are building new facilities, focusing on what they need to consider throughout their environment during the planning stage before the facility is built. Holding educational events has also helped raise OEC’s profile in the community. “We’re viewed as more of a resource,” states Burke. “Education is new with us and it’s not direct selling. It’s clients viewing us as more than just a dealership that offers the lowest price, but as someone they can turn to for advice.” Like his peers, Rob Carpenter, president of Price Modern LLC in Baltimore, acknowledges that anything else to do with LEED certification makes for a valuable educational opportunity. Price Modern has been focusing on this for the past 12 months and it’s a big part of plans going forward. “LEED certification and LEED initiatives by corporate America and our government evolve just as quickly as anything and each year we have different criteria,” says Carpenter. “We find that’s important because green initiatives are only going to continue, especially under our current administration.” Price Modern holds educational events as often as Carpenter feels a specific and relevant need to do so. continued on page 14
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Education Resource } continued from page 12 That amounts to two to four times a year. He feels that the key to successfully presenting any kind of education is knowing your audience.
been in its 100-year-old building for the last 60 years. Being a historic landmark makes it attractive to clients attending the company’s frequent lunch and learns.
“You have to speak to the sophistication of your clients,” says Carpenter. “If you’re working with a large corporation that has an experienced facilities management and design department, your subject matter and focus is different than if you have an end user who is more of a novice or a corporation that’s merged or generating exponential growth. Know your target audience, their needs, and why you’re talking to them.” But Carpenter is leery of the way some dealerships approach education. “Lots of times I find these educational gatherings nothing but people trying to get in front of people and we don’t find that to be as productive as having a specific reason for doing a specific [educational event],” he says. Memphis Business Interiors (MBI) in Memphis, TN, tries to offer customers as many educational opportunities as possible —usually once a quarter. In addition to staff presentations, the dealership brings in speakers from its vendors to educate about workplace, healthcare, and technology trends. “We cover just about anything that’s happening in the workplace that would influence how our customers can work more efficiently,” says Emily Rolwing, business development manager for MBI. Events target customers as well as the architectural and design communities who are interested in the CEU-accredited courses. The CEU events MBI hosts don’t just focus on products. One focused on acoustics in the workplace and how an organization can use existing fixtures and products to achieve a greater degree of privacy. When it comes to gauging success from an educational perspective, attendance at these events is an obvious factor, but the burning question is, do these events lead to sales? “They do lead to sales,” says Rolwing, “Maybe not immediately, but it helps grow the relationship. It can be something that you nurture for months and it will happen eventually or maybe not but, you have someone who can attest that you do want to help them.” Another recent MBI educational event was a lunch and learn focused on general design issues. That drew a large crowd while a more niche-oriented evening event focusing on trends in library design drew a smaller, albeit more targeted crowd. All Makes Office Furniture’s headquartered in Omaha, NE has an ideal setting to educate clients. The 92-year-old company has FEBRUARY 2010
Those lunch and learns are attended by everyone within a client’s organization involved in the purchasing process. If the lunch and learn is focused on a particular product, All Makes invites the manufacturer’s rep to join them. Clients enjoy a catered lunch, a new product preview as well as a tour of the building and an introduction to family members (All Makes is a family-owned business), as well as all other team members. “We make it fun, try to include a lot of personal dialog and we do a good job of it,” says Jeff Kavich, president and CEO of All Makes, who notes that there are half a dozen A&D firms All Makes tries to stay in front of at all times and lunch and learns and other educational events such as CEU-accredited courses do the trick. All Makes usually gets 90% of everyone they invite to the lunch and learns. For the CEU-accredited classes, All Makes brings in manufacturers and specialists. “We target those folks and facilities people in our larger accounts who need those credits,” says Kavich. “We focus on learning and don’t promote products during the presentations.” Focusing on education—even if it’s part of a sales presentation— yields a host of benefits. “It keeps top-of-mind awareness, allows us to present the latest and greatest in the industry, keeps them updated, and creates the relationship that needs to be created between the dealership and end user because in today’s economy it’s very easy for all of us to become a commodity,” maintains Kavich. “It helps build trust.” Another successful benefit that treads the fine line between promotion and education is All Makes’ “Dine and Dash.” This
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Education Resource } continued from page 14 takes place in a local restaurant between 4:30 and 6:30 in the evening and targets members of the Omaha A&D community. Once invitees arrive, they order two to-go meals. While they wait, they can look at a new product that All Makes brings into the restaurant for the event. When the meal is ready they leave with their dinner and information about the product. “What makes the event really nice is there’s no sit-down presentation,” says Kavich. “They come in, they snack, they have a drink or two, they go.” This event is modeled after the way the pharmaceutical industry presents new meds to physicians. It’s been extremely successful with a 97% return for the last event. These events are coordinated by Jaylene Eilenstine, director of marketing, who has been particularly creative with her invitations. For the last event, invitees received a ViewMaster with the classic round picture disk that allowed them to click through the disk to see who, what, where and when. Asked why All Makes has been so successful with their educational events, Kavich says it’s because they offer good programs. “It’s the content and we get the right people to the right events,” he explains. “We’ve had CEU offerings for school associates, for desks, for LEED and invited facilities people from all the school boards. When you get the right people with the right presenter and the right content, they find it worth their while.” Any doubts regarding the importance of education can easily be dispelled by the concluding comments of Price Modern’s Carpenter: “Education has always been important,” he says. “If I look back over 30 years, the best relationships I see are those born from educated consumers.”
Scott Cullen has been writing about the office products, office furniture, and office equipment industries since 1986. He has been working as an independent writer and editor since 1997, and is currently editorial director and managing editor of OfficeSolutions and OfficeDealer magazines as well as publisher and editorial director of the new ezine, Imaging Solutions Reseller. FEBRUARY 2010
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PROFILE
On the Fast Track to Success By Alicia Ellis
There are many different types of dealer principals. There are those who are rarely in the office, preferring to let managers handle the day to day running of the business. There are those who are in the office every day but spend most of their time behind their desks. There are owners who are in the office every day and who try to reach beyond the financials to engage in networking and client outreach to build business. And then, there are owners like Greg Burke. Principal of Lane Office in midtown New York City, Burke’s energy, enthusiasm and commitment to his business, his employees, his suppliers, his community and his clients stretches beyond the norm of most dealerships and at times
as Burke will be the first to tell you, borders on a little crazy. An 88-year old company, Burke joined Lane Office in 1982 as a member of the sales team. He was named president and principal owner in 1995 and has grown Lane Office from $5 million into an award-winning $40 million dealership. An aligned Knoll and DIRTT dealer, Lane Office sells primarily to corporate customers through its staff of 10 dedicated salespeople who communi- cate with an informal network of brokers, architects and movers who help to identify opportunities. According to Lane Office’s director of marketing Christine Larsen, Lane Office
differentiates itself through friendly people and principal involvement. “Greg Burke’s fierce dedication to client service translates into successful projects which in turn lead to loyal clients,” she says. “Everything we do is built on personal client service,” said Burke who has his home phone number printed on his business cards and is no stranger to evening and early morning phone calls. “Be the best at what you do and people will see the value. People say we sell office furniture and I say, ‘We sell service.’” In order to attract customers, Lane Office’s staff takes their marketing and continued on page 18
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Dealer Profile } continued from page 17 networking seriously and despite a 20% decrease in sales in 2009, Lane Office has continued its marketing efforts through corporate branding, participation in tradeshows, sponsorships, charitable donations and community projects including:
and philanthropic endeavors to existing and potential clients. Burke stays in touch with clients, is always available to help prioritize or resolve issues and attends networking events several times a week.
4 IIDA NY Platinum Partnership
Every piece of correspondence that comes out of Lane Office has its logo prominently displayed. “If the Lane Office swoosh isn’t in green and the logo’s not on every document, I freak out,” said Burke who believes that every letter, event, email, and phone call is an opportunity to reinforce the Lane Office brand. “We have an entire closet full of Lane Office, Knoll and DIRTT branded promotional items including branded t-shirts umbrellas, ties, biscotti (Yes, biscotti. They’re in New York City) and during the H1N1 scare, we even gave away branded hand sanitizer.”
4 Showroom events 4 Sponsorship of a $5,000 design competition and hotel tour through a partnership with New York’s School of Visual Arts (SVA). 4 Underwriting the Annual Eric F. Haray Memorial Sporting Clay Event at Fordham University 4 Sponsorship of the Taconic Ranger youth baseball team 4 Financial support for employee participation in an “Over the Edge” charitable rappelling event held by the National Foundation for Human Potential 4 And don’t forget about the donations to the New York Special Olympics, the Andy Foundation, Boy Scouts of America and the Diabetes Research Institute just to name a few. In order to further its brand and the Knoll and DIRTT brands, Lane Office publishes a quarterly newsletter, Life in the Fast Lane to promote its products, services, employees, projects
Burke’s latest challenge was to embrace the social networking world. With his own Twitter account, he tweets to a growing number of followers once per day. Whether tweeting about a new hire, pondering who supplies the chairs for the tallest building in the world or falling down the stairs in his underwear, his friendly, honest, open manner has a trickledown effect throughout Lane Office and straight to the customers. Follow Greg Burke on Twitter at twitter.com/gregoryfburke
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FEBRUARY 2010
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The Toughest Challenge Managing the Transition of Change By Bill Kuhn
I have frequently discussed the importance of change, in order to grow, to prosper, and, yes, even to survive in today’s extremely challenging office furniture industry.
Bill Kuhn, principal of William E. Kuhn & Associates, is a noted industry consultant, writer, and speaker with over 35 years of industry experience. He consults with dealer principals and their management teams in areas of strategic planning, leadership and organizational development, marketing, financial management, valuation and merger/ acquisition. For more information, contact Bill by phone: 303-322-8233, fax: 303-331-9032, or e-mail: BillKuhn1@cs.com.
FEBRUARY 2010
In my writings, my focus has been on the need for dealer leadership to make change happen by establishing a sense of urgency, creating and communicating a vision, empowering staff and building a strong corporate culture. In light of current tough industry conditions, I’m not talking about incremental change, merely modifying “what is.” I’m referring to monumental change for dealers and manufacturers. This adds another dimension to change, not only “leading change,” but “managing change.” The industry is at a critical point in its evolution, with dealers—and manufacturers—needing to re-invent themselves in terms of the products and services the offer and the customers they serve. Dealers and manufacturers both need to understand how to plan in a volatile industry (simultaneously facing crises and opportunities), OFDEALER
accelerate decision-making, select and retain top talent considering today’s generational differences and change and reshape corporate culture. Many dealers tell me change at their dealership has been in progress for over a year. When I ask what’s been done, most cite cost reductions, diversification into non-commercial markets and/or introducing additional services. Many are also taking action more quickly than they did in the last recession. Such changes are undoubtedly beneficial, but others are required as well. They include: s Developing one- to three-year strategic plans that are reviewed (including input from staff), and modified as necessary, every month. s Adding new products to address current trends. (In the future, what percent of industry sales will be cubicles?) s Reacting quickly and effectively to crises and opportunities. (Interestingly, the Chinese continued on page 20 PAGE 19
Challenge } continued from page 19 express crisis with two separate symbols: one being danger, the other being hidden opportunity.) s Drastically shortening the time it takes to make and carry out critical decisions. s Creating what isn’t and, in many instances, discarding what has been created in the past. (Drucker frequently talked about the necessary practice of abandonment.)
Two things become clear: First of all, major changes, such as those bullet points highlighted earlier in this column, are essential for most dealers to address. Secondly, dealers need to manage change better, faster, with more energy and forward movement, and less lost productivity, resentment, and foot dragging, or they’re in for a very rough ride.
s Aiming toward a culture of innovation and decisiveness.
The Transition Process
s Most importantly, and the toughest challenge, managing the transition involved in significant change—the personal change involved at the top and throughout the organization.
In working with dealers on change, I have drawn upon the expertise of educator, consultant, and writer William Bridges, author of Managing Transitions – Making the Most of Change.
As I look at dealers today, who I often see struggling to create
Bridges contrasts change and transition, viewing change as external, situational and an event, while transition is internal, a very personal experience, a psychological process that people go through to deal with a situation. He keeps emphasizing that, “unless transition occurs, change will not work.”
effective change, and as I consider what it takes to drive major transformation, several questions arise: s Why do so few change effects appear to take hold and transform a dealership? s Why can’t a significant breakthrough and major change occur?
This psychological process has three stages:
s Why does it always seem to be that there is more activity and hard work than actual results?
2) Understanding—what comes after letting go, which Bridges identifies as the “neutral zone,” that limbo between the old sense of identity and the new.
If you’re honest, I’d wager that you would have asked at least one of these questions with respect to your own dealership. Invariably, I find that these questions are a result of the failure to address personal behavior in leading and managing the process of change.
Confronting Change Change…just the word itself brings feelings of excitement and expectation for some, fear and apprehension for many others. Most people’s natural inclination is to protect the status quo, maintain (too) much of the past and tradition, and ensure stability, while others may push to the frontiers, focusing on
1) Ending—letting go of the old reality.
3) New Beginning—to leave an old situation behind, a person, be it dealer principal or employee, must be able to understand and work through these stages of transition. Others refer to this transition as pain management—helping people to disengage from the status quo to work through the transition and overcome resistance. Through continuous dialog, it’s essential to engage everyone from top to bottom as they move from confusion to understanding, acceptance, willingness (ability is also required), and, ultimately, commitment.
innovation and looking for ways to dramatically improve and reinvent the dealership.
Bridges also stresses selling the problem (the reason for change), not just the solution—the outcome your organization expects. His experience has shown that only 10% of managers and leaders sell the problem; 90% focus on the solution.
Clearly, both stability and forward movement are critical to the success of an organization, but the conflict between the two helps to explain why tensions mount in a period of change.
Bridges believes change will not materialize if leaders do not understand the impact of the psychological process involved and manage the transition involved in change. continued on page 21
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Challenge } continued from page 20 s What am I likely to lose?
Managing the Transition Several dealer principals believe that bringing emotion into the picture is asking for trouble, or at least a real waste of productive time.
s Have people been allowed to talk about their feelings of loss? s Am I communicating frequently enough, honestly enough? s Have I clearly defined what is over and what is not?
But as long as we manage change without acknowledging the emotions involved in letting go of the past, we simply drive underground powerful reactions such as anger or depression and risk generating mechanical compliance (perfunctory, uninspired performance), even subtle or not-so-subtle undermining or sabotage.
s Have I helped people to see how the ending we are making is necessary to protect our future as a company (as Bridges stresses, selling the problem first, then the solution)?
There is a better way, namely open and honest dialogue, letting people speak freely about their feelings. Use the questions below to help yourself and others manage the difficult transitions that are inevitable in these times of unrelenting change:
Are you prepared to take on the radical changes that will be required in 2010, considering the significant changes I’ve outlined that are, as yet, rarely undertaken? Have you prepared specific steps for transforming your organization, as well as managing the transitions and the related psychological processes?
s Who is to lose what in this change (e.g., status, customer contact, control, important working relationships, security, added risks in taking on more responsibility, risks of failure)?
With so much needed change today, you owe it to yourself, your people, and your business to learn a better way to face it all together.
FEBRUARY 2010
s Have I painted a picture of what things will look like and feel like when the change is fully in place?
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Resilience The Breakfast of Champions By Valerie Atkin
The economic conditions of the last 18 months have wreaked havoc on all industries but the furniture industry has been uniquely impacted. Facilities managers are looking for every way possible to shrink their real estate footprint and remaining space is increasingly being reallocated from ‘me’ to ‘we’ spaces. The downturn, fewer new facilities and a shift in how space is used has created a perfect storm for the furniture industry that has challenged dealers to an unprecedented degree. And even when the economy recovers, the furniture industry will be forever changed. What will determine the survivors and thrivers in this new world? Resilience is one essential skill. re·sil·ience \ri-ˈzil-yən(t)s An ability to recover from or adjust to misfortune or change, constant competence under stress. Even Darwin agreed. He never argued for “survival of the fittest.” What he actually said was, “It is not the strongest of the species, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” That’s the definition of resilience—being adaptable to change. But defining resilience isn’t nearly as important as determining where it comes from and discovering how to get more of it. Let’s start there.
Where does it come from? We can debate the nature vs. nurture argument but without question, some level of resilience is due to genetics and how you grew up. For those lucky enough to be raised by parents or caregivers who had an abiding belief that misfortune is temporary and were equipped with the skills and strength to deal with setbacks, resilience was built in. Fortunately for the rest of us, it can be developed. FEBRUARY 2010
How can I get more? 1. Focus Forward First and foremost, be clear about what can be controlled and what cannot. Resilient individuals are realistic and know that while there isn’t much over which they have total control, there is much that can be influenced. Channeling energy only on those areas is crucial. Wasting time thinking, talking, or brooding about what is beyond your control (which includes the behavior of others and the past) depletes resilience. Some say the average person spends upwards of 75% of their time on what cannot be controlled or influenced. Resilience is strengthened by focusing forward.
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Resilience } continued from page 22 2. Increase Your Wellness Set Point Just as we have a metabolic set point, we also have a ‘wellness’ set point. Certainly, we have good days and bad days but generally, our sense of well being is relatively static and represents a critical ingredient in our resilience recipe.
4. Rejuvenate None of us would intentionally drive our car until it ran out of gas. It would be inconvenient and it’s bad for the engine. So why do we drive ourselves until we end up running out of gas? It’s also bad for the engine!
You can boost your wellness set point very quickly.
What have you done to rejuvenate lately? At a fundamental level, rejuvenation is eating, sleeping, exercising, and breathing well. Tending the machine.
For the next two weeks, keep a pad of paper or journal by your bed. Immediately before turning the light off write down three things from the day for which you are grateful. We aren’t talking world peace here. A sunny morning, a child’s hug, a productive meeting that ended on time, dedicated employees who give their best to the dealership, customers who continue to value your relationship—all these are potential gratitude candidates. As you are going to sleep, think only of what you have written (not what is left undone from today or what awaits you tomorrow). After about two weeks, you’ll find yourself noticing more of what you are grateful for throughout your day. If you want a booster shot, consider asking others, “What’s the best thing that happened to you in the last 24 hours?” 3. Build a Support Team Resilience isn't being in denial or “making lemonade out of lemons.” It doesn't mean you ignore feelings. Nor does it mean you can't ask others for support. In fact, being willing to reach out is a key component of being resilient. There are two ways to do this. First, think about whom you rely upon. Charlie Plumb was a pilot during the Vietnam War who was shot down and held captive for nearly six years. Afterwards, he became a motivational speaker with a message that stressed the importance of support and gratitude. One night before a speech, he was approached by a gentleman who asked, “You’re Charlie Plumb aren’t you? Didn’t you fly off the Kitty Hawk and get shot down?” Charlie responded affirmatively and asked how this gentleman knew him. “I packed your chute. Guess it worked.” Charlie was stunned. He assured his fellow veteran it had indeed worked and then a life-changing thought struck him: The man now in front of him had been in the bowels of a ship doing a job that saved his life and he had never even thought of him.
It is generally agreed that less than seven hours of sleep a night is unhealthy and it’s proven that four or more nights with less than five hours sleep makes you functionally intoxicated. We won’t waste space here lecturing about diet and exercise but if you’ve ever left a car in the garage for a prolonged period of time without changing the oil or running the engine, you get the picture. Which leaves breathing. Most of us are shallow breathers. Remind yourself to take two deep, abdominal breaths at the top of each hour and you’ll be amazed how much more focused you become. Finally, take a break. Make lists of what you enjoy doing which takes 5-10 minutes, 30-60 minutes, and half a day, and then take at least two of those “self-care” breaks a week. Building up to five is the goal. Consider taking a Wednesday afternoon off. No one notices you are gone and it’s a great way to finish the week strong. If thinking about rejuvenation makes you feel selfish, remember putting our own mask on first helps you better assist others in more venues than an airplane. 5. Create a Resilient Organization Typically, an organization is no more resilient than its leaders. They are the models. If you hesitate to build resilience for yourself, do it for them and go along for the ride. Resilient employees are more engaged and therefore more productive. Not sure how to help? Ask them. Don’t assume all salespeople enjoy X, while installers prefer Y, and designers, Z. We’re all different. Some find a couple hours off relaxing, others need to be on a massage table or playing golf. We’ll go into more detail about increasing employee resilience and engagement in a future issue. For now, turn off your Blackberry for a few hours tonight and consider how you and your organization can benefit from becoming more resilient.
Who packs your chute? There are many who back you up. Who are those employees who have been with you through thick and thin? Consider telling them how much you appreciate it. Second, think about the people you would turn to if your life came unglued tomorrow. Call them today and tell them you were reading an article about support teams and you thought of them. Say thanks in advance. FEBRUARY 2010
Valerie Atkin is founder and principal of Wells Street Consulting Group, an organization whose mission is to assist in the development of balanced, fully functioning individuals who can create successful organizations of their own. For more information, visit www.wellsstreet.com.
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Don’t Go Thinking It’s Only For the Kids!
It is important to get your expertise out there to everyone you know, ensuring if opportunites arise, they are going to send them your way.
Creating a Facebook Fan Page In order to create a fan page you first must have a personal account on Facebook. Simply go to www.Facebook.com under “sign up” and complete the requested information. Facebook will send you an email to confirm your account. This must be completed prior to creating your page. This is your personal Facebook page and is sep- arate from your fan page. I would suggest completing basic information, i.e., education, employer and general background, so that people will be able to find you on Facebook. I would also recommend adding a picture of yourself so people you know can identify you.
Setting Privacy on your Personal Page It is a good idea to have certain privacy settings on your page. This allows people to see only certain personal information about you. Anyone can search your name in engines such as Google and one of the first things to come up is your Facebook page. Facebook has become all the rage over the last few years. It provides a great way to catch up with family or reconnect with old friends. But it can also be a great way to market your dealership. Unlike Twitter, which we discussed last month, Facebook doesn’t limit the number of characters to what you post. Similar to Linkedin, which we will discuss next month, Facebook allows you to provide more detailed information. Additionally, Facebook allows you to integrate with Twitter, so anything you post will also post on Twitter. Facebook is a great way to connect with clients, friends and family who are interested in your company. As with Twitter, Facebook is all about word of mouth marketing. Your clients may know what your company does but do your friends and family? Unlike Linkedin where you need to build your network, on Facebook you already have a network on which you can expand.
To change your settings go to “Settings” in the top blue bar, then “Privacy Settings”, then “Profile Information”. I would suggest you set all to “Only Friends” with the exception of education and work, which I would set to “Everyone” or “Friends of Friends”.
Creating your Company Fan Page You are now ready to create your very own fan page. This process can prove to be a bit difficult. If you follow http://www.Facebook.com/help/#/pages/create.php, it will take you right to the creation page. Anyone within your company with a personal account can create a fan page. You can also designate people as “administrators” to the page if you choose someone else to manage it. I would suggest creating your fan page under “Brand, Product or Organization,” then select a category you feel fits your company best, i.e., products, consumer products, professional services, etc. You will then need to name your page—typically your company name. Also check the box “Do not make page publicly visible at this time”. Click “Create Page” button. continued on page 25
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facebook } continued from page 24 Important! Once you name your page and select your category you can’t change it so be sure you have it right the first time.
Like email, this can be considered spam if you send too much, so keep that in mind when determining frequency of updates.
Your Fan Page is Ready to Go. Now What? Facebook fan pages offer are a great way to highlight your company and expertise. You can post updates on events, products and news. Adding photos is always a plus. Post pictures of your completed projects or new product introductions, along with information. If you are having an event at your showroom it is a great way to get this information out to your fans. Additionally, if you have some great news such as an award or project win, share it on your fan page.
Example of page prior to adding picture and information Once you create the page you will want to edit the information to your liking. Click the Info tab, then edit information. Complete “basic” and detailed info by clicking on the gray boxes. Once you are done just hit Save Changes. Additionally you will want to add a photo or logo. Since this is a company fan page, I would suggest using your company logo. This is very simple to do, just hover over the question mark and a Change Picture Box will appear. Click this, then upload your picture, then save.
Getting and Keeping Fans The easiest way to attract fans for your page is to send them a link and ask them to become a fan. Tell them the benefits of becoming a fan. Examples of benefits include fan-only discounts, contests and giveaways in addition to information they may not find anywhere else. You are also able to send an invitation to become a fan to all of your personal Facebook friends right on the home page by clicking “suggest to friends” under your logo. Remember to post information you think they will find valuable. Don’t overload them with posts. Share this on other social media platforms such as Twitter, encouraging people you don’t know to become fans. A Facebook fan page is a great way to keep people current on what your company is up to. It is far easier than updating your web site constantly. A fan page is a great way to engage with the people that are interested in your company and encourage conversation. As with Twitter, keep in mind it doesn’t matter how many fans you have, it is more important they are listening.
Example of completed Facebook fan page
Updating Your Fan Page It is very simple to update your fan page. This is done just like the updates on your personal page. In the box “What’s on your mind?” go to the Wall tab and type what you would like to say. You can add photos, web site links, video, and even events. Updates should be sent a few times a month. Remember, this is going to people who are fans of your page only, not your personal Facebook friends. FEBRUARY 2010
Kama Weinberger is a NCIDQ certified Interior Designer and President / CEO of Q+E Design Source & Q+E Furniture Solutions with locations in Denver, San Francisco and Phoenix. She has always been a bit of a tech geek looking at new and innovated ways to market her business and simplify her day to day work process. For more information, check out Kama’s latest linkedIn group “Social Media for Office Furniture Dealerships” or follow her on Twitter at Furnituregodess.
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IMPORTANT DATES March 12, 2010: Scholarship application deadline March 12 – June 30, 2010: Application review process June 30, 2010: Scholarship winners notified July 16, 2010: Scholarship checks mailed
For more information or to download applications, please go to the website and click on the Scholarship Program link on the left of the page. Or call us at 800.542.6672, ext. 121.
So, Now What?
the
Last
word mikedunlap Michael A. Dunlap & Associates, LLC
According to Wikipedia, the 2000’s was the decade that started on January 1, 2000 and ended on December 31, 2009. By differing opinions, the past decade was:
industry, too! I like to refer to it as the business that provides the furnishings for the working, learning, healing and leisure environments of our planet.
n One of the worst in our history.
It is far more difficult to immediately identify or define many individual designs of furniture as belonging to one market or another. Hotels (leisure market) frequently feature workstations and fully optioned office chairs in even the most basic room configurations. Hospital patient rooms are beginning to look like a hotel guest suite. Higher education living quarters are designed to be more like resort condominiums than the former “dorms” from decades past.
n One of the best in our history. n Just another decade that history will overlook and forget about. Whichever is your view, it is difficult to argue that the 2000s was a decade of extraordinary change. It was the decade of 9/11. It was a decade filled with social, political and economic change. It was a decade filled with hope, fear, exuberance and insecurity. It was the decade when the internet became a leading platform for communication to the rest of the world. Digital images are transmitted by our mobile phones that used to be printed and sent by the postal service. It was the decade that made “green” into a practice, not just a color or a fad. Yes, returning one’s bottles and cans for their deposit is an incentive in our first world culture, but recycling bins appear on street corners in cities, towns and villages of many second, and even third world countries. Before looking into the future, it is important to look at the past — not necessarily to see where we have been, but to determine where we are! 2000-2009 was a decade that transformed the way that millions of people throughout the world “go to work.” What does a typical “work environment” look like in 2010? There is no profile that fits a single description. Millions work from home, by laptop, their automobile, coffee shops, or any place an internet or mobile phone connection functions at a functional level. Secondly, it’s not just the office furniture industry, anymore! It’s also the healthcare, educational and hospitality furniture
The form, function, appearance and utilization of many furniture products may easily be labeled “cross-over,” like many of the vehicles we purchase or see on the roads every day. Perhaps the most notable new product introductions from furniture manufacturers have been in the field of seating. OK, I’ll call them what nearly everyone else does — chairs! And there were lots of new chairs designed, developed and introduced to the market during the last 10 years! Next is the attention the industry has placed upon the learning field: K-12, community colleges, public universities, and private colleges alike are solid target markets for dozens of traditional “working” furniture companies. There are enormous efforts into the healthcare (healing) environments business. Everything from administrative offices, common areas, patient rooms, 24/7 care stations, to diagnostic and laboratory environments offer tremendous opportunities for a variety of “healing” furniture products. Many hotel rooms now serve as remote or satellite offices for the business and recreational traveler. The inexpensive chairs made by low end manufacturers around the globe have been replaced by products from our top 10 OFMs. continued on page 28
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Last Word } continued from page 27 The decade also brought to the forefront more usage of environmentally sensitive materials, processes and design elements into commercial furniture. Sustainable business practices are no longer limited to recycling containers strategically placed throughout the building or grounds. What should we be looking forward to as we envision 2020? History teaches us that change is more likely to be evolutionary than revolutionary! Perhaps the difference lies in the speed of change, as opposed to actual difference or distance traveled. External events like 9/11 and natural catastrophes (like hurricanes and earthquakes), combined with economic reces-
sion, political shifts and cultural changes will have more influence upon where, when and how we work than the design of a workstation, chair, storage container, lighting, acoustics or peripheral devices. 2010 marks the beginning of the second decade of the third millennium. Attempting to answer “Now What?” will depend upon where and how we measure the inevitable changes we face. Extraordinary innovation and creativity are crucial in the next decade. I would like to see us replace the words “Now What?” with “Why Not?” That’s how I see it, From Where I Sit!
Mike Dunlap is the owner and principal of Michael A. Dunlap & Associates, LLC, a business consulting services company that focuses upon issues involving the office furniture industry. These include international partnerships & collaboration, strategic market planning, products liability program management, independent rep sales team development, and general business / market trends within the office furniture industry. Contact Mike at mike@mdunlap-associates.com This article appeared in the Monday, February 1, 2010 issue of MiBiz, read by upper management executives in West and Southwest Michigan. Print subscriptions are free to qualified individuals who are employed in West and Southwest Michigan. For further information about MiBiz, visit www.mibiz.com. COPYRIGHT 2010. MIBIZ. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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