Thanks to This Blog & Joe-the-Mover, Our Newport Offices Are Now Ready for Occupation!

Thank heaven for this blog. When you buy used cubicles, they do not come with instructions. Unfortunately, as the guy from the warehouse warned me, "Even cubes that are easy to assemble are a lot harder than Ikea furniture." In fact the proper word would be "nightmarish."

I was stuck on business travel hundreds of miles away when the cubes arrived on Monday as a mountain of unlabeled parts. Luckily I'd hired a Joe-the-Mover, a guy with 5,000 office moves under his belt, to be there when the cubes arrived. But even Joe was a bit daunted by the mountain. Where to start?

No problem. He hopped online and checked out the photo I'd posted of the cubes on this blog. It's sort of like looking at the picture of a puzzle on the puzzle box. A mere 7 hours later, the cubes were assembled and ready for occupancy. (Thankfully, Joe is paid by the job and not by the hour.)

Then he quickly polished off the Ikea stuff I'd also bought -- chairs, conference table, intern desk. Yes, it was far easier than the cubes had been. (So if you're ever bitching about putting together Ikea stuff, just feel grateful it's not used office cubicles.)

By the way, I *highly* recommend Joe for moving and/or furniture assembly jobs in the Boston and Providence areas. You can reach him at rent_a_mover (at) msn.com.

Why I'm Buying New (vs Used) Chairs for Our New Offices

The fart factor.

[Updated] To Cube or Not to Cube: Office Furniture Backlash

Despite daily stabs at tidying up, my current office is a mess. My eight foot desk is bestrewn with papers, files, sketches, packs of gum, mugs, mail, business books, stick-ums, paper clips, notebooks, pens, calendars, and cans of Pepsi. Not to mention a computer, printer, stapler, tape dispenser, headset, mic, and three phones.

Yesterday I began looking for furniture for our new offices in downtown Newport RI. The space is a storefront, with huge glass windows. It's one big room in front plus a small meeting room in back. So my team and I will be a bit like fish in a fish tank. I'll stick some potted trees in the windows, but still.

So, I was delighted to find these 44" high cubicles at a super-discount furniture store. The walls are low enough to see over quite easily. You're not imprisoned, but your mess is private. All the wires, papers, and packs of gum neatly hidden. Plus, there's the added benefit of fabric to suck up some of the sound.



I hadn't counted on the backlash. Nobody likes cubicles. They spit out the word, "Cubicle" like it's disgusting. They don't detail what the problem is, the fact that it's a cube is in and of itself enough. Turns out the prevailing staff vote right now is for desks that look like this instead:



Well, crap. OK I admit on first glance I fall in love as well. So cool, so clean, so modern. Then my mind's eye populates this desk the way it would be in reality. All those wires drooping off it. A wastebasket. Stacks of files and papers inevitably piling up. A mess.

So I guess it's time for Plan C. Trouble is, I don't know what Plan C is, or if we can afford it. Any suggestions?

================================= UPDATE ======================

Thanks to a faithful reader of this blog who emailed me this photo a few hours ago, I found cubes that are stylish -- for cubes at least -- and luckily they are available "lightly used" from a supplier only an hour away from us so they're affordable too.


Yes, that is apparently real cherrywood trim on top. I never foresaw a moment in my life when I would be excited about cherrywood-trimmed cubes. But then, I never thought I'd be in my late 40s either. :-)

My First In-Person Speech Since 2006 (Note: John Battelle Not Actually All That Small)

Proving that photos can be deceiving, here I am looking extraordinarily comfortable giving a keynote speech at the Online Marketing Summit last week, next to my co-speaker, a child-sized John Battelle.

I was, in fact, in a state of physical shock. Saying from the comfort of your office phone, 'Sure I can hop up on stage" when your pal the conference organizer calls you is one thing. Actually getting on stage in front of 800 people when you haven't given an in-person speech since 2006 is quite another. I started out shaking like a leaf and ended totally pumped with exhilaration. Both are more adventuresome states than comfortable ones.

John Battelle, on the other hand, is not small. He's only a bit shorter than I am; he's perhaps 5' 10"? It's just the angle of the camera, his posture, and the gargantuan chair that make him appear childlike in this photo. One thing is true to reality -- the guy's got an awesome tan. It's not spray-on either. He's the George Hamilton of online publishing.

I hadn't planned to go back to speaking after I left the stage in 2006. Even then, to help build my then-company's brand as being above-and-beyond-Anne-Holland, I'd been pulling back from personal appearances for awhile. And, although public speaking can be enjoyable, generally business travel is not. I also promised myself and my family I'd be around more this time around... because once you give in to accepting speaking gigs, suddenly you can find yourself on the road nearly continually. (At my last company, I kept jacking my fees up, trying to stave off requests. Finally got to $40k per speech before I threw in the towel.)

Anyway, this was more fun than expected. Felt, at last like being BACK. But didn't leave me with any desperate urge to do it again. I'd much rather be the CEO behind the company than the guru behind the microphone.