The goal of Cubes Are Evil was to identify and examine the sea change greatly affecting the world of work. We believe that employees, companies, and the economy need to utilize current catalysts, such as technological innovation and behavioral changes, in order to proactively steer the change and progress that needs to be taken to work models. We aimed to convey our standpoint through simple, digestible explanation and thoughtful presentation.
This project was created by communications strategists, Mollie Partesotti and Ben Alter, as part of their master’s thesis project at the VCU Brandcenter in Richmond, VA.
Also, don’t miss out on this article from Fortune Magazine…
Episode 1 – A deconstruction of how we work from Cubes Are Evil on Vimeo.
Episode 2 – Lessons from Google from Cubes Are Evil on Vimeo.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
How could you not want to like this? But alas I don’t think that the history or sociology examples are correct.
No? Do you have any recommended reading on the topics they discussed in the video?
Thanks for reading the blog.
Hmm. I really like Wendell Berry. His essay “Feminism, the body and the machine” is not a bad place to start. Also his book Another Turn of the Crank deals with some of these issues. I’ve not read a lot of Jacque Ellul, but his thinking has influenced a lot of the folks I’ve read. And T J Jackson Lears’ No Place of Grace is excellent, though really hard to read if you’re not a human lexicon.
But just as an example. They highlight Google as a model. But they completely get Google and the Googleplex wrong. The Googleplex is created entirely to keep people at work – including families. Moreover, I beg them to find one single quote from a Google executive saying that efficiency or profit is less important than happiness.
I don’t like cubicles. It’s just that these videos seem a bit naive and full of way way too many assumptions about the value of technology.
Hey Dave – thanks for the info. I’m looking forward to reading the material! Very cool.
I do agree with you regarding Google. But, I think their main message was put people first, rather than profits. That’s probably not a model a majority of corporations will strive toward, but I think it’s a concept that should be examined more closely.
Not every business can function with folks working at home. But there are so many cubicle dwellers that could work at home (at least part time) and save the company money in the process. It will be interesting to see how internal company policies change in the next 10 years.
Like Michael said, “Some large corporations have been onto this for some time actually. I suspect that the organizations that realize the benefits of open environments, flexible hours, and flexible locations will thrive and survive and those that cling to bureaucracy, corporate politics, cubes and offices will ultimately fail.”
Thanks again for leaving a comment! I appreciate it.
Some large corporations have been onto this for some time actually. I suspect that the organizations that realize the benefits of open environments, flexible hours, and flexible locations will thrive and survive and those that cling to bureaucracy, corporate politics, cubes and offices will ultimately fail.
The simple reason is that when decision makers (that can be all of us btw) put people before profit everyone wins and is successful. Those that put profit before people might make a lot more money than the majority in the short-term but loose focus on the long term benefits of the organization and communities that it inhabits.
If you look at the current economic landscape with an eye on corporate culture and those that have already failed I suspect you could easily see the effect I’m describing. The trouble is that few people have the kind of visibility needed to see it.
Remember: people before profit… and everybody wins in the long term
Great comment Michael! I agree with your sentiment.
At my office, I think a lot of our work could be done remotely and most of us could meet up for meetings/collaborative sessions once a week. It seems silly to pay so much money in rent when the majority of staff is out of the office doing trainings or at meetings.
Indeed – people before profit is the way to go.