7 years ago, Kev and I visited Infusionsoft HQ in Arizona with our Automation Ninja friends Mike and Kenda.
We visited the premises after ICON, Infusionsoft’s annual conference, designed to showcase their CRM software, along with speakers chosen to inspire and inform small businesses owners.
We loved visiting their sprawling work/fun warehouse HQ:
We were invited to choose cereal from their famous cereal bar where employees and visitors are invited to eat unlimited cereal from the dozens of different boxes on display, and I also remember a soda machine that dispensed more flavours of Coke than I knew existed!
The place was designed to support and inspire their whole team, and huge banners with the company’s values and achievements were plastered all over the place.
The room I loved was the Dream Room where Infusionites were encouraged to write their dreams up on a huge chalkboard. When they achieved them, they rubbed them out to allow someone else to write theirs. There were also comfy chairs and loungers in that room where they could take a nap or have some quiet time if they were feeling frazzled.
It looked like a brilliant place to work and hard to imagine how anyone wouldn’t thrive there, but when I looked at the reviews past employees left on Indeed, they were mixed.
Some people raved about the place, and others said it was only a good place if you sucked up to the management, and that leadership was poor behind the scenes.
I guess when you have that many people in one warehouse, you’ll get a mix of all types of personalities, including ones who’ll talk about values then not demonstrate them with their own behaviour.
No amount of happy banners and nap chairs can counteract Dave from Sales up in your face with Honey Monster breath.
So, a great environment obviously isn’t the be all and end all, but it is an important contributing factor when it comes to setting yourself up for success with your goals.
If your working environment feels right (and that can be different things for different people) then you’ll be more likely to get the best out of yourself.
For example, if your desk is cluttered, everyone’s shouting around you, the lights are too dim and you’re sat in a draught, then you probably won’t feel as productive as when you’re comfortable and calm.
What’s your environment like?
Need some tweaks?
You might not be able to get rid of Dave from Sales today, but you could dung out your desk and get an extra lamp.
Do you wish you had a Dream Room at work?