Where is My Office? Reimagining the Workplace for the 21st Century, reviewed

Review of Where is My Office? Reimagining the Workplace for the 21st Century by Chris Kane. Available from Bloomsbury here.

In the modern age of remote working and flexible work hours, why have most office spaces remained relatively unchanged for decades? In Where is My Office?, Chris Kane draws upon his extensive knowledge and experience in commercial property to investigate the new-found significance of innovative corporate real estate thinking in the modern workplace.

With the rise of agile working, hot-desking and new technological innovations, the traditional office space no longer serves the needs of the modern workforce. With a foreword from Mark Thompson, CEO of The New York Times, this fascinating book highlights the bold new solutions to workplace practices which have the potential to invigorate employee productivity while simultaneously trimming excess costs.

Chris poses his ground-breaking ‘Smart Value’ formula which underpinned the success of his redevelopment of the property portfolio of the BBC, and which can be adapted to enact meaningful and lasting organizational change in any business. This formula is supported through in-depth case studies from Chris’s prestigious career, while interviews with prolific industry insiders such as Ronen Journo, SVP of WeWork and Mark Dixon, founder of Regus, provide fascinating insights into the ground-breaking strategies that are transforming the commercial property sector. 

Where is My Office? is a must-read for any business leader looking to revitalise their workplace and develop a greater understanding of the beneficial impacts that innovative workplace strategies can have upon their organization’s success.

Where is My Office? Reimagining the Workplace for the 21st Century, reviewed

What a timely title and topic for  a book! It makes sense to address these issues, and look at what we do, why we do it, and do we really need to do it this way. Chris Kane has good experience to be able to write this book too, as he has “worked in the Corporate Real Estate sector for over thirty years, having operated as the Vice President of International Corporate Real Estate for The Walt Disney Company, before acting as Head of Corporate Real Estate at the BBC, where he was responsible for the creation of MediaCityUK in Salford and oversaw the £1bn development of Broadcasting House”.

One of the best aspects of this book is the whole second part, chapters seven to nine, where he shares his own experiences of the BBC’s shake up, rationalisation and relocation of resources, production studios and talent.

This case study is a fascinating read and really helps to demonstrate and exemplify the concepts he outlines in the first part of the book. The BBC did many things well, and readdessed a legacy, higgidly piggedly distribution of buildings and locations in London. Many of which had to have additional sound proofing to counter the rumble of underground tube trains passing by. Over a relatively short period, 2004 to 2018, this was overhauled and many key units were shipped out to Manchester, Wales and Scotland among other places.

Maybe we don’t even need offices anymore, but perhaps before that radical move to remote and completely distant working, this book outlines some interesting ideas in terms of what can be done, and how to do it well. If you are in charge of buildings, offices, and company real estate this is a good and timely book to read.

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