 | Boardroom Tables |
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I started out working as a bean counter in a major regional corporation, and as a result, I was not very respectful of the need for boardroom tables. They could have been working on kitchen tables for all I cared. Buying a big conference table seemed like a galactic waste of money. These conference tables cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, and all they do is sit there and take up room. Instead of using more space efficient and energy efficient ways to arrange the office, business directors will dedicate a whole room to conferences that almost never happens. Most of the time, the room since there empty, sucking up lighting and heating just to house its overpriced boardroom table.
Although I was a bean counter, I was also a pretty competent businessman. This allowed me to advance up the ranks, and now I am one of the bosses. As you can imagine, my thinking on boardroom tables has changed a lot since those days. Back then, I was pretty concrete about things. I believed that the most important thing was to get the best usage of the space possible. I didn't think about things like ambiance and setting the right professional mood. I figured that, if you can get the same amount done in less space and with less expense, it is a better solution. Boardroom tables, however, are important. I did not see that at the time, but now I do. After all, the boardroom table is where the chief officers of the company meet to make the most important decisions. It should be substantial and elegant, yet serious and severe. It should only be used for important occasions, and the rest of the time it should sit vacant in that room, waiting for another situation of sufficient gravity.
Nowadays, I have to justify the expense for new boardroom tables to my own bean counters. I suppose it is one of the ways life gets revenge on you. I wanted to buy a new heavy oak table. The old one was somewhat chipped, and the styling was a very ugly 70s modernism that didn't fit anymore. To be honest, I was a little bit embarrassed when visiting executives from partnered companies would come to our meetings. Technically, it was an appropriate table, but it certainly wasn't stylish. But try explaining the need to spend several thousand dollars on style to a bean counter!
Copyright 2007
Advice
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