Most of the Real Estate, Facility Management and IT departments have a lot of focus and attention on creating alignment of the workplaces, ‘outer environment’, with the organisational strategy. But what about the ‘inner environment’ (body, mind, heart, spirit) of the people working in the built ‘outer environment’ (physical, digital, social)?
Human-centred approach
When you transform the workplace, you must also transform the workforce into the new normal. A fundamental condition for success is to have a human-centred approach to the workplace environment and the built environmental experience.
Change from the outside in but also from the inside out. Although signals from the outer workplace environment have an influence, it is people’s inner environment that accounts much more for their behaviour, health and well-being.
Freely translated from Dr Bruce Lipton, we are no victims of our genes nor of the outer environment. In the body the genes are the blueprint and consciousness is the architect. What we are thinking is what we are building. We are in control of the way we respond to the environment and how we perceive the environment. We can change our environment and/or our beliefs, perception and interpretation of it. In doing so we are not a victim but a master and in control.
We are the masters of the potent capacity and architect of our inner environment of hidden consciousness, super perception, neuroplasticity, bio plasticity and even genetic plasticity. Bridging your sensory and extra/extended sensory awareness. The relationship of all the pieces generates a synergetic effect in which the behaviour of the whole system is greater than and unpredictable from the sum of the parts. When the many separate scientific discoveries in these fields over the recent years are connected, the potential of the whole pushes the frontier of our understanding of being a human to the next level.
It creates a world-shifting view, away from victimhood towards inner mastery, sovereign and autonomous human beings that contribute to the whole. The new discoveries empower us to take back individual control (and the responsibility that goes with it) of our health and well-being, and replenish our life force and increase our resilience to the changes in our outer environment. Becoming part of the transformation you want to see around you. Changing the world means changing yourself primarily.
Health and well-being are about the quality of work-life balance, job satisfaction, work fulfilment, belonging, happiness and the experience of positive and negative emotions. A human-centred approach is in essence about the Environmental energy balancing of the INNER environment (mind, body, heart, spirit) of people with their working conditions in the OUTER environment (physical, digital, social).
“Real Estate is not only about square meters.
It’s also about behaviour, the Real State of people.
The environment ecosystem influences the ‘Real-isation’ of patterns and processes.” (René Stevens)
The design of the OUTER environment has an impact on human health and perception. Explore if the assumption that there is a correlation between time (fixed working day), location (fixed workplace) and output is valid. An evidence-based approach for systematically enhancing well-being and user experience is fundamental to designing and maintaining the OUTER environment. It happens that solutions for problems already exist but requires a change of behaviour or culture to come into effect. Let’s rediscover our connections with others and create better places and spaces to share with them.
Architect Buckminster Fuller pointed it already out how mankind is moving from the tangible world which can be evidenced by sight, sound, smell and touch, into the invisible world of energy, ions, electrical forces, etc., so much so that “99.9999% of what affects our reality will be undetectable by our senses.” We, humans, are metaphysical beings, meaning beyond the common physical realm. See also the post People are energy systems.
Bridging Real Estate and the Real State of Humans
The purpose of business is not only for profit but also for creating shared value. By harmonizing the 5P-goals within the framework of the Strategy Tree, the needs of the organisation and the needs of their employees, students, and clients, added value is created for all parties involved.
“In the long run, all businesses and business leaders will be judged not by their profits or their products but by their impact on humanity.” (D.J. DePree, founder of Herman Miller)
Research has proven that not the objective environmental conditions, but the subjective interpretation of it, affects the well-being and behaviour of humans. The way human beings perceive and experience the environment therefore also influences their productivity (efficiency and effectiveness).
‘Soft’ employee engagement metrics are therefore in most cases even more important than ‘hard’ cost metrics. By combining quantitative and qualitative measures for productivity, overall harmony on all levels can be created from which your organisation can benefit a lot and be an example.
In measuring the performance of the workplace strategy, this formula of ‘inner environment’ of humans (The Inner Architecture of Mind) is equally important and is the other side of the coin, which we mostly ignore in the technical field.
The environment influences how you think and feel. The human mind and body, inner environment, are not separate and distinct from their outer environment. The interaction and synergy between people and the physical, digital and social learn/work environment should be the focal point. Creating harmony by addressing both sides of the equation, the outer and the inner environment.
If we can’t visualize it, we can’t create it. Conversely, when we CAN visualize it, we CAN create it.
When understood, it can become much easier to have a clear vision of where we’re potentially headed in our technological, social and spiritual development. This is important, for when we can visualize it, we can create it. But remember just because we can’t think of something, or can’t prove it scientifically, doesn’t mean that it’s not there.
“I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing postulates consciousness.” (Max Planck, pioneer of quantum theory)
There is a deeper reality than the material one, that we usually perceive with our minds and senses and that is consciousness. Essentially, everybody and everything is part of and full of consciousness. However, we have largely given up on the idea of higher consciousness in our modern worldview. In the last 100 years, modern mainstream science has come to a very mechanical take on reality. But what if mind, matter and space were full of consciousness?
Making your organisation more human
Traditional mainstream science is mostly about quantity. It has almost completely forgotten or suppressed the other side, which is related to quality and feelings. It seems as if only the quantitative side with its exact measurements of technical instruments is of importance. Although with a profound understanding of vibrations and harmonics, qualitative properties can also be described.
The awareness that human capital is of greater value for an organisation than the capital invested in its accommodation raises several questions.
- How to make the human ‘inner environment’ at least equally strong and valuable as the ‘outer environment’?
- How to create spirited work environments and spiritually strong organisations and employees?
- How to help people to uncover their hidden potential and to practice creativity within the organisation?
- How to encourage employees to develop an accurate and realistic sense of the impact that other people have on them and the impact that they have on others?
- How to encourage employees to use their unique skills within the organisation?
- How to boost trust and responsibility, and build teams that have more impact and decision-making power?
There is a great connection between the degree of participation and the degree of motivation. In other words, employees are more motivated if they’re given the opportunity to actually participate in, at least a part of, the decisions made by the team and organisation. It helps provide the team with the feeling that the goals are achievable. If people are allowed to participate in the decision-making process, they also ensure those decisions are carried out. Ideally, the management tries to describe, along with the team, “what” the results should be. The “how” should be left as much as possible to the team to decide.
Life designs
After about 35 years of research and experimentation in the field of Real Estate, we have developed formula-type problem-solving programs which can take Real Estate to a new height. The whole world is focusing on the development of the outer structure and the construction of the superficial image which is not going to last long.
“LIFE DESIGNS, from Real Estate to the Real State of Humans is the Real Deal”
In today’s business world, ‘Average’ is no longer good enough. What is average today will be below average tomorrow. What is superior today will be average tomorrow. The business world is in a continuous forward motion. If we stand still (with our existing superficial business formulas), we will be left behind.
New business formula
An organisation is change in movement. Let’s take the advantage of change. It’s the time when new business formulas need to be introduced. Besides the four major organisational resources – capital, people, technology and information, the 5th business resource real estate need to be re-invented, re-discovered and re-constructed in order to facilitate corporate spiritualism, a way of expressing more humanity.
Accommodation is in most organisations the second largest annual cost. How to make better use of the undermanaged 5th business resource, accommodation, to achieve your mission? How to facilitate increased relevant Engagement of stakeholders? How to execute the strategy for achieving the vision and mission in a more Effective and Efficient way? How to find relevant Evidence for your organisation to be used as feedback and feedforward data for steering and anticipating?
“People are no resources, they are change-makers.” (Richard Branson)
“Spirituality in the workplace is about individuals and organisations seeing work as a spiritual path, as an opportunity to grow and to contribute to society in a meaningful way. It is about care, compassion and support of others; about integrity and people being true to themselves and others. It means individuals and organisations attempt to live their values more fully in the work they do. Spirit at work enhances the overall value of the organisation.” (International Center for Spirit at Work [ICSW])
Growing people
The business world is focusing on growing more and more profits but has completely lost the essence and the spirit behind the whole concept. Profits can be generated only by people. When we focus on growing people, profits will grow automatically. Organisations and people working in an environment where the business is on good terms with emotion, will both grow and prosper. There will be a lively link between soul and business. Both poles have to be there. Not only excel in professionalism, but also in passion. It is not just about the ratio, but also about the emotion.
Our brain is a polarized organ, consisting of left and right hemispheres. Therefore our thinking works in logic loops. The heart on the other hand is not polarized. A shift in awareness from the brain into the heart will give us better access to our intuition. To transcend this polarized dynamic and come into a unified view wherein our heart’s innate sense of connectedness is met by our mind’s ability to rationally understand the truth of this connectedness at a scientific level.
The human capacity to tune heart-brain coherence relieves stress in the body. For regeneration, health and well-being, the inner and external focus should be in harmony because in the end… it’s all about people! Our body is an open energy system continuously exchanging subtle energy with the environment.
Negative thoughts and beliefs of people about disharmony and unbalances in the inner and/or outer environment and the way they are interpreted can create stress for humans. Stress is an organism’s total response to environmental demands or pressures. Stress shuts down growth and maintenance, the immune system and intelligence by responding without thinking. A disharmonious design of the outer environment creates stress. There are several forms of environmental stressors and some of them are 24/7 around us.
- Geopathic Stress: generic term for natural geophysical anomalies, the seen and unseen energy patterns on earth, that in most cases are detrimental.
- Archipathic stress: by the disharmonious use of forms, shapes, proportions and/or the building material properties including their finishing.
- Technopathic stress: manmade electromagnetic radiation interfering with humans’ natural electromagnetic system causing a negative impact on health.
- Sociopathic stress: detrimental energies generated by us humans through thoughts and emotions. Not only affecting oneself but others as well.
- Spiritpathic stress: attachments, ghosts and lost souls, psychic attacks and cords.
These stressors do not make you sick perse in short term and in low dose but put your biosystem and especially the immune system out of balance in long exposure times. It drains life energy. Being for a longer time in an outer environment with one or more stressors does not give the body an opportunity to restore balance in the inner environment and cause chronic diseases. It turns out that 90% of illness is directly connected to stress. Rehabilitation of existing spaces is a good way to provide harmonious support from the environment to the recalibration of people in stress.
Healthy business world
Our goal is to strive to take part in new business strategies which is constructive and creative for everyone involved, in order to make this ‘Business World’, a ‘Better World’ to work in. So that, we may dream of leaving behind a ‘Healthy Business World’ for those who follow.
As an organisation, dare to think big, but start small and expand incrementally. Without experimentation, innovation is impossible. Experiment and gradually find out which form and speed of implementation suit the organisation best. Have faith in the process. Like anything new, it takes a bit of trial and error before you get it right, but the payoff is worth it.
If you have a common goal, please feel free to contact us. We would be privileged to develop a tailor-made program for your organisation.