Have you ever wondered how AI will affect design? Perhaps economic risks and opportunities keep you up at night. What is the generational influence on the workplace? Or maybe you fret about big ideas and how to implement them.
All of those topics and more were covered at the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association 360° Leadership Conference, held last week in Sarasota, Fla. The event attracted nearly 200 executives from the commercial interiors industry who gather annually to explore big picture topics and how they might affect the workplace.
The topic of the 2024 BIFMA 360° was “Experimental Excellence” and challenged attendees to throw out preconceived notions about topics like AI and generation gaps to simply experiment more.
By all accounts (including my own after covering dozens of the BIFMA Leadership Conferences past), it was one of the most successful held. After several stunted BIFMA conferences due to COVID, the event drew its largest crowd ever.
Throughout the two-day event, industry executives learned how to create a cultural mindset needed to become an innovative organization. The industry is changing rapidly, and change isn’t so much a strategy as it is a necessity, said Dan Byrne, chief executive officer of Byrne Electrical Specialists and chairman of BIFMA’s Member Services Council.
“The event provides so much value to all of us,” he said. “Access to globally recognized thought leadership, time to exchange ideas, reconnect with friends and peers, and respite — time to take a time out, reflect on the issues today and find the path forward. It’s BIFMA’s goal that the content presented enables our members the strategic inspiration, tactical approaches to lead not only your companies but the industry for, as we say, each year, the future of the industry will be determined largely by the people that are in this room.”
Franco Bianchi, president and chief executive officer of Haworth, who also serves as the BIFMA Board of Directors chairman, said topics for the conference were selected to inspire industry leaders to create space for innovative experimentation in all aspects of the business — from team structure to organization, to strategic partnership with an emphasis of blending technology.
The event opened with a reception Monday and a “Speed Dining” dinner where attendees were assigned to different tables for the salad, main and desert courses as a way to help the executives mingle and meet new people.
The 360° conference kicked into full gear on Tuesday with four presentation topics:
The opening keynote was given by Nancy Giordano, chief executive officer and founder of PLAY BIG and author of the book “Leadering: The Ways Visionary Leaders Play Bigger.” She discussed the future of work and the role of AI in shaping it. She highlighted the importance of being receptive to change and ready to adapt to new technologies and ways of working. She also discussed the need for a shift in mindset to embrace the future and the opportunities it presents. Giordano outlined various examples of companies and individuals who are pioneering this change and emphasized the importance of compassion and understanding as we navigate this new landscape. She encouraged attendees to see themselves as active participants in shaping the future, rather than passive observers.
“When you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life. Have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact and that is everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it,” she said.
Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist for the Economic Outlook Group, gave attendees an economic overview and his outlook on 2024. He said 2023 was a good year for the economy with near-record low unemployment and a decrease in inflation. He predicted that 2024 will be a defining year economically, politically, and geopolitically. Baumohl predicted that the Federal Reserve will likely reduce interest rates in late spring or early summer and that banks will start to ease their lending standards. He also discussed the impact of technology on the economy, stating that more companies are investing in labor-saving technology to increase productivity and operate more efficiently. Risks to the economy include the potential for a banking crisis, a catastrophic cyber event, and geopolitical tensions.
“We’re looking at below subpar 2% growth for the first half of the year (2024) and then picking up again in the second half of the year and into 2025,” he said. “We do see consumer price inflation finally getting into the 2% range later this year. And that’s exactly what we want to see.”
Father (Gen X) and son (Gen Z) speakers David and Jonah Stillman, co-founders of GenGuru, spoke about the generational influence on work and the workplace. They discussed the emergence of Gen Z in the business world. They highlighted that Gen Z, the oldest of whom are now 27, are influencing business from all angles and are just beginning to gain traction. They emphasized that Gen Z is very different from previous generations, particularly in its approach to work and technology. They are digital natives, do-it-yourselfers, and expect hyper customization. They also have a different view of higher education and career paths, with many opting for trade schools or creating their own job titles.
David Stillman said unlike Millennials, Gen Z was not told anything is possible.
“We were (telling our children) that it’s a tough world out there,” he said. “It’s a generation within its formative years that not only dealt with the recession, but then the world went into the pandemic and they are seeing once again the economy fluctuating and now they are starting to feel it themselves. 39% of Gen Z’ers said the pandemic directly impacted their own sources of income. So, this is a generation that saw a lot of scary things happening during those formative years.”
Stewart Flemming, senior director of Americas portfolio planning at Oracle and Jennifer Kolstad, global design and brand director at Ford Motor Co. described changes in the corporate workplaces at their companies. The speakers discussed their experiences in workplace experimentation, sharing what has worked and what hasn’t. They also discuss the need for innovative furniture products to support their efforts. Flemming explained the evolution of the hybrid work environment and the importance of flexible, technology-enhanced furniture. Kolstad emphasized the importance of designing spaces that foster culture and innovation, and the challenges of achieving sustainability goals.
“For any designers in the room, if you are like me, you believe that design can change the world,” said Kolstad. “You need what to make that happen? To really enact change you need reach, you need access to capital. We carry a lot of big lofty ideas. You need an opportunity to show that to the world. And so, at Fort Motor Company, we have at our disposal almost 200 million square feet of space.”
Wednesday’s programming kicked off with Shawn Kanungo, partner at Queen & Rook, a company specializing in AI. He emphasized the impact of AI on culture, business, technology, and individuals. He explained how generative AI will drive change in how people approach work and how innovation is 90% psychology and 10% technology. Kanungo also discussed the importance of being bold and asking bold questions to innovate. He argued that in the future, organizations must either leverage generative AI or risk becoming irrelevant.
“When I come to these conferences, they’re expecting me to give them some advice or some answers. And the beautiful thing about the world today is that we have all the answers. If you want answers, just ask ChatGPT. But if you want to innovate, you want to be bold, you have to ask bold questions,” he said.
The closing keynote came from John Rossman, founder of Rossman Partners and the former Amazon executive who helped launch the Amazon Marketplace, who spoke about the idea of making “big bets.” Rossman suggested that businesses should think big but bet small, and focus on developing a portfolio of killer use cases.
“A big bet is fundamentally any plan, any strategy, any growth initiative, any transformation that we think has the opportunity for significant impact in our business,” he said. “But we know that there’s material risk relative to it working. It is fundamentally a bet. We wouldn’t undertake it if we didn’t think it was a good idea, but we know that there’s calculated risks relative to it.”
The conference closed with Rossman signing his book, “Big Bet Leadership” for conference attendees.
It was an excellent conference that sparked conversations among attendees, testament to the excellent job organizing the event by BIFMA President and CEO Deirdre Jimenez and the rest of the BIFMA staff and board.
Next year’s BIFMA 360° will be held at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.