A Fishy Justification for Workplace Experience

The Aquarium Prophecy

NOTE: These are the exact aquatic visuals I made in 2017 (while at WeWork) to justify workplace experience in a novel way. The text before each image mirrors my talk track from back then. Links to relevant articles in The Workline are new.

This is the traditional office. It's a pretty simple place, very contained and not very exciting. The fish all look alike, it doesn't take much to make them happy, and they are easily replaced. It was fine, but we didn't really know any better.

But now we all need more interesting (e.g. ​technically-savvy​) fish who are harder to find, and harder to keep alive and happy.

They also don't like your fish tank. 🥱

There are also new and stronger predators, who are gobbling up all the cool fish. These predators never cared about your fish before, but now everybody is a tech company and therefore competes for that talent.

Another problem is that these new, sexy fish can ​swim anywhere​, migrating as they please from reef to reef, and they cannot be locked in your fish tank.

Cool fish also desire choice and autonomy, so they are happier when they can periodically break away from the pack and swim alone, maybe at home.

So what do we do? We build beautiful, exotic tanks to attract the best fish. Making these environments is hard but—worse yet—they are ​often empty​!

Where did my fish go!?! 🤷‍♂️

And why do we need the fish to come to and stay in our tank? Because fish who hang out together make for more vibrant and valuable reefs.

And since the surf is getting rougher, and our reef is volatile, we need the fish we have to be generating new and ​innovative ideas​ all the time. 😎

As a result, we provide beautiful, vibrant, and highly-compelling environments so that the fish choose to stay despite the ability to leave at any time.

If you do that successfully, others will envy and want to see your aquarium where—if done properly—the focus is ​on the FISH​ and not the TANK.

This means you have become the employer of choice for top fish. 🐠

And that is why memorable experiences are a key differentiator in the workplace of the future. And this kind of experience is now available more or less "off the shelf" in co-working sites and other third places.

So if you want fish in your tank, it has better be a good one.

<< FIN >> (Get it?) 😂