Change Your Space, Change Your Culture: How Engaging Workspaces Lead to Transformation and Growth

Chapter 1Are You Ready to Sail the North Atlantic?

History becomes an astonishing succession of new media toppling old empires by repatterning perceptions of time and space.

—Michael Schrage, No More Teams¹

On December 17, 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian merchant, set himself on fire on the street where he once sold his goods. But this was not simply a personal tragedy or isolated political statement, mourned by a small circle of family, friends, or followers. Bouazizi's act was the spark that ignited a massive protest, the “Arab Spring,” because social media had changed the rules.² In this case, the elements for social change included a spark (a dramatic suicide), a leveling catalyst (social media), a stage (the public square), and a unifying vision (the overthrow of oppression). Institutional leaders everywhere were put on notice that their constituents had a new voice and new power.

We are witnesses to an astonishing succession of crumbling empires. Social media has changed the way we can and do organize for action. It has removed traditional barriers to participation and makes it almost effortless to connect, rally, and act. Social media also connects once fragmented and faint voices into a unified chorus that has the power to topple institutions.

Until a few years ago institutional acts of injustice (or idiocy) happened behind a curtain, and therefore without serious consequence. Those trying to right a wrong, or make any kind of statement, had to overcome great hurdles ...