It could be said that the boardroom is a place where the collective brain of the company resides. So, this would suggest that it should be equipped with the appropriate technology and comfort to assist in the important business of decision making.
Some of the most famous boardrooms (or meeting rooms) in modern storytelling transport us to these spaces that seem as though they have a life of their own, because the boardroom describes in its essence the very soul of business, and the true human condition.
One of these stories was made into a film. The original film’s title, which in Spain was called “Doce hombres sin piedad”, is “Twelve angry men”, (which kind of tells it like it is with such a title)! But, what exactly was it that made the members of a public jury so angry when they were forced to decide if a boy accused of murder was guilty?
This dramatic, powerful and slow moving story shows the anguish that arises from the jury’s responsibility, and how their decision changes through the course of the film.
Likewise, the oppressive, gloomy and uninspiring meeting room where the jury deliberates, is the equivalent of every companies boardroom in that era, because it is shaped and designed as a work space in the post-industrial era, where collaboration and, most importantly, decision-making is key.
Meeting rooms take on very different forms depending on each company’s needs. These include dynamic and probing meeting rooms where newspapers and publications are produced, formal and maybe slightly stuffy boardrooms in listed companies, light, creative brainstorming spaces in agencies, and large inspiring rooms overlooking a city skyline where companies may decide their future. No two meeting rooms are alike, but they all share two identical chromosomes that can be identified with Eros and Thanatos: the pleasure of being listened to and the fear of messing up and getting it wrong. And anyone who has attended a company meeting knows what we are talking about.
But let’s go back to the movies! In almost any Jame Bond movie, the baddie always ends up bumping off an ineffective sidekick by just pressing a button that sends their chair into a roaring inferno below, or into flames. And speaking of pressing buttons, if you include Arthur Holm to the boardroom table, you have the perfect 21st century boardroom. The table is the primary element and focal point, whatever its configuration, it will maintain a “head” when it’s necessary to mark the ranking, or it could easily become circular, like the round table in Arthurian legend (King Arthur’s, not Arthur Holm’s) to emphasise the equality of its members.
The quality and design of the table, the seating, and the technical equipment all combine to accurately describe the general health, stature, and importance of each company. Monitors, cameras, speakers, and microphones that almost magically seem to appear and disappear at the touch of a button, devices that allow us to share information in real time and that are perfectly integrated into the table’s design, are fundamental elements in any self-respecting modern meeting room.
So, maybe the reason those twelve men were so angry was because they were forced to think and deliberate in an ugly, unsuitable space!
