By John Arenas | April 9, 2014

“As an architect you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown.” — Norman Foster

In a workplace where things are changing faster than we can keep up, adaptability has become the most sought after asset not only within people, but also throughout concepts of design and structure.

Many professionals report that there’s nothing worse than spending weeks on a project to find out it’s completely irrelevant by the time it’s completed, but this happens in the workplace every day. But how is one to know the heights technology will reach, or more importantly, how society will perceive these changes?

Moreover, Norman Foster’s groundbreaking work in the architectural field can certainly teach us a lesson in innovation. He explains how important it is to look at the big picture. It’s not just about what you predict will happen tomorrow, two months from now or 30 years in the future. Considering the past is ultimately the key to planning for the future and more importantly, succeeding in the present.

If our goal is to make the workplace a more flexible and adaptive community, innovators must shake off the strict concepts of time and see beyond a single lens. What worked in the past, what is working now and what might make life easier in ten years?