The mistakes we see tenants make time and time again. If you want to make the best, simplest office space deal than this guide is for you.

1. Jeremy Schmitt
Real Estate Consultant
Jeremy@howardecker.com
The 3 Deadly Mistakes
of Office Space + Culture

2. “Your Culture Is Your Brand”
-Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos

3. *Entrepreneur

4. Does Your Office
Space Empower
Your Culture?

5. Communication
+ Space are
Changing

6. *Harvard Business Review

7. The 3 Mistakes of
Office Space + Culture

8. 1. Thinking Of Space
Solely as
Cost Per Square Foot

9. Brand.
Identity.
Culture.
Space Is…

10. Privacy does not compromise
collaboration. By improving
privacy - where employees can
focus - you enrich and strengthen
collaborative activities.
Open space vs. Closed space
*Harvard Business Review

11. The sweet spot is
a space plan that
we call
social seating,
or working in a
neighborhood.

12. Space designs that
encourage "collisions" between
workers fosters better
communication + innovation.
Team “Collisions”
*Harvard Business Review

14. What Common Values
Do You Want Expressed
Through Your Space?

15. 2. Not Prioritizing Flexibility

16. “The growth
curve for a
business is rarely
set in stone.”

17. Knowing your options for increasing
or decreasing the amount of space
as your business changes.
What is “Flexibility”?

18. What is more
flexible:
A long-term
or short-term
lease?

19. Prioritize
Location
Space/
AmenitiesPrice

20. Social
Areas
Private
Workstations
Work-Life Balance vs. Work-Life Integration

21. 3. Not Hedging Potential Risk

22. Building Risk Market Risk Business Risk

23. The risk that a change to
the building’s ownership
or infrastructure impacts
your occupancy.
Building Risk

24. Events in the global marketplace that
impact the rent tenants you pay.
Market Risk

25. Understand early
termination and
renewal options
How To Hedge Market Risk

26. The inherent risks within your
business that impact your
business’ operations.
Business Risk

27. "When a landlord quotes a rent, there
are many things embedded in it,
including tenant improvement [TI]
dollars. But unless you know to ask for
it, it has no value."
Maximize Tenant Improvement Dollars

29. Is your culture & brand
reflected in your space?
Are you hedging the ALL
potential risk?
Wrap Up

30. Howard Ecker + Company

31. Jeremy Schmitt
Real Estate Consultant
(815) 560-7351
Jeremy@howardecker.com
Q/A

32. Supporting Documents

33. Students achieved 25% higher grades on
standardized tests
Office workers performed 10-25% better on tests
of mental function and memory recall
(Lower panel heights and elevated furniture.
Glass architectural walls, Lighter colors and
surface treatments to reflect light and maximize
natural light)
Daylight increases Productivity

35. Experience is a fine thing. As you seek out the best
partner for helping you find your next office, you should
consider more than just how long they’ve been around.
What you want to look for are things like client retention,
glowing testimonials and business growth. Ask
prospective tenant reps if they can put you in touch with
a couple of companies they’ve worked with in the past.
Ask those companies to give you an honest assessment
of what they’re like.
Expertise Counts

36. Less-transparent work space can yield
more-transparent employees. By balancing
transparency and privacy, organizations
can encourage just the right amount of
"deviance" to foster innovative behavior
and boost productivity
Employee Transparency
*Harvard Business Review

37. Typical Timeline

38. Typical Timeline

39. Employees can tote
laptops and work on
a breezy rooftop
garden, or sprawled
on a sofa in a cozy
living room.
in London

40. 1. Be Ready, Willing and Able to Walk Away
The biggest mistake many tenants make is not
developing legitimate alternatives to their first
choice, whether a new space or a lease
renewal. If a landlord believes you’re not
willing to switch to a different property, you
lose your negotiating leverage.
6 Key Points To Negotiating
Your Office Lease

41. 2. Start the Process Early
Time should be your ally, not your enemy during
negotiations. Landlords know that the managers of
other buildings can take six to eight months to create a
space plan, get construction pricing, agree on a rental
rate, prepare a lease document and ready the space
for occupancy. If you wait too long before asking for a
renewal proposal, you’re telling the landlord that you’re
not considering any other options.
6 Key Points To Negotiating
Your Office Lease

42. 3. Know the Whole Picture Before You Start Negotiations
Is the building being sold? Is the largest tenant moving out?
How much free rent did the last tenant get? Does the
building have HVAC or parking problems? What is the
landlord’s financial situation? Candid, complete answers
may not be forthcoming from the landlord or his broker.
Expert research can make sure that what you don’t know
won’t hurt you.
6 Key Points To Negotiating
Your Office Lease

43. 4. Make Landlords Compete For Your Business
The key to a successful negotiation is creating
competition between your current landlord and
other landlords in the area. You should have an
experienced advisor providing the proper market
research, lease comparables and the negotiating
skill to use that information to create leverage for
you.
6 Key Points To Negotiating
Your Office Lease

44. 5. Hiring A Tenant’s Rep Doesn’t Cost You More Money, But It Can
Save You Money
Occasionally a landlord will “try to save you some money” by
discouraging you from engaging a tenant representative. Don’t be
fooled. He knows that without a tenant representative you’re more
likely to be in the dark about market rates and terms, and less likely to
shop the market, or consider other alternatives. That means more
money in the landlords pocket. An experienced tenant
representative will help ensure that you receive the best possible
rates, terms, incentives and lease clause protections. Remember, the
landlord’s representative negotiates leases every day; you may do it
once every 3 to 4 years!
6 Key Points To Negotiating
Your Office Lease

45. 6. Make Sure You Are Comparing Apples To Apples
Business owners who are not experienced with commercial
real estate often find it difficult to perform a true “apples to
apples” comparison of different facility choices. Lease
terms such as full service gross, modified gross, triple net,
tenant improvement allowances, rental abatement,
escalations, base years, operating expense stops and loss
and load factors can obscure the true amount you’re
paying and make legitimate comparisons
6 Key Points To Negotiating
Your Office Lease

46. “As a business owner, one of the most
important things you learn is that the
people you hire become the face of your
company. In order for your people, and,
in turn, your company to reach their
fullest potential, it is worth taking a look at
your space and thinking about whether it
accommodates and reflects the values
of the people working there.

47. Companies are always faced with
decisions about how to maximize
success, and inevitably, the answer
will sometimes be to compromise. But
while it might seem that spending less
on an office space will be better for
your bottom line, realize that the
tradeoff may very well be the quality
of talent you hire and retain.”
-Howard Ecker