I enjoyed an article that my cousin Ethan just wrote about people connecting more during tough economic times. All along I’ve been watching vehicle mileage trends and hearing about “the staycation”, thinking about how good this downturn has been for global warming. But Ethan talks about where this stuff hits home, literally.

A quote from a recent piece about Obama’s campaign in the New Yorker keeps coming back— “our biggest weakness can be our biggest strength.” So far, that has really rung true with this downturn.

It just occurred to me what a cool space the oval office is.
different seats for different moods
it really lends itself to all kinds of communication:
the chat with a casual veneer
(don’t be fooled—it’s always loaded)
the multi-party negotiation
the policy charrette
pronouncements from the desk
the check-in with a confidant
kids playing on the sofa
the stern confrontation
quiet reading alone.
It works for everything you wouldn’t use a meeting room for.
each piece of furniture is key
and there is bilateral symmetry:
the office equivalent of an oval table