Why is ‘Doing More’ a Good Business Strategy?
When I was a kid, my dad told me about Eero Saarinen, the legendary architect and furniture designer. Saarinen designed the GM Technical Center in Warren Michigan where my dad worked as a automotive designer.
Later, I would discover that Eero S
aarinen also designed other amazing projects such as the St. Louis Gateway Arch, the Womb Chair, the TWA Flight Center at JFK International Airport, the Tulip Arm Chair, to name a few.Recently, while watching the PBS American Masters documentaryentitled: Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw The Future, I learned so much more about his design philosophy and thinking. Something really struck me regarding his concept for the ‘Mobile Lounge’.
When commissioned to design the Dulles International Airport in 1958, no one asked Saarinen to grapple with the problem of the jet age terminal beyond the question of pure architecture. Yet, he believed that he had to assume a higher responsibility, to solve a real problem. To do more.
In the documentary, Eero Saarinen’s son Eric said: “In the case of Dulles, his first thought wasn’t what is it’s going to look like, his first thought was how do we solve the problem of passengers walking for miles”. To him, that was the real problem.
What was his solution? The employment of new transport vehicles known as mobile lounges, which resembled a giant luxury bus that carried up to ninety people from the terminal to their plane. This was a revolutionary idea, adding tremendous convenience for passengers and streamlined the design of the airport.
Saarinen definitely delivered on his client’s initial request for pure architecture. The Dulles International Airport is beautifully timeless and innovative. However, by taking on the added responsibility of solving an additional problem for his client, he changed the airline industry.
For me, Saarinen’s solution of the mobile lounge is a good business lesson. By thinking beyond our client’s initial request, we may have an opportunity to take an outside perspective and do more to move their organization forward while also building a lasting relationship based on honesty and trust. Of course, this can only happen if we have the right clients.
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