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Clockwise from top: The outside of Zweig Group’s new office; employees busy at work to the beat of Pandora One; offices along the main hallway face a wall of windows; MZ enjoying his new digs.

MARK ZWEIG , from page 1

The effect on everyone’s mood was immediate: We all feel better and more energized by our new space and are moving to the beat of our central stereo system, hooked up to Pandora One. It helps productivity, morale, and our image. If you are thinking about upgrading your office space, let me give you some advice – remember, we just went through the process, ourselves: 1)Don’t ask everyone for their opinions on everything. I’m talking about who goes where, what colors to use on the walls, and whether your bathrooms need full-length mirrors. The more you do this, the less happy everyone will be. You can’t please every- one. If you ask and don’t follow their wishes, they can justify being upset with you. 2)Give people plenty of natural light. Natural light keeps you awake. People who are awake get more done than those who are sleeping (or sleepy). 3)Have plenty of bathrooms. And be sure a couple are in more private locations for those delicate moments when certain noises or smells that one might like to keep from everyone else are possibilities. 4)Make it fun! Why does everyone make their office so serious? Have some humorous art. Install some toys. Do something that no one expects. Make the space look like a fun place to work, and you’ll attract employees and clients. 5)Wire it up! Plan for the future and the changing uses and locations of things. Invest- ing in the cabling you’ll need for communications and computing is essential when you have the walls and ceilings blown out. 6)Consider acoustics. Carpeting is a heckuva lot better sound-wise than polished con- crete when it comes to floors. Consider acoustics in all the materials you pick. 7)Make it easy to find. Good exterior lighting, the biggest sign you can get, and more should all be part of the new office. You want everyone who drives by to know where you are. It’s marketing, people! 8)Keep the style eclectic. Going overboard on one or another trendy interior design fad (and they aren’t all modern – “craftsman,” for example, has been really overdone) will only make your space look dated in the years to come. Mixing up styles in your furniture and art will keep the place looking fresh and less dated in the long run. So what is your advice here? Email it to me, so all of our readers can learn from your experience, too! MARK ZWEIG is founder and CEO of Zweig Group. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.

38 West Trenton Blvd., Suite 101 Fayetteville, AR 72701 Mark Zweig | Publisher mzweig@zweiggroup.com Andrea Bennett | Managing Editor abennett@zweiggroup.com Christina Zweig | Contributing Editor christinaz@zweiggroup.com Sara Parkman | Editor sparkman@zweiggroup.com Megan Halbert | Design Assistant mhalbert@zweiggroup.com Liisa Andreassen | Correspondent lsullivan@zweiggroup.com Richard Massey | Correspondent rmassey@zweiggroup.com

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E-mail: info@zweiggroup.com Online: www.thezweigletter.com Twitter: twitter.com/zweigletter Blog: blog.zweiggroup.com Published continuously since 1992 by Zweig Group, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. ISSN 1068-1310. Issued weekly (48 issues/yr.). $475 for one-year subscription, $775 for two-year subscription. Article reprints: For high-quality reprints, including Eprints and NXTprints, please contact The YGS Group at 717-399-1900, ext. 139, or e-mail TheZweigLetter@TheYGSGroup.com. © Copyright 2015, Zweig Group. All rights reserved.

THE ZWEIG LETTER SEPTEMBER 28, 2015, ISSUE 1121

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