Coordinated Solutions Has a New Home
DLS Hub Menu
3 Sept
Written By
Kristian HarrisWe’ve opened our first Coordinated Solutions office at Unit 8, The Moorings in Staveley.
For the first few years, we operated from customer sites, home offices and hired meeting rooms. Most of our hands-on project leadership happens inside customer organisations, so having an office wasn’t essential when the company started.
As Coordinated Solutions has grown, the reasons for having our own place have grown with it. We are delivering more training, developing the Delivery Leadership System and bringing together a wider group of project leaders.
We also wanted somewhere customers could visit without every conversation needing to take place on Teams or in a borrowed meeting room.
It Felt Like Time to Grow Up
Part of the reason for opening an office is that we wanted Coordinated Solutions to feel more grown up as an organisation.
There isn’t a complicated business case behind that part of the decision. We had reached a stage where having a permanent base felt right.
It gives our project leaders somewhere to meet and prepare for customer engagements. It gives us a consistent place to deliver training and workshops. It also gives customers somewhere they can come and spend time with us.
That last point matters because project leadership depends heavily on relationships.
Customers don’t always come to us with a tidy brief and a clear idea of what they need. Sometimes they know a project is drifting but don’t yet understand why. They may have lost confidence in the information they are receiving or have a decision that nobody seems able to make.
We wanted somewhere we could sit down with people, have a coffee and talk those situations through properly. That is much easier when the conversation isn’t limited to a scheduled video call.
A Place to Step Away from the Day-to-Day
The office will be used for Project Leader Mindset training, Delivery Reset sessions, customer meetings and demonstrations of the DLS Hub.
Many people attending our training are managing projects alongside an already busy day job. If they stay in their normal environment, the emails, calls and usual responsibilities are still there.
Bringing people to The Moorings gives them some distance from that. They can concentrate on the session, take part in the discussion and spend time thinking about how they will apply it when they return.
The setting also helps.
Natural surroundings can reduce stress and anxiety and help our ability to concentrate recover. Attention Restoration Theory explains that tasks requiring sustained concentration eventually tire the brain’s capacity for focused attention. Nature engages our attention with less effort, which gives that capacity time to recover.
The office sits beside the canal basin, so people can take a walk along the canal before a session or during a break. A few minutes outside can help somebody reset before returning to a workshop, training session or difficult conversation.
A coffee shop and bistro is also due to open downstairs. That will give people somewhere to have lunch, continue a conversation or take a proper break during a longer session.
We chose The Moorings because it gives people the opportunity to get away from their usual surroundings without having to travel to the middle of nowhere to do it.
Starting with a Blank Page
We started planning the office with a blank sheet of graph paper.
Before buying furniture, we wrote down how the office needed to be used and how we wanted people to feel when they arrived.
We wanted it to feel professional and comfortable. Customers should be able to talk openly, people attending training should be able to concentrate and our project leaders should enjoy spending time there.
We then mapped out the different ways people would use the room.
That meant following one of our own principles. We gained clarity on what we actually wanted before cracking on with the layouts and selecting the furniture.
It is the same approach we encourage customers to take with their projects. Agree what you are trying to achieve, understand how people will use it and then start making decisions.
The Space
The finished office has desks for up to six people. These give our project leaders somewhere to prepare for customer engagements, develop the Delivery Leadership System and spend time learning from one another.
The conference area seats up to eight people and will be used for customer meetings, Project Leader Mindset training and Delivery Reset workshops.
We also included a sofa area for less formal conversations. Sometimes a customer wants to talk through an idea or explain what is happening on a project before deciding what support they need. That conversation doesn’t always require everybody to sit around a conference table.
There is a coffee machine and a drinks fridge so people can help themselves while they are with us.
We have also used plants throughout the office to bring in some green and break up the desks, screens and storage. They help different parts of the room feel separate without putting up walls between them.
Call in for a Cuppa!
Most Project Leadership as a Service engagements will continue to happen inside customer organisations. That is where our project leaders can understand the people involved and see the pressures affecting delivery.
The Moorings gives us a base for everything surrounding those engagements. It is somewhere to brief project leaders, meet customers, develop DLS and deliver our training and workshops.
We are pleased with how it has come together. The next step is to fill it with people, conversations and plenty of coffee.
If you would like to visit, talk through a project or learn more about Coordinated Solutions, please get in touch.
You will find us at:
Unit 8
The Moorings
Staveley
Chesterfield
S43 3ZS
If you are nearby, drop us a message and come in for a coffee.
Something to talk through?
If this reflects what is happening in your projects, we’re happy to talk.
Get in touch
We’ve opened our first Coordinated Solutions office at Unit 8, The Moorings in Staveley.
For the first few years, we operated from customer sites, home offices and hired meeting rooms. Most of our hands-on project leadership happens inside customer organisations, so having an office wasn’t essential when the company started.
As Coordinated Solutions has grown, the reasons for having our own place have grown with it. We are delivering more training, developing the Delivery Leadership System and bringing together a wider group of project leaders.
We also wanted somewhere customers could visit without every conversation needing to take place on Teams or in a borrowed meeting room.
It Felt Like Time to Grow Up
Part of the reason for opening an office is that we wanted Coordinated Solutions to feel more grown up as an organisation.
There isn’t a complicated business case behind that part of the decision. We had reached a stage where having a permanent base felt right.
It gives our project leaders somewhere to meet and prepare for customer engagements. It gives us a consistent place to deliver training and workshops. It also gives customers somewhere they can come and spend time with us.
That last point matters because project leadership depends heavily on relationships.
Customers don’t always come to us with a tidy brief and a clear idea of what they need. Sometimes they know a project is drifting but don’t yet understand why. They may have lost confidence in the information they are receiving or have a decision that nobody seems able to make.
We wanted somewhere we could sit down with people, have a coffee and talk those situations through properly. That is much easier when the conversation isn’t limited to a scheduled video call.
A Place to Step Away from the Day-to-Day
The office will be used for Project Manager Mindset training, Delivery Reset sessions, customer meetings and demonstrations of the DLS Hub.
Many people attending our training are managing projects alongside an already busy day job. If they stay in their normal environment, the emails, calls and usual responsibilities are still there.
Bringing people to The Moorings gives them some distance from that. They can concentrate on the session, take part in the discussion and spend time thinking about how they will apply it when they return.
The setting also helps.
Natural surroundings can reduce stress and anxiety and help our ability to concentrate recover. Attention Restoration Theory explains that tasks requiring sustained concentration eventually tire the brain’s capacity for focused attention. Nature engages our attention with less effort, which gives that capacity time to recover.
The office sits beside the canal basin, so people can take a walk along the canal before a session or during a break. A few minutes outside can help somebody reset before returning to a workshop, training session or difficult conversation.
A coffee shop and bistro is also due to open downstairs. That will give people somewhere to have lunch, continue a conversation or take a proper break during a longer session.
We chose The Moorings because it gives people the opportunity to get away from their usual surroundings without having to travel to the middle of nowhere to do it.
Starting with a Blank Page
We started planning the office with a blank sheet of graph paper.
Before buying furniture, we wrote down how the office needed to be used and how we wanted people to feel when they arrived.
We wanted it to feel professional and comfortable. Customers should be able to talk openly, people attending training should be able to concentrate and our project leaders should enjoy spending time there.
We then mapped out the different ways people would use the room.
That meant following one of our own principles. We gained clarity on what we actually wanted before cracking on with the layouts and selecting the furniture.
It is the same approach we encourage customers to take with their projects. Agree what you are trying to achieve, understand how people will use it and then start making decisions.
The Space
The finished office has desks for up to six people. These give our project leaders somewhere to prepare for customer engagements, develop the Delivery Leadership System and spend time learning from one another.
The conference area seats up to eight people and will be used for customer meetings, Project Manager Mindset training and Delivery Reset workshops.
We also included a sofa area for less formal conversations. Sometimes a customer wants to talk through an idea or explain what is happening on a project before deciding what support they need. That conversation doesn’t always require everybody to sit around a conference table.
There is a coffee machine and a drinks fridge so people can help themselves while they are with us.
We have also used plants throughout the office to bring in some green and break up the desks, screens and storage. They help different parts of the room feel separate without putting up walls between them.
Call in for a Cuppa!
Most Project Leadership as a Service engagements will continue to happen inside customer organisations. That is where our project leaders can understand the people involved and see the pressures affecting delivery.
The Moorings gives us a base for everything surrounding those engagements. It is somewhere to brief project leaders, meet customers, develop DLS and deliver our training and workshops.
We are pleased with how it has come together. The next step is to fill it with people, conversations and plenty of coffee.
If you would like to visit, talk through a project or learn more about Coordinated Solutions, please get in touch.
You will find us at:
Unit 8
The Moorings
Staveley
Chesterfield
S43 3ZS
If you are nearby, drop us a message and come in for a coffee.