Market data tells you if there is demand.

Financial rigor tells you if it’s viable.

Yet strategic initiatives fail when they ignore the human and operational behaviors.

20Chairs completes the picture by bridging this gap before leaders commit capital

When we met a real estate leader with a vision to turn his WORKPLACE into a COMMUNITY… 

“The new world of work is networked. People are looking for places to gather that are, too. 
”

We applied 20 years of experience engaging employees, changing behaviors, growing business, and delighting audiences to co-create a workplace that attracts people... and keeps them coming back.

Today, 20Chairs continues to provide insights, solutions, and systems for progressive leaders who want actionable strategies that positively impact satisfaction, productivity, and profitability. We consistently reveal data that surprises and our clients and introduce innovative solutions that yield strong returns.

“Creating a vibrant and welcoming environment for people to spend time in is what keeps them coming back and frames how they relate to it.”
— PWC/Urban Land Institute: Emerging Trends in Real Estate, 2017
 
 

20Chairs is an allegory that illustrates how we help clients. Philosopher Bertrand Russell noticed when you put an object in the center of a room with 20 people seated around it, each person sees it differently depending on their vantage point. Each of these views are equally valid, important… and incomplete by themselves.

That’s where our engagements begin. We start by inviting people to share their workplace perspectives with us, which makes it possible for clients to more fully understand what will attract, retain and satisfy.

We don’t put all the responsibility on our clients to ‘make things better' though. We enroll groups of stakeholders that cooperate to enrich the workplace experience long after our work is done.

Why 20? In cultural anthropology when a group reaches 20 people, it either organizes, or becomes unsustainable and disbands. That’s hard to remember though. If you can remember we ask a lot of questions - like the game 20 Questions - that makes it easier to remember.

Have a Question? Ask it here.
 
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Joy Stephan

As the Founder of 20Chairs, Joy partners with clients to reveal hidden knowledge within workplace buildings that result in greater value and sustainability. Working with her first real estate client, she developed a tenant retention and sustainability strategy for one of the five largest buildings in New York City, contributing to their 2016 Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA/NY) Pinnacle Award, 2017 BOMA/NY Earth Award and 2018 BOMA/Middle Atlantic Region TOBY Award. Since then, she has consistently helped real estate executives discover and implement innovative ways to create value while increasing satisfaction.

Joy's engagements are energizing, transformative and fun, and designed to produce measurable results. As a natural bridge builder and problem solver, she hears viewpoints with empathy and acumen to guide organizations to innovate new ways for workplace buildings to thrive.

Multiple sectors and companies have benefitted, including Fidelity Investments, the New York City Department of Education and RXR Realty. A Master of Science in Organizational Change Management from The New School for Management and Urban Policy informs her approach; she is a Syracuse University graduate and a Licensed Real Estate Salesperson in New York.

Photo by Daniella Mone