Jason McCann, co-founder and CEO of the sit-stand desk company Vari, spoke to Dallas business leaders on Tuesday, highlighting the importance of flexibility in a continually changing work environment.
McCann co-founded the Coppell-based company Vari in 2013, quickly becoming one of the most well-known desk manufacturers in the country.
McCann spoke to business leaders on December 12 during a luncheon hosted by the Metroplex Civic & Business Association, a non-profit business organization that promotes charitable and civic engagement.
McCann spoke about how businesses and leaders must remain flexible as new challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, arise and about the impact of more employees working from home in recent years.
“[Pandemic shutdowns] created a tremendous amount of clarity, and I sort of leaned into the fear and uncertainty, so we’ve got to navigate through this. And so I leaned on our teams over in Asia, who were about 12 weeks ahead of us on the COVID curve, and they talked about distance-spaced designs, thermal scanners, and all those things,” explained McCann.
“I said, ‘We can do all that.’ Our furniture is designed to move, so we literally transformed our space. I reached out to our advertising partners and said, ‘Let’s pivot the ads.’ So, in a 48-hour period, instead of designing your workspace of the future, we’re going to work from home. And thank God we were in Texas and considered an essential business so that we could continue to operate, ship out, and take orders. Otherwise, we would have been broke overnight.”
He explained that one “pivotal moment,” such as his decision to start creating workspaces for the home, can change the future outcome of a business, and leaders in those companies must be willing to adapt in those moments.
McCann said another one of those moments has occurred as the economy recovers from the pandemic. He explained how the transition to hybrid work lives has changed the overall outlook on businesses.
While speaking on the topic, McCann used the luncheon as an example of an aspect of business that is more successful with in-person interaction, stating that having the event “on Zoom would not be very impactful.”
“There’s something when you shake somebody’s hand, the oxytocin that is generated, the collaboration, the connection. All those things, those human connection points that happen, start to happen in the workspace. And so companies are finding ways to do it,” he further explained.
McCann said that more companies must look for “intentional spaces” for their workers so that those who benefit from working in person can have the best space to accomplish their responsibilities.
These spaces can help increase the return for the company and create a culture within the office, according to McCann.
While advocating for in-person work due to the human connection provided, McCann also recognized that some jobs do not need to be in person for the best outcome.
McCann went on to discuss further transformations happening in the workplace, such as the introduction of artificial intelligence to help assist workers.
“When I talk to young people about it, and students, I say, ‘If you’re sitting at home and creating spreadsheets, I guarantee you there’s another student that’s creating a bot at home to do that,'” McCann said.
These are the types of changes that are coming to the workforce, McCann said, adding that the most important thing a business leader can do is create relationships with those who can help impact the business.
“You’ve got to find ways to build relationships, and those are the handshakes, the dinners and lunches, and the connections. And so, companies can figure out how to do those intentional spaces,” he said.
McCann concluded by noting that these adjustments can meaningfully alter business operations not only in the short term but also in the long term as future entrepreneurs are guided into the workforce.
“So they can get ideas, and we can get ideas too, about helping them build great organizations. Because ultimately, to me, that is a sign of success. If I can help the next generation of entrepreneurs build out their space.”
