What would it take to make your work environment more beautiful?

Many of us might instinctively think of adding something. Or we might treat the work environment as a backdrop and beauty as an accessory to it, not realizing how our spaces shape us. My guest today will help us rethink these tendencies.

Dr. Leidy Klotz is a behavioral scientist and engineering professor at the University of Virginia who studies how and why humans design.

He has written for the Washington Post, Fast Company, Scientific American, and Harvard Business Review.

He is also the author of Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less and his recent book, In a Good Place: How the Spaces Where We Live, Work, and Play Can Help Us Thrive.

In this first part of our conversation, we discuss:

1. Leidy's experience of beauty watching his son's soccer team
2. His career arc from professional soccer to behavioral science
3. Subtraction neglect and why our minds add before taking away
4. Simplifying complex physics down to the essence
5. Why jam-packed itineraries persist
6. The balance bike as a prime example of subtractive product innovation
7. How our physical surroundings shape our behavior, motivation, and well-being
8. The importance of agency, growth, and connection in the spaces where we live and work
9. The "space before screens" concept

To learn more about Leidy Klotz’s work, you can find him at:

https://leidyklotz.com/ 

Books and resources mentioned:

Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less (https://leidyklotz.com/subtract/) (by Leidy Klotz)

In a Good Place: How the Spaces Where We Live, Work, and Play Can Help Us Thrive (https://leidyklotz.com/in-a-good-place/) (by Leidy Klotz)

This season of the podcast is sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation.

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