Defining Hospitality | Designing for the Next Generation - Glen Coben and Maya Coben

Designing for the Next Generation - Glen Coben and Maya Coben - Episode #011

October 1, 2021 / 01:14:13/E11

When you design your space, are you thinking about the next generation? In this week’s episode, Dan Ryan is joined by Glen Coben, President of Glen & Company, and his daughter Maya Coben of Rialto Capital for our first ever double guest episode! Listen in as they share their combined, multi-generational perspective on the future of hospitality, nurturing growth, developing intuition, and more great insights!

Check out some takeaways from this episode below:

Hospitality is about creating a community. We can build community by having empathy and listening to others, and pivoting to whatever the guest needs to feel like they’re most important.
Work for the people instead of yourself. Identify the unique aspects of your client’s vision by approaching them with empathy and understanding.
When you design a space, it’s not just for the current generation. You’re designing for the next generation as well. “The best way to stay relevant is to make sure that your 12-year-old child is teaching you” - Glen Coben
Nurture growth within your own company by giving people opportunities to learn and develop. The mutual desire for success can lead to more than just satisfied clients.
Negative feedback can be an opportunity to delight a client on the next revision, but success doesn’t have to be based on fear and intimidation. Hospitality and empathy drive successful students and future industry leaders.
Glen’s most important question when taking on new clients; Who is going to be making the decisions? The best answers to that question are the honest answers. If the whole family is going to review and approve a presentation, they should be in the room so they have all the information.
Intuition is built not just by listening and learning, but by asking questions. Be a sponge.
Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know the answer.” Asking for more information is a sign of strength, not weakness. Be okay with feeling that nervous energy, because it’s a sign that growth is coming!
One positive change from the pandemic: taking non local projects becomes easier. Collaboration tools will always be better in person, but our ability to adapt to remote working enables us to think more globally about new opportunities.

Quote of the Show:

22:46 - You remember those days when we were talking about “how do you design for the millennial?” That bothered me because the millennial is going to no longer want that cool hip thing. So we have to figure out a way to strike a balance through our design skills, that there are Instagram moments, there is technology, but there's also, we're designing across a broader spectrum. - Glen Coben

53:07 - I think that asking questions is the most important thing. And whenever I ask at the end of an interview, or just any conversation I have with anyone, a mentor, a friend, what advice do you have for me? Ask questions, be a sponge. Those are the two main things that I've heard time and time again. How can you learn as much as humanly possible in your career and through each experience that you're a part of? - Maya Coben

Links: Guest’s info