When John A. Eisenlau was a child, he used to love building tree forts in his backyard. He was constantly creating something. His love of creating led him to attend design school, and that love has never left him.
And while it’s something that he’s passionate about, Eisenlau will also argue that good design is everywhere you look and critically important to success these days.
“Good design sells,” he says. “I think there are good examples of design selling in the world right now. Look at iPods and things of that nature — Apple has their hands wrapped around it nicely. The car industry has been doing it for years. There’s no question that good design sells. People want good design. They want sustainable design. They want timeless design. So my vision begins with design.”
His vision for HOK, the $496 million international architectural design firm of which he co-leads the justice business unit and serves as management principal of the Atlanta office, tries to address how design is constantly evolving and how it can enrich not only his clients’ lives but also the lives of his employees.
“They need to be motivated and captivated,” Eisenlau says. “They need to be challenged on a daily basis, so we spend a lot of time talking about design and where the design world is going. Americans have a greater appreciation for it, whether it’s fashion or automobiles or your home or the world of electronics. There are certainly great examples of where design sells. Our vision begins with that — being good designers and being good thought leaders.”
In order to effectively do that, Eisenlau has to make sure he creates the best environment possible for employees, and he does that by offering training, building trust with them and providing a nice physical environment.
