Introduction
Chris Moeller, founder of Orion Growth, joins Jack Ossa on The Power of Design Podcast to talk about how companies with many locations plan, design and build workplaces that people are proud to use. Orion Growth is a workplace consulting firm, and Chris describes his mission in a few words: restoring human connection at work.
The conversation covers how his firm combines strategy, a repeatable program and hands-on delivery, how technology changes the way project teams communicate, and what architects and designers can do to keep a project on track.
About the Episode
Chris explains that most projects arrive as a single, defined need such as furniture, construction or design. Early in his career a client came to him for contract furniture, but they had no process for corporate real estate or workplace strategy and little more than a need to put people in seats. Seeing the deeper problem behind the narrow request is, in his view, what separates Orion Growth from firms that work in silos.
He walks through the three parts of the business: strategy and consulting on the front end, a repeatable program with specifications and construction standards, and delivery. Clients are generally portfolio-based companies with 30 to 75 locations, and projects can run as short as 16 weeks, so a build team has to build trust quickly. Chris says experience, careful documentation and a shared communication channel are what keep those projects together.
The two also talk about culture. Chris says a consultant cannot own a client's culture, but a space people are proud of can start to regenerate it. He closes with a point about ethics and transparency: an industry that stops chasing change orders and takes ownership of its mistakes is a better partner for long-term clients.
Key Takeaways
- Look behind the request: a furniture, design or construction request is usually part of a bigger program, so ask why before quoting.
- Three parts work together: strategy, a repeatable program and delivery give multi-location clients consistency and a single team that finishes the job.
- Pride shows up in the work: a workplace people are proud of signals that the company invests in them, and Chris believes that carries over to quality.
- Plan the open plan: open offices need heads-down, meeting, break and loud spaces to function.
- Keep communication traceable: moving a project between phone, email and text loses continuity, so Orion documents its process and invests in shared cloud tools.
- Fast is not always better: busy markets cause costly mistakes, and prior planning prevents poor performance.
- Own your errors: trust inside a build team depends on admitting mistakes early.
Highlights from the Conversation
If you don't program in heads down space in meeting space and break room space and loud space and bathrooms and kitchens then the open plan space is not effective.
Chris Moeller
I hope people continue to create great spaces that allow people to bump into people.
Chris Moeller
There's nothing more human than the architectural process.
Chris Moeller
Topics Discussed
- Restoring human connection in the workplace
- Strategy, program and delivery for multi-location clients
- Building trust inside a build team in a few weeks
- Cloud tools and keeping project communication traceable
- Planned, virtual and cultural workplaces across generations
- Making open plans work with the right mix of spaces
- The SK1 sketch and working with architects
- Ethics, transparency and avoiding change orders
Why This Conversation Matters
Anyone responsible for office space, whether a tenant, a broker or a design team, will recognize the pattern Chris describes: a narrow request that hides a larger workplace question. It supports the way we approach interior architecture, where the program and the way people actually work come before finishes. Projects such as the BWM Office and the Hedgemore Flex adaptive reuse show how a clear program turns a plan into a workplace that supports collaboration and focus.
About the Guest
Chris Moeller is the founder of Orion Growth, a workplace consulting firm that helps companies with multiple locations plan, design and build productive and engaging workplaces. He has run the firm for about ten years and says its team members bring roughly 20 years of experience each. His background includes commercial office interior and contract furniture sales, and his studies were in communication and organizational management.
Connect with Chris Moeller on LinkedIn
Learn more about Orion Growth
