The office furniture industry gathered at the Coconut Point Resort & Spa in Bonita Springs, Florida, last week to cover the topic “Better.” The conference (BIFMA's annual leadership conference, 360°) attracts an ever-growing number of industry leaders and has evolved from a boondoggle, where 75-80 people attended, to a serious meeting in 2005.

“Better” is a broad topic to be sure, but by the end of the event, attendees took from it the tools to be better for their companies and the industry.

The three-day leadership conference revolved around the speakers that each present for about an hour, followed by a question-and-answer session.

BIFMA Jennifer Wammack, Outreach director, and Byron Morton, Merchandise Mart Properties vice president of leasing, explained how they would work together on Confluence Chicago, a series of events during NeoCon designed to stimulate the conversation about design and design thinking.

Martin Flaherty, president and founder of Pencilbox, the communications company the industry trade association uses to help organize 360˚, said the industry gathers at the event to connect and work.

The keynote speaker of the opening night of the conference was Nancy Koehn, a historian at the Harvard Business School whose research focuses on effective leadership and how leaders, past and present, craft lives of purpose, worth, and impact. “All of you are leaders in your companies, but (360° is designed for attendees) to think about leadership in a different framework.”

Designers Tara Headley and Jim Williamson addressed attendees about the need for human-centered design.

The 2021 edition of the 360˚ will be Jan. 18-20 at the Mandarin Oriental in Miami Beach, Florida.