The Hidden Reason Office Moves Go Wrong (And How to Fix It 6 Months Earlier)

Chris Gore
4 days ago
5 min read

If you’re planning an office move in the next 12–24 months, there’s a brutal truth nobody tells you early enough:

Most projects don’t go wrong because the team is incompetent. They go wrong because the right people weren’t in the room early enough.

That was the thread running through my recent podcast with Vince Simpson (Founder of Spark), a guy I share a lot of history with — military background, construction-world scars, and a low tolerance for corporate fluff.

And while Vince runs a project strategy firm (not an AV company), everything he said applies directly to workplace technology — especially AV — because AV is still treated like a bolt-on, right up until it becomes a budget grenade.

Let’s break down the big lessons from the conversation, and how you can use them to avoid the classic “we left it too late” mess.

You can view the full podcast here

1) The Military Mindset That Construction (Still) Needs

Vince said something that instantly landed:

“The two best things I ever did were to join the military and to leave. In that order.”

He joined as a teenager from Dundee, found structure through cadets, then spent 10 years in the army learning the stuff you don’t get from a classroom: leadership, planning, risk awareness, momentum, and accountability.

And that’s where the contrast comes in.

Because in the military:

there’s a mission
the mission matters
you do whatever it takes
and if things go sideways, you adapt without blaming everyone around you

In modern office fit-out culture? Not always.

Vince’s view (and I agree) is that the industry has diluted over time — too many people are spread too thin, too many hand-offs, too much “postbox PM’ing” (forwarding emails instead of driving outcomes).

And the result is predictable:

due diligence gets missed
budgets are finger-in-the-air guesses
technology is thought about late
and everyone ends up firefighting

2) What Project Managers Should Be (But Often Aren’t)

Vince used a great analogy:

A project manager should be the conductor, not someone playing every instrument.

You’ve got your specialists — design, cost, construction, IT, AV, furniture, workplace strategy — and the PM’s job is to coordinate the orchestra so the outcome makes sense.

But the problem is: when projects start late, the PM becomes a panic sponge.

Instead of conducting, they’re:

chasing overdue decisions
filling gaps left by others
managing politics
and trying to land a plane that took off with half the bolts missing

Vince’s response to this is why Spark exists.

He’s moved away from “traditional PM” and into what he calls project strategy — acting like a project non-exec who comes in early, asks the hard questions, and shapes the direction before money gets committed.

And if you’re thinking, “That sounds like a luxury” — it’s usually cheaper than paying for overruns, rushed procurement, change orders, and kit that doesn’t actually work.

3) The Real Root Cause: Starting 6 Months Too Late

This line was one of the most important in the whole episode:

“On average, I’m brought in 6 months too late.”

That’s insane, but also completely normal.

And it’s the same in AV.

We often get pulled in when the project is already mid-flight and someone finally realises:

“Oh… we need meeting rooms.”
“Oh… Teams/Zoom rooms need designing.”
“Oh… the network needs to support this.”
“Oh… the furniture layout affects camera angles.”
“Oh… there’s no ceiling space for speakers.”
“Oh… the budget doesn’t cover any of this.”

At that point, AV isn’t being designed — it’s being forced in.

And when AV is forced in late, you get:

compromised user experience
bad audio (the #1 killer of hybrid meetings)
messy cabling / rework
late-stage cost surprises
and rooms people don’t trust

The biggest “aha” from Vince was this:

People think “early” means early for construction. But early really means early for thinking.

View the full podcast here

4) The Triangle Most Businesses Ignore

Vince explained how he sees the foundations of a successful project:

Strategy + Technology + ESG

…then delivery.

But most projects go straight to delivery mode:

pick a space
start sketching layouts
appoint a contractor
and “we’ll figure the rest out”

That’s when you get disconnects like:

the workplace strategy says “collaboration-first” but the room mix is wrong
ESG goals exist in a deck but not in procurement choices
technology is discussed as “screens on walls” instead of a user journey
AV is treated like IT’s annoying cousin

His point was simple:

“Honestly… no one is joining those dots properly.”

And I see the same thing constantly in office moves.

5) The Hard Conversations Are the Ones People Respect

One of my favourite moments was when we talked about “big boys rules” (big boys and girls rules, to be fair):

You can be direct, solve the issue, then go for a beer and move on.

But in corporate projects, too many people avoid the uncomfortable conversation, then send passive-aggressive emails later.

Here’s what actually builds trust:

owning mistakes quickly
being honest about risk
telling clients what they need to hear, not what they want to hear
and making decisions early, even with imperfect info

If you’re leading an office move internally, that’s your biggest leverage point: don’t let it become a project where everyone politely nods while problems quietly grow teeth.

Where This Comes Back to AV

Here’s the key takeaway for anyone reading this who’s trying to choose the right AV partner:

Not all AV companies are built for the same job.

Some are brilliant at:

installation only
reactive support
“here’s a quote, pick your kit”

Others are built for:

early-stage design coordination
integrating AV into workplace strategy
managing risk across procurement + network + room design
creating standardised meeting room experiences across a portfolio

If you pick the wrong type, you’ll feel it later — in cost variations, delays, and rooms that don’t work when it matters.

That is why we have put together a simple questionnaire which will send you a personalised report about what type of AV support you require. Do you need "Gary and a van" or do you need a bigger enterprise sized AV company? Simply complete the questionnaire and we will send you a report. Questionnaire found here

Use the AV Questionnaire (Before You Pick an AV Partner)

If you’re planning an office move (or even just upgrading meeting rooms) and you’re not 100% sure what kind of AV company you actually need, I built a simple tool to help:

The AV Questionnaire helps you figure out: