One Basement, Countless Big Ideas

I recently re-finished my basement at home. It once represented the best of my kids’ big imaginations—a space where they played spaceship, prison, and based on the hole in the wall, karate. As the kids grew, the basement evolved. It shifted from a place of parties and fun to a holding area for old exercise equipment and furniture we saved for who knows what. Last year, we decided to tear it down to its studs and bring it back to life. The basement is back to its glory days. It looks new and different, complete with our newest lighting, but in some ways, little has changed.

At the office, we recently did something similar. We chose the basement of a historic 104-year-old building on our GE Lighting campus to push the boundaries of lighting and dream up the next big game changers. Here we’re bridging our legacy in lighting with all the possibilities of the smart home. In the basement sits a scrappy, mission-based team – some fresh out of college, others with years of experience – working as equals without real titles or job descriptions to solve challenges and breathe innovation. There are no offices, no walls – just open areas for experimentation and collaboration. Spots for testing and failing, for pivoting and persevering—and for dreaming up lots of industry firsts.

Read more here.