Thinking about my favorite libraries, this is what strikes me most: many people before and many people after will find inspiration in the same place. The people will change, the books will change, but the culture of respect for quiet (and thus concentration) will (hopefully) live on.

This idea of the place inspiring beyond ourselves is wonderful.

So, why not find ways of inspiring their employees beyond that particular job? ... What if more companies found ways to inspire people in very honest ways?

I don't particularly like corporate-speak on the walls or vague mission statements. But if there was a way to remind people of the following message, I think it would go a long way: "People will work here for varying lengths of time. While they are here, treat each other with respect. Let's share the best of ourselves. When these efforts align, our organization thrives, and we can keep working together in ways that we can feel good about."

The corollary, I think, would be "If we have to treat each other like sh*t in order for our company to be successful, what the heck are we doing here?" I somewhat prefer the negative phrasing.

Apologies for the idealism. Ultimately, messaging is only as good as its authenticity and follow up. If a company says e.g. "Come to Hooli to do your best work" and then offers ineffective working spaces, it is time to add an asterisk; e.g. "* under the constraints of having to work in a loud, unproductive, distracting environment."