The Lift

Raising the temperature on leadership: The power of third spaces with Therme’s Adam Tanaka

June 2, 2026·29 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Here’s a scorching hot take: modern workplaces make it nearly impossible for employees to forge real connections. But according to third space culture expert Adam Tanaka, it’s not the connections themselves that are impossible – it’s the space where they’re (not) happening in.So we took this episode into a wood-fired Finnish sauna pop-up on the Brooklyn waterfront to test his theory. Topic Highlights:– The power of physical space design to create real human connection – The case for wellness as infrastructure, not luxury– What the "dinner party rule of six" tells us about why most meetings and offsites fail– The analog advantage: why real human experience offers an exponential premium in an AI-saturated worldGuest Bio:Adam Tanaka is the COO of Therme Group US, a global wellness infrastructure company. Adam holds a PhD in urban planning.Episode Links:Therme GroupCulture of Bathing (Substack)Building a park in the sky (Robbie Hammond’s TED Talk)Full ArticleConnect with Us:theliftpod.comLet’s stay in touchSubscribe to The LiftFind Ben online: LinkedIn | InstagramSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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