Sustainable development is the business of
business in the 21st century.

If you have gotten this far the presumption is that you are looking for how I might be able to be of assistance. This page is intended to give you some insights into the main areas in which I have developed my capabilities over the years.

The pillars

Here you have the main pillars of my work and accomplishment over this period: Decision counsel to international business, government and the volunteer sector on issues of technology, economy and society in circumstances of socioeconomic stress, rapid technological or environmental change. Primary sectors/focus areas: Sustainable development; institution building; information society and technology; work and economic organization; culture, education and learning systems; communications and outreach; mobility, logistics, energy, environment, location and physical planning. Geographic/cultural awareness: I have lived and worked on four continents and with local partners and clients throughout the OECD region and in a number of developing countries. Technological change: Understanding the potential of the epoch-shaping process of technological change that is now getting fully underway, and that is going to dominate the leading edge of accomplishment over the remainder of this decade. The Market Economy: A wonderful powerful force for well-being. Without it, there can be no sustainable development. But as Arthur Okun, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors under President John F. Kennedy put it so well: "Two cheers for the market! Not three." (You will recall as well Okun's Law, which reminds us that for every percentage point that the unemployment rate falls, real GNP rises by 3 percent. Hmm.) Dialogue: Keep talking. To everyone. And aobve all, keep listening. Back to top Things I do with my clients and partners Plans for strategic adaptation of technologies, products, services, business procedures, and institutional structures to changing technological, resource and environmental requirements. Plan B: Working within the given financial envelope, create a parallel strategy that can be kicked in early so as to provide an alternative path for the enterprise. International business development strategies and implementations Creation of 'pioneer' units as platforms for alternative thinking, stimulus and change within corporations or public institutions Sustainability strategies for cities, regions, institutions or companies Organize, lead and report on program reviews/Due Diligences as a first step to needed restructuring International conference and event organization Pattern-breaking strategies for change: public and private sector institutions. Drafting of high profile speeches and presentations by Ministers, CEOs, in competence areas Institution building, including learning and cultural spaces (including but not only virtual) Planning and deployment of (transforming) socio-technical systems Job creation, New Ways to Work, and the work/learning and work/violence interfaces Leading exercises aimed at collective problem solving Technology forecasting and management Organization of team projects to probe for new entrepreneurial opportunities, identify inhibiting barriers, pitfalls, etc. Technology transfer through hands-on actions and exchanges Design and leadership of international technology and management surveys. Counsel, quality control (mechanisms) and organization and support of international team projects. Advisory counsel on regional, new town and redevelopment projects. Counsel for creating and maintaining interactive websites Counsel and hands-on assistance to create seamless 'xWork' environments for distributed teams using low cost state of the art technologies. Fund raising for public interest causes. Conflict negotiation, arbitration, adjudication. Speaker, facilitator, jury organizer, conference chairman Back to top Problem-solving means and methods Identification, selection, preparation and implementation of non-standard or innovative projects that have as their goal to 'transform the problematique'. Participation in preparing and presenting independent reviews and "second opinions" on large projects/programs. Creation of international networks linking practitioners, thinkers, researchers and decision-makers for specific tasks and more general programs/problem areas. Unorthodox problem-solving under conditions of duress "Downside audits": what is or could go wrong and strategies to deal with it Independent analysis of problems and performance, in the interest of bringing the bad news early to the attention of those who may be able to do something about it Ability to spot and fill priority information and competence deficits (including my own) Working with teams to improve daily life conditions in high risk situations, such as distressed urban areas with high employment/high violence profiles, war zones, refuge settlements. Success through steady insistence and specific actions to increase leadership and active participation of women, youth, distressed populations, and people with disabilities in the problem solving processes. Proven ability to produce high quality results on time and to budget.     Home   About Translate   The Commons   Always On   Contact   Top Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara 75006 Paris, France, Europe. T: +331 4326 1323 Copyright © 1994-2006 The Commons ® All rights reserved. Last updated on 19 April 2006