Each new day presents two broad types of challenges. The first involves on-going paid work with clients, projects and assignments for which there is a targeted delivery date and set of tasks to be carried out. This part of my workday I handle much as any other consultant will do, except that in almost all cases my work is supported by one or more network or groups of colleagues whose counsel and inputs I need to get the job done. In the old days (prior to 1995) most of this work and support took place within our agreeable garden offices here in Paris, but since then I have moved to virtualize this part of our operations and thus handle most of this today in terms of "distance collaboration."

Then there is all the work that has to be done of the various focus programs under The Commons are to be maintained and extended. This requires that I follow as best I can the main flow of events and progress in each of these areas, that I share this information with the colleagues in that particular peer forum (these may number as few as fifty people to more than a thousand, coming from counties around the world), that I respond to their questions and calls when I am able to do this, and that I take the time to try to keep the entire broad flow of developments in that focus area in some kind of perspective. Again, in all cases our bottom line from here is not research and not information per se - but the challenges of policy and decision making, including from and for the private sector.

In all this, it needs to be noted however that by and large each of these group programs is indeed a self-organizing collaborative network, meaning by far the great bulk of all that happens in each is carried out by the members of that group, almost all of whom are directly active in and highly knowledgeable about the area. What this means is that the accomplishments in each case are not mine, but rather that my role is one of supporting the exchanges and work, you might think of it as a kind of coaching function. For just one example, take a look at what is going on in the Gender, Equity, Transport Forum - http://www.gatnet.net/. You will see a lot of things going on there and more than a hundred highly competent people involved, virtually all of whom know a great deal more about the topic than I do. But you may also see how I am able to help. Which is precisely what I try to do in all cases.

What I look at to kick off my day. . .

It's probably pretty clear by now that I am a heavy user of the enormous, practical, interactive (if that's the way you care to use them) resources of the internet and the web, as well as many of the all too often neglected but powerful associated communications technologies (e-meeting environments, IP video-conferencing, what we call xWork, as well as the more familiar . . .) that permit us, that permit me to communicate to, work with and generally keep tabs on developments, groups and colleagues around the world in the various areas in which I work. To your left, you will find a set of links that I review and ponder regularly, often starting with my morning cup of coffee to check out latest developments and goings on world wide. Try those news alerts in your key interst area for a few days. You may find them worth the visit. What you have in this menu in each case is just a single line, and that in English only, of the rather more compete set of multi-lingual reference points that we have identified and linked in support of our various programs. As to our own interactive websites under The Commons, these too require my regular attention, but in turn pay back valuable returns with the information and insights they generate each day. For more on these, I invite you to check out the site dedicated to your topic of choice, where you will find all details and a more complete set of links in each case. And drink up while it's still hot, cause it's a busy day ahead and there's a lot to be done. The day's messages, news and alerts Each day brings a steady flow of incoming messages and various forms of information from sources in many parts of the world which need to be absorbed or variously attended to. In a number of cases I am responsible (often with cooperating colleagues with deeper skills in the area in question) for maintaining not just the website but also helping to monitor the discussions so that they are efficient and stay on focus. This requires about an hour of my time each day, and constitutes a terrific on-going learning experience. You will get an idea of how this works if you work your way down the links to the left. Meetings and conferencing We have made daily use of state of the art and relatively low cost technology to stay in close tough with our international colleagues and sources of information and support world wide. The primary reason we do this is because it is simply the most efficient way to get the job done. That it costs less, is close to CO2 free, and gives us time to stay with our friends and families at home, as just extras. For full information on how this works, please click here. If you are already familiar with the various technologies, you can simply click and of the items on the left menu and we can start a meeting of our own. Day at the office blog We maintain at present (or try to) a total of four cooperative blogs, which you can click to directly from here. As you might imagine however, it is really better to see them in the context of thier respective programs. Day at the Office blog Gender, Equity Forum New Mobility blog The Land Cafe blog     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 15 April 2006