Fall in North America is always an incredibly busy time. This year is no exception. Here are several very brief notes about the major events that we are involved in or attending.
The Corporate Real Estate Council of IFMA
Shortly after the last issue of Future of Work Agenda was published in early July, Jim Ware was elected president of the Corporate Real Estate Council (CREC) of IFMA. That means he’ll be leading an international group of about 750 real estate professionals in a continuing quest for professional development and practice improvement.
Please come to the CREC business meeting at World Workplace in San Antonio (Wednesday morning, October 31), and attend our other professional events at the conference.
The detailed agenda for World Workplace is available here:
http://www.worldworkplace.org/conference/glance.htm
IFMA Foundation Workplace Strategy Summit, Ithaca, New York, September 6-7
This one’s already over. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event, hosted by Professor Frank Becker, founder of Cornell University’s International Workplace Studies Program.
There is no simple way to summarize the stimulating and provocative presentations from the likes of Frank Duffy, Mike Joroff, Alexi Marmot, Philip Ross, Noboru Konno, and many, many others—to say nothing of the wonderful conversations that buzzed for days among all the attendees.
Summit Organizer Michael Schley of FM:Systems called the Summit the “Workplace Woodstock,” while Nancy Sanquist of Manhattan Systems has dubbed it “the Davos of FM.” No matter what you call it, it was a rousing success.
But if you missed it you can still get in on the conversations that are continuing on LinkedIn at this url:
And be on the lookout for conference proceedings, copies of speaker presentations, and – eventually – a book. The Summit’s stated goal was to define a workplace research agenda for the next 5-10 years, and there is no question we did that.
Corenet Summit, Orlando, Florida, October 6-9
Jim Ware will be attending the fall Corenet Summit in Orlando – primarily as a press representative. No formal leadership activities currently planned for Jim, but that could always change!
Details here:
http://www.corenetglobal.org/Events/OrlandoSummit2012/
WorkTech12 West Coast, Redwood City, California, October 15
This very special one-day event follows in the tradition of similar, highly popular conferences led by Philip Ross of Unwired Ventures and held in London, New York, Singapore, and many other cities around the world.
These provocative programs provide attendees with highly current, relevant insights into the latest examples of workplace innovation, workforce management, and technology.
WorkTech12 West Coast this year will feature author Steven Johnson, whose incredibly important book Where Good Ideas Come From was reviewed right here last September. It is one of the only nonfiction page-turners we’ve ever come across. I literally read it in a weekend; I just could not put it down.
World Workplace, San Antonio, Texas, October 31 – November 2
We will be actively involved in several individual sessions at World Workplace, starting with the CREC “Business Meeting” on Wednesday morning, October 31.
Jim Ware will also be leading a panel discussion on Friday, November 2, called “Raising the Bar: Enhancing the Strategic Role of FM.” That session will be based on the report Jim has just completed for RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) in his role as Global Research Director for Occupiers Journal Limited.
That report will be published by RICS shortly before World Workplace (see just below for more details).
And for more information about World Workplace, just click here:
http://www.worldworkplace.org/conference/
Raising the Bar
As you may know, Jim Ware, in addition to his leadership of The Future of Work….unlimited, is also a co-founder of Occupiers Journal Limited (OJL). He serves as Global Research Director for OJL.
And OJL recently announced its first 2012 research project, “Raising the Bar: Enhancing the Strategic Role of Facilities Management.”
Most importantly, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, RICS, is sponsoring the study. The final report will be published in late October.
There will also be a panel discussion focused on the research at World Workplace 2012 featuring the OJL report authors, two facilities management executives, and a representative of RICS:
- Paul Carder, OJL
- Diane Coles, MCR, SCAN Health Plan
- Rich Etheredge, JDSU
- Gary Evans, RICS
- Jim Ware, PhD, OJL
The panel convenes at 11:45 AM on Friday, November 2. You will want to be there; all attendees will receive a complimentary copy of the RICS report.
The study addresses the following kinds of questions:
- How is facilities management currently organized and governed?
- What are the most common organizational structures and reporting relationships?
- How well are FM and workplace strategies aligned with the business, with financial strategies, with CRE, and with functional peers?
- How is the FM function measured and managed?
- What issues and challenges are FM managers facing in 2012?
Talking About Tomorrow
We have long wanted to engage more directly with smart practitioners and independent experts, as we all drive in parallel towards the future of work. Now we have found a way.
We took a first step towards creating an active community of workplace/workforce futurists on February 10, when twenty very smart people joined me for a one-hour free-wheeling conversation about the future of work.
Our subsequent calls have been equally engaging, and we now have a LinkedIn discussion group limited to “alumni” of these calls. Participant feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, so we will continue to host these calls, about once a month, for the foreseeable future.
The conversations are limited to no more than fifteen people who have registered in advance to ensure that they become active, meaningful conversations rather than one-way “pontifications.”
The next conversation will be on October 18, at 9:30 AM Pacific time.
To sign up for the October 18 conversation, just send an email directly to Jim. Please tell us your company name and position (to help us know who you are). We will then reply with a call-in number and related information. We look forward to exploring the future together!
Please follow us on Twitter for more current updates on the future of work and our future plans:
http://www.twitter.com/thefutureofwork and http://www.twitter.com/jpwoccupiers.
You can always check on our travels and conference participation via our online calendar of events, on the website (http://www.thefutureofwork.net), in the right-hand column.
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