Future of Work consortium

We're very pleased that our recent work on the West Michigan WIRED project (see "WIRED for Innovation" for background on the project) was recognized today in the Grand Rapids Press ("Remote work sites eyed in three communities").

Here's the opening of the story, written by reporter Julia Bauer:

For some coffeehouse customers, wireless Internet and a few tables for business meetings create an unofficial "third place" for commerce to commence.

Now, three communities in West Michigan are pilot sites for remote work centers, membership-based mini-offices that run like a health club and work like a "Starbucks on steroids," consultant Jim Ware said.

The story came about because of a presentation that Charlie and I were invited to deliver to about 50 HR executives in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, metropolitan area. Beth Kelly of Crandall Partners, a local HR and executive search firm, approached us after hearing an earlier workshop that we'd led for the WIRED project.

We' re very pleased also that the WIRED Policy Council last week accepted our recommendations and extended our contract into a second phase, in which we'll be developing a detailed regional marketing plan to promote remote work centers and a business planning "toolkit" to guide local developers and entrepreneurs as they launch their own remote work centers. Our goal is to help the seven county west Michigan region attract and retain talented knowledge workers.

Stay tuned to this space for more information about the WIRED project as we proceed through Phase II.