Welcome to Occupiers Journal!
What happens when a group of free-thinking experts comes together? Too often egos and conflicting opinions lead the group to disband as quickly as it formed. Not at Occupiers Journal Limited (OJL).
Paul, in Cambridge UK, introduced Jim, in Berkeley, California, to Marcus in Hong Kong. We talked at length on Skype. We used GoToMeeting® for screen sharing. We got connected on Linkedin. We followed each others’ group discussions, blogs, and tweets. It was a very modern courtship!
We even did that old traditional thing of flying for hours to meet, talk, and have dinner together. Paul flew west to meet with Jim. Marcus flew west to meet with Paul. Jim flew east to meet with Paul again. And in the process we all got hitched, and our new company was born: Occupiers Journal Limited.
Why did we do that? Quite simply, we just knew that we had to. Around us all, the world is changing rapidly; we knew that the occupiers of real estate and “end-users” of facilities and support services would have to change their vision and strategies to stay efficient and effective. We knew, when we looked at our complementary knowledge and skills, that we had chanced upon a new team that can make a lasting difference.
But we did not stop there. We don’t have huge egos; we know that we could be the “team leaders” but not the entire team. We knew that there were people in every region around the world who think like we do. So Paul spent far more time on Linkedin than is healthy until he found the right “OJL” Partners in every region around the globe. And we all started to talk on Skype, get connected on Linkedin and share our ideas and insights (you know how that goes now…).
Now, “OJL” is fast becoming the premier membership organization and source of knowledge for occupiers’ real estate, workplace, and facilities managers.
And our story has already caught the attention of the Financial Times. Our formation of a global company in the age of the Internet and social media was featured in a February 29 article about the power of technology to enable collaboration among people who are literally thousands of miles apart (“So near and yet so far” – free instant registration required to access online version). We are both humbled and proud of the recognition.
Now, back to us.
We publish our “Journal” (The “OJ”) five times a year. Our FM-GRID program of regional working groups will bring member (subscriber) executives together once a quarter to share knowledge and experiences, and to address common issues and concerns. We will bring these regional inputs together and publish four global studies per year that provide subscribers with practical, action-oriented recommendations for enhancing their management practices and strategic alignment with the business and with their peer functions.
We will also publish periodically a much briefer, but free, newsletter that we want to make a prime source of information about professional opportunities, best practices, and events around the world.
We believe that positive change will benefit organizations and their employees, because:
- Workplaces make a difference to people’s health, well-being, satisfaction, and performance
- Workplace design directly affects organizational success
- Facilities Management (FM) strategy is about converting these principles into reality
- FM must align itself with Human Resources (HR) and Information Technology (IT)
- The #1 role of the in-house FM is to understand the business and its needs
- The #2 role of the in-house FM is to translate this understanding to the FM team
Occupiers Journal Limited leads regional working groups of senior Workplace and FM end-user (occupier) executives on five continents. We distribute that knowledge through our publications and subscriber meetings (both virtual and face-to-face).
If you share our passion for enhancing the workplace and facilities management profession and building its strategic role in organizations, please contact us to discuss becoming an active member of our network.
