Collanos Blog

“Morgen komm ich später rein - für mehr Freiheit in der Festanstellung” (translated to English: “Tomorrow I will start later - for more freedom in permanent employment”)

As an average person, we spend between 70.000 und 80.000 hours of our lives sitting at the desk. Even though we are part of a knowledge society, we are using structures from industrial society. Sitting out core working hours and excessive overtime seem to stand for „real“ commitment. The economic damage caused by boredom and inefficiency at work is huge.

On August 14, the book “Morgen komm ich später rein - für mehr Freiheit in der Festanstellung” will be published by Campus. The author, Markus Albers, sees the answer to this problem in a playful, flexible, and mobile attitude towards work – let´s call it Easy Economy. Albers: “Go to the cinema during the day, play with your children, integrate hobbies and friends in your daily routine which so far has been dominated by your working life. Make your permanent employment a free-permanent employment. I think, we will witness the end of the office of today. ”

Collanos is also mentioned in the book. The author writes about an interview with me:

“Peter Helfenstein explains the advantages of working without being fixed to a precise point, which means mobility and globalization, increase in efficiency, potential savings, access to highly qualified workers worldwide, and accessibility to customers all over the world thanks to new communication channels. According to Helfenstein, technology is not the reason for this development, but a tool to meet enterprise requirements that have existed long before: We must be in a position to contact anybody, at any time, from anywhere, and collaborate with our customers and contact persons on a flexible, economic and delay-free basis. In view of globalization and rapidly growing competition, 9-to-5 will be an out-dated concept, a competitive disadvantage. Helfenstein sees the New Economy as technology hype, a period when technological prospects offered more than customers wanted. “But today, enterprises, staff members and consumers have realized the advantages of globalization, mobility and flexibility, and now we need technologies that meet these requirements.”

In the new working world outlined above, a slightly different type of employee is required: ”Extroverted personalities actively establishing contact with the outside world and feeling inspired by doing so, are the ones to best fit into this model. Therefore, I am not surprised that this development is advancing faster in the USA.”

Inevitably, flexibility, mobility, and home office mean to widely do without informal communication, get-togethers during coffee break, smokers´corner, or common lunchtime. Helfenstein: “This might weaken identification with team and company and should be balanced by targeted measures, for example fixed dates for team afternoons, occasional work together with all employees at one location, or video conferences which like an intercom system permanently link all employees together worldwide.” Partly, you may be able to compensate physical separation by more frequent virtual meetings, but „ once in a while, you should talk to each other face-to-face. “Our American co-workers come to see us in Switzerland at regular intervals for one or two weeks, and the Swiss travel from USA to India to meet their collegues: the positive effect is noticeable for about three months, afterwards misunderstandings in communication become more frequent again. ”

The Campus-Verlag comments ‘Morgen komm ich später rein’ as follows: “This book harbours a promise which reads: You don´t have to go on working as before. And this book wants to convey a vision. The vision that thanks to modern technology and changing social values, our work will be characterized by more freedom and self-determination than that of our parents´generation. But this does not mean that we have to cut back on performance and career. On the contrary, you would feel more productive, relaxed and competent when communicating with superiors and other staff members. It suggests that we would finally be able to combine our job and your leisure time in a way that we would never have thought of some years ago. And even that, en passant, we might become happier individuals.”

Dr. Wilhelm Bauer at Fraunhofer Institut für Arbeitswirtschaft und Organisation says: “Is this real work – sitting with your notebook in a café or in your garden? The ‘Easy Economy’ as outlined by Markus Albers promises a world of work that is marked by more independence for permanent employees as well as creativity and motivation. The development depicted in the book is sustainable and irreversible. In retrospect, we will eventually refer to it as the revolution of work.”

Markus Albers is political scientist and journalist. He lives in Berlin as a free-lance author reporting for magazines such as Vanity Fair and Monocle. Before this, he did journalistic work for stern, SPIEGEL, SZ-Magazin and Welt am Sonntag. He held the position of directing journalist with the German edition of Vanity Fair. The biography of his career shows a repeated change between free and employed occupations, so the subject of his book also reflects a subject of his life.

http://www.freianstellung.de
http://www.markusalbers.com

“Morgen komm ich später rein - für mehr Freiheit in der Festanstellung”

Zwischen 70.000 und 80.000 Stunden im Leben verbringt der Durchschnittsmensch am Schreibtisch. Doch mitten in der Wissensgesellschaft arbeiten wir mit Strukturen aus der Industriegesellschaft: Abgesessene Kernarbeitszeit und exzessive Überstunden gelten als Beweis für “echtes” Engagement. Der volkswirtschaftliche Verlust durch Langeweile und Ineffizienz im Job ist enorm.

Die Lösung dieses Dilemmas liegt für Markus Albers, Autor des Buches “Morgen komm ich später rein - für mehr Freiheit in der Festanstellung”, das am 14. August um Campus-Verlag erscheint, in einer verspielten, flexiblen und mobilen Arbeitsauffassung - nennen wir sie Easy Economy. Albers: “Gehen Sie tagsüber ins Kino, spielen Sie mit ihren Kindern, integrieren Sie Hobbys und Freunde in Ihren Tagesablauf, der bislang nur vom Berufsleben geprägt war. So wird aus der Festanstellung eine Freianstellung. Wir werden es erleben - das Ende des Büros, wie wir es kennen.”

Auch Collanos kommt in “Morgen komm ich später rein” vor. Über ein Interview zwischen ihm und mir schreibt der Autor:

“Peter Helfenstein erklärt u.a. die Vorteile der ortlosen Arbeitsweise, nämlich Mobilität und Globalisierung, Effizienzsteigerung, Sparpotenziale, der Zugang zu qualifizierten Arbeitskräften weltweit und die zusätzliche Nähe zu Kunden überall auf der Welt dank neuer Kommunikationskanäle. Technologie sieht Helfenstein dabei nicht als Ursache, sondern als Werkzeug, Unternehmensbedürfnisse zu befriedigen, die vorher bereits existierten: ‘Wir müssen in der Lage sein, mit jedem, jederzeit, von überall arbeiten sowie flexibel, günstig und zeitverzugslos mit unseren Kunden und Ansprechpartnern kollaborieren zu können. Durch die Globalisierung und den immer stärkeren Wettbewerb wird 9-to-5 eine Illusion, ein Wettbewerbsnachteil.’ Die New Economy sei zwar ein Technologie-Hype gewesen, so Helfenstein. In dieser Zeit hätten die technologischen Möglichkeiten mehr geboten als die Kunden wollten: “Aber heute haben Unternehmen, Mitarbeiter und Konsumenten die Vorteile der Globalisierung, der Mobilität und Flexibilität erkannt. Nun braucht es die Technologien, dies zu nutzen.”

Dazu bedürfe es zum Teil auch eines anderen Mitarbeitertypus:”Extrovertierte Persönlichkeiten, die den Kontakt nach aussen aktiv suchen, dadurch motiviert werden, können besser mit solchen Modellen umgehen. Für mich ist es deshalb nicht verwunderlich, wenn in den USA die Adoption schneller vor sich geht.”

Durch Flexibilität, Mobilität und Homeoffice falle natürlich die informelle Kommunikation, das Zusammentreffen in der Kaffeepause, der Raucherecke, oder beim Mittagessen nahezu weg, so Helfenstein: “Dies kann die Identifikation mit Team und Firma reduzieren und muss entsprechend durch gezielte Massnahmen kompensiert werden, wie Teamnachmittage, Arbeit an einem Standort mit allen, oder Videotechnologie, die wie eine Gegensprechanlage alle Mitarbeiter weltweit permanent verbindet.” Physische Trennung könne zwar durch stärkeres virtuelles Zusammenkommen kompensiert werden. “Man muss sich allerdings zwischendurch doch mal sehen”, so Helfenstein. “Die Amerikaner besuchen uns regelmässig für eine bis zwei Wochen in der Schweiz, die Schweizer die Mitarbeiter von den USA bis Indien: Es hält etwa drei Monate, danach werden die Missverständnisse bei der Kommunikation wieder grösser.”

Der Campus-Verlag schreibt über ‘Morgen komm ich später rein’: “Dieses Buch birgt ein Versprechen. Es lautet: Sie müssen nicht so weiterarbeiten wie bisher. Und dieses Buch möchte eine Vision vermitteln. Dass wir dank moderner Technik und eines Wandels gesellschaftlicher Werte freier und selbstbestimmter arbeiten werden als die Generation unserer Eltern. Dass wir dabei keine Abstriche im Job machen müssen, was Leistung und Karriere angeht. Sondern im Gegenteil Kollegen und Vorgesetzten produktiver, gelassener und souveräner begegnen. Dass wir endlich Beruf und Freizeit auf eine Weise vereinen können, die noch vor wenigen Jahren undenkbar schien. Und dass wir so vielleicht - ganz automatisch - zu glücklicheren Menschen werden.”

Und Dr. Wilhelm Bauer vom Fraunhofer Institut für Arbeitswirtschaft und Organisation, sagt dazu: “Mit dem Notebook im Café oder im Garten sitzen - kann das Arbeit sein? Mit der ‘Easy Economy’ skizziert Markus Albers eine Arbeitswelt, die durch grosse Freiheiten für Festangestellte sowie durch Kreativität und Motivation gekennzeichnet ist. Die im Buch skizzierten Entwicklungen sind nachhaltig und unumkehrbar. In der Retrospektive werden wir von einer Revolution der Arbeit sprechen.

Markus Albers ist Politologe und Journalist. Er lebt als freier Autor in Berlin und berichtet für Zeitschriften wie Vanity Fair und Monocle aus aller Welt. Zuvor schrieb er für stern und SPIEGEL, das SZ-Magazin sowie die Welt am Sonntag. Zuletzt arbeitete er als geschäftsführender Redakteur der deutschen Vanity Fair. Seine eigene Arbeitsbiografie wechselte stets zwischen festen und freien Beschäftigungen, das Thema seines Buches ist damit auch ein Lebensthema.

http://www.freianstellung.de
http://www.markusalbers.com

With the escalating growth in Collanos downloads and active users, spurred by the amazing word-of-bloggers (Including: TechFold, Learn-Learn-Learn, Tao of Mac, Office 2.0, MacNN, Andrea Kalli and Communixx, to name a few), Collanos is excited to announce the appointment of FOUR new ambassadors (About the Collanos Ambassador Program):

• Christian Aglen, an ambitious young Norwegian currently residing in the U.S. and going to school at the Maharishi University of Management in Iowa, has taken the reigns for the Norwegian post and will also act as an ambassador on campus.

  

• Carlos Gil, a professional Facilitator, employed by the Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería and actively involved with large organizations throughout Latin America, has taken the post for Nicaragua and also volunteered to moderate our Spanish user forum. Mucho gracias amigo!
• Sherif Rushdy has been a devoted user of Collanos Workplace since the early beta days. Often I find Sherif in a remote outpost in Afghanistan or elsewhere syncing up his workspaces. PriAct, an organization he recently founded, is a consulting organization, based in Croatia, aiming to release human and organizational potential to create sustainable prosperity across the globe. Sherif has taken on the role to promote Collanos’ user adoption and awareness in Croatia and in the Monitoring & Evaluation industry.



• Nico de Vries, another young and enthusiastic groupie of Collanos, is putting to work his diplomatic skills on campus at the University of Oldenburg/Ostfriesland/Wilhelmshaven in Germany. Nico has embarked on his technical MBA program and is using Collanos for his current Project Management class as well as other concurrent team intensive class projects.

Have you given thought about joining the Diplomatic Corps? Here’s your opportunity to help us grow our user-base and get more people around you to Think Out of the Inbox and use Collanos Workplace as the teamwork solution of choice. Email me if your interested in becoming the next Collanos Ambassador.

Jenni Kommunikation commits to climate project by donating a percentage of their travel costs to myclimate.org’s climate protection projects. In addition Jenni Kommunikation is leveraging collaboration tools to cut down on travel costs and increase productivity.

Zurich, April 2, 2007. As of April 1, 2007, Zurich based PR agency Jenni Kommunikation started investing in myclimate’s climate protection project. Each time an employee of Jenni Kommunikation travels on business purposes by car or airplane, Jenni Kommunikation donates a sum of the travel costs to myclimate.org. In addition to the donation, Jenni Kommunikation is also using collaboration tools like Collanos Workplace or Netviewer to reduce travel frequency, while still holding productive meetings.

Since its launch on April 1, 1996, Jenni Kommunikation has consulted companies in various industries: IT and telecommunications, travel and tourism, and start-ups. In order to provide a high degree of customer support, and agility in reacting to market influences, Jenni Kommunikation has to constantly be in contact with their clients.

“Thanks to the adoption of collaboration solutions like Collanos Workplace and Netviewer, we can work in real-time with our clients without needing to travel to work with them. We can be just as efficient virtually using Collanos Workplace to share documents and Netviewer to work on documents in real-time. We have also been able to cut down on car and airplane travel, which helps reduce CO2 emissions,” said Urs Jenni, owner of the agency. In addition we actively contribute to conserve an intact environment by compensating for our remaining car or airplane business travel by buying certificates from myclimate. I am of the firm opinion that companies in our communication’s industry have the responsibility not only to communicate about role models but to live them actively.”

René Estermann, CEO of myclimate, is pleased by this decision of Jenni Kommunikation: “It is key for our cause that small enterprises also set an example and demonstrate their sense of responsibility.”

Myclimate, the Zurich based non-profit foundation, is one of the leading providers of voluntary compensation measures. The compensation of the emissions is achieved through projects protecting the climate in less developed countries. Emissions are reduced by replacing fossil energy sources with renewable energies and are implemented with more energy efficient technologies. In addition to the reduction of greenhouse gas, myclimate’s climate protection projects achieve a demonstrable positive lasting contribution to development.

More information:

Jenni Kommunikation
Urs Jenni
Sudstrasse 85/PF
CH - 8034 Zurich
http://www.jeko.com

myclimate
Kathrin Dellantonio
Technoparkstrasse 1
CH - 8005 Zurich
http://www.myclimate.org

About Jenni Kommunikation

Zurich based Jenni Kommunikation founded in 1996 by Urs Jenni is specialized on Media and Blogger Relations in consumer and corporate PR. Well known companies in technology, telecommunications and consumer Electronics trust in the expertise and the business network of the agency. Main pillars in addition are Swiss start-ups. Jenni Kommunikation covers all Swiss language areas and can build on a broad international network of partner agencies.

Today we had our first ever holiday party and it wasn’t anything you would expect.

Our virtual VoIP party extended over four different time zones.

Bulgaria, Ukraine, Switzerland, Utah and California ‘dressed up’ for our 2-hour long party that included no food, no music and not even alcohol.

The main event was our virtual gift exchange which entailed each one of us getting the others a virtual gift worth no more than $10K.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Franco was invited to be the featured guest on “Dancing with the Stars” and an all-you-can-eat certificate at Sai’s Vietnamese restaurant.
• Matteo true to his Italian form, received an original Ferrari…suitcase.
• Casjen was smart enough to come up with an excuse and didn’t attend the party, I mean phone call.
• Peter got a 50 year old Rand computer with a steering wheel so that he can drive product strategy from the helm.
• Niki got a reminder that it has been over 12 years since Bulgaria fielded a decent national soccer team.
• Alex revealed his addiction to Monet paintings.
• Steven was beaten and bruised for being on the wagon (not that he was ever off…).
• Myself – I scored SIX live cows, producing fresh raw milk. Lot’s of raw milk.

Hopefully next year we will be able to play the game with real cash.

Often I am asked what an “Angel Consultant” is, since this is the term commonly used to describe my (as well as others) role in the company. Angel Investors is a coined term in the start-up world; however, Angel Consultants is less prevalent. The one thing that Angel Consultants and Angel Investors share in common is the desire for the company to succeed in the long term as each is invested in their own way. Whereas investors put their money on the line, consultants, such as me, forsake a steady stream of income and benefits for worthless pieces of paper dubbed ‘equity’ similar to a lottery ticket.

People who like the idea of working without pay at a startup without revenue, funding, or even a fully formed business plan in exchange for what basically amounts to a lottery ticket.” It’s the chance to work for a small, high-growth tech company that could either go bankrupt or turn into the next Google.
(http://patentbaristas.com/archives/000278.php)

Bootstrapping in Collanos takes on many shapes and forms, however, its end product is not only measured in the form of input vs. output. Indeed maintaining a low cash run rate is the most explicit goal but by grouping a team of committed people, additional factors contribute to the likelihood of the start-up to mature to a sustainable company.

As I make my final stretch getting back to San Francisco, following my first trip to Collanos HQ in Zurich, Switzerland, I cannot help but reflect on the unique circumstances of this truly global start-up. We are currently a spread out team of multi-national Collanos members with first-rate outsourcing teams in Bulgaria and Ukraine (including a designer in Indonesia). Our European investors all contribute more than just cash to keep us pushing forward. Call it ‘smart money’, these investors, each independently, contribute their time, contacts and a sundry of services that allow us to keep our run rate low, morale high and future outlook very promising.

On my trip to Zurich I was fortunate to take shelter at our CEO’s countryside home with the gracious hospitality of his family. Bootstrapping 101? Yes and No. Clearly the cost savings of a two week stay in Switzerland are significant but this was not the reason I was residing in the boss’ home. Staying in his home was a reflection on the cultural diversity and team commitment inherent in Collanos. How often do you hear of an American company hosting members in each others’ homes? Not often, if ever. For my European colleagues it comes so naturally. Even to me, with my Israeli roots – where there typically is no clear separation between work colleagues and personal relationships, this was a very pleasant surprise. The intensity of the gung-ho start up mode and the 18-hour work days allow us to leverage the remote time zone differences, progress in ‘internet’ speed and complement each others’ skills wherever needed.

Don’t get me wrong, Swiss-American work cultures clash quite often. I saw this first hand and very likely will see more of it as we evolve. However, the sincere desire to build trust amongst the core team via strong personal relationships, lays the foundation to keep the team intact and not let differences (and there are quite a few) distract us from pursuing our common goal.