AgilQuest CEO, John Vivadelli’s response to ‘How Coworking Will Save Corporate America’

By John Vivadelli, AgilQuest Corp.

“From my perspective, there is a broad continuum of the work we do, who we choose to do it with, and the places we choose to perform it.  Organizations and Place Providers are each a part of the same elephant – one a foot, one a tail, one a trunk.”

The following is a response to How Coworking Will Save Corporate America, by Laurent DeHollande

I have been a member of, attended and presented at CoreNet, GWA, WANY and IFMA to name just a few. Each association spends an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to distinguish themselves as being different/better/unique/etc. Each wants to draw distinctions between space occupied by Corporations, CoWorking, Business Centers, Public (restaurants, coffee shops, etc), Universities etc. and to make a big deal about the differences of the inhabitants of each.

From my perspective, there is a broad continuum of the work we do, who we choose to do it with, and the places we choose to perform it.  Organizations and Place Providers are each a part of the same elephant – one a foot, one a tail, one a trunk.

Places we choose to work, and the work we do there, are now available in many packages: Wholesale (long term, fixed terms, by the sq ft), Retail (very short term, flexible terms, as a service), and Free… and everything in between. And many, if not all of us, have chosen to work in every one of these environments.

The thing that is missing now is a mechanism or platform to allow the semi-permeable movement across two main boundaries:  Organizational and Physical.  Organizations – enterprises, universities, small companies, CoWorking, business suites etc – create a we/they segmentation that is counterproductive to growth and resiliency: I’m a member, you’re not…  I’m an employee, you’re not… These same organizations also put barriers around “their space” and make it a proprietary possession to keep “we” in and “they” out.  That hasn’t worked so well, either.

There is a better way for all of us to interact as individuals and organizations across all the places we choose to work, and my team at AgilQuest is committed to delivering it.  @agilvivadelli