But for some time now, The Intelligence Factory (IF) has taken part in an equally interesting evolution. What we do has less and less to do with time at “the office.” (You know, that place with your old sweater hanging on the back of the door. And plants that radiate all shades of brown in bone-dry pots.)

Just about everything we experience and put down on electronic paper happens outside “the office.” In fact, this particular piece was penned on a plane ride. It was zapped to a few others in remote areas for comment. And sent out to editors all over without a foot falling in “the office.”

What’s happening is not happening in “the office.” Far from it. Local intelligence is pumped to us by 2,400 IF Trendscouts stationed all over the globe — possibly in offices, although possibly not. It doesn’t matter. The big deal is that they, and we, are wired. Office or not, everyone at IF is connected to everyone else. And that includes our loyal cadre of telecommuting employees and freelancers, some of whom have never stepped foot inside 285 Madison Avenue.

More than that, we’re constantly moving. On the road. In the air. In short, everyone at IF is “out there.” The office is irrelevant to everything we do.

Marian credits Ira with implanting the seeds of virtuality. After all, he was head of Chiat/Day’s New York office back in ‘94, when its traditional structure was blown to pieces in favor of one of the world’s first truly virtual spaces. The logic? At any given time, over 50 percent of employee “private spaces” were empty—while meeting spaces were 100 percent occupied, with people waiting in lines.

When Marian took the idea with her to Amsterdam (she had a two-year stint there with TBWA), her Dutch co-workers thought it impolite not to show up at the office each day. Soon they saw the benefits of virtual productivity. Think of it. Just because you’re on the road in Italy doesn’t mean you have to crawl home to the office in Amsterdam to register an idea.

Our frequent-flier miles are ridiculous, but they’re accumulated for a purpose. To study e-commerce in the developing world, in Bangkok. To figure out how Spain’s brands have gotten so smart, in Barcelona. To rethink the notion of “customer service,” in Amsterdam. To witness firsthand China’s new consumer landscape, in Shanghai. To decode modern connectivity, in Stockholm and Oslo. To take part in an ad industry congress, in Sao Paulo. To explore the future of Africa and its relationship with Europe, in London and then Johannesburg. To better understand the future of content, in San Francisco...

Most of the time, the IF virtual staff knows not where we are. They just know we communicate with them online at all hours. Ah, the wonder of instant messaging! We’ve both “traded down” in terms of personal office space. What’s the point of hoarding space that would be rarely used?

When you think about it, offices generally are not hotbeds of productivity. They’re like cozy caves. Pleasantly predictable. Stuck in the “world of the same.” A barrier to real-world stimulation. Totally unnecessary in today’s electronically connected world.
Hey, if you’re not already, you might try going “officeless” where you work. Just a thought.