Observation, observation....!

Friday, February 27

As part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Games Knowledge Management (OGKM) programme, around 300 people from current Organising Committees (OCOGs) and applicant cities have been participating in the Vancouver 2010 Observer Programme. As an integral part of the OGKM platform, the programme provides a unique opportunity to live, learn and experience real Olympic Games operations.

The programme is organised by the IOC in conjunction with the host OCOG and it gives each future organiser the opportunity not only to see how things are done, but also to study specific areas, so that they can learn and improve upon them within their own organisational and cultural context.

Today I took part in the Games Coordination Observation Program and visited the Main Ops Center, Technology Ops Center, Main Media Center (Press and Broadcast) and the Olympic Family Hotel? 22 participants from 7 different organising committees.

What did I learn? That the Games is a machine that just live it own life when get going, that both command, control and communication is essential, that all is about coordination accross entities and "out-of-the-box"-solutions and that it will come together in the end - although you do not think so several times along the project timeline and phases....

That the British are funny, the French are French, the Canadians are jovial, the Corean are shy, the Russian are many, the Brasilian are smiling. And that is why I just love these Games.

And tomorrow I leave....time for reflection!