"Entrepreneurs" do not maintain résumés for employment, but they do need to maintain a running tally about their professional lives, for various purposes... something I refer to as a curriculum vitae (CV). As I'm growing many entrepreneurial initiatives, I'm updating my CV... so I tracked down my latest version, from 2000. Since then, I've launched ICEarth, realNEO, Star Neighborhood Development, 7Gen, and Bigbang Tech, which I must now add to my life-list below... useful information for someone first getting to know me... but is that good enough for Ireland?

While such a list of initiatives, degrees, and interests may be helpful in understanding some aspects of a person, such a primitive communications tool does little to present truly useful facts, data and illustratives about the value and limitations offered by individuals, or to promote their accomplishments and potential in the global, new economy. We need better ways to communicate the value of individuals in this brave new world... and no, mainstream media, job portals, employment services, search systems, employers and headhunters have not solved this problem, in the free-wheeling free market old economy.

Now, Northeast Ohio - with a 4.5 million population and $134 billion gross regional product, economically greater than many countries in the world - is seeking to grow its workforce and new economy by attracting and retaining citizens from nations outside America, intending to grow diverse new skills, resources and value in short supply here.

While such globalized expansion of a region's workforce sounds like an admirable pursuit, how does a region qualify the people it intends to attract, to insure it attracts a valuable skills mix, recognizing and leveraging the optimal value current citizens have to offer, to retain and grow the highest-value workforce for regional new economy success on a long-term basis?

What tools and resources shall we use to target and grow a great 21st Century workforce for a great future for our region? Monster.com? The Plain Dealer classifieds? The Greater Cleveland Partnership board of directors? Human Resources staff at the Cleveland Clinic?

The European Union (EU) - the 500 million citizen economic and political union of 27 member states, located primarily in Europe, with an estimated 30% share (US$ 18.4 trillion in 2008) of the nominal gross world product - is wrestling with the same problems as the NEO Union of about 1/100th that scale... how to attract and retain the world's best people, in the new economy. And the EU came up with a solution that the NU should explore... Europass... in English here... outlined below:

Opening doors to learning and working in Europe

What is Europass

Whether you are planning to enrol in an education or training programme, looking for a job, or getting experience abroad, it is important to be able to make your skills and competences clearly understood.

Europass is a new way of helping people to:

• make their skills and qualifications clearly and easily understood in Europe (European Union, EFTA/EEA and candidate countries);
• move anywhere in Europe.

Europass consists of five documents:

• two documents (Europass curriculum vitae (CV) and Europass Language Passport) you can fill in yourself; and
• three other documents (Europass Certificate Supplement, Europass Diploma Supplement and Europass Mobility) filled in and issued by competent organisations.

Europass is supported by a network of National Europass Centres.

Europass has been established by the Decision No 2241/2004/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 15 December 2004 on a single transparency framework for qualifications and competences.

In case you don't realize it, this is what Open Source standards are all about - we may use these same tools in the NU. Take the Europass standards, tools and processes and apply them here - use their forms, languages and even site resources (as templates and/or for real) - and, if possible, offer an NUpass for Northeast Ohio that is completely integrated with Europass, and in fact an extension of that offering to the world's citizens (join the EU, so to speak).

Simply put, let the world's citizens use Europass to tell Northeast Ohio what they have to offer us here, in a format that is now a global standard for 30% of the world's economy.

Or, we could see what they are using in China for offering career opportunities to the world's citizens there...

Or, we may continue to use primative tools and process like offered by the likes of Monster.com, Cleveland.com and theplus.org...

I'm going to try Europass, as I update my Curriculum Vitae For Norman L. Roulet III, June 2000

If our region can't compete with the EU by offering as open and eternal of public information tools and capabilities, Europass may offer me a free pass out of Northeast Ohio, and America,

Do you feel the NU is well positioned to compete with the EU, with the workforce we have here now, and with the tools we are using to attract and retain our new economy workforce for our future?

Now you know how we may.

Norman Lawrence Roulet III
17400 Shaker Boulevard ~ Shaker Heights, Ohio 44120
216-688-5221 ~ norm [at] realneo [dot] us ~ http://realneo.us

Curriculum Vitae

Professional Mission

To collaborate with intellectuals to optimize the value of information technology on Earth for all.

Professional Background

normALST

Information Technology and Internet Consultant: Cleveland, Ohio and WWW; 1998-

Over the past few years, Norm has worked with the leadership of diverse enterprises in publishing, education, hospitality and other industries developing and implementing strategies and capabilities to leverage the value of Information Technology (IT), multimedia and Inter/Intra/Extra-networking for the optimal virtual community and enterprise and competitive advantage of all their stakeholders.

Spectrum Telecom, Inc.

President and Lead Consultant: Cleveland, Ohio and WWW; 1992-1998

Norm created and developed Spectrum Telecom, a highest-level strategic IT consulting enterprise providing analytic and best practice benchmarking services to the leadership of many of the world’s most accomplished organizations. He designed and delivered InT+IME (International Telecommunications and Information Management Exchange) and ICE (Internet Communications Effectiveness) analyses that helped define strategies for optimizing clients’ virtual enterprises for the 21st century.

Utility Management Services Group, Inc.

Director of Marketing and Associate: New Orleans, LA; Madison, NJ; Austin, TX; 1989-1992

For this international management consulting firm specialized in enabling leadership in the utility industries,  Norm developed marketing tools and strategies and initiated consulting initiatives supporting the senior corporate leadership of IT, human resources, legal and other administrative services.

Amazons Company

IT and Development Manager: New Orleans, LA; San Francisco, CA; Palm Beach, FL; 1986-1989

Norm supported an entrepreneurial enterprise developing and operating international special events in South America and led the successful transfer of operations to NHK Broadcasting Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.

Roulet Development

Real Estate Agent, Broker and Developer: New Orleans, LA; 1983-1986

Norm established a real estate development enterprise specialized in the acquisition and restoration of historic property in the New Orleans, Louisiana region. As a broker, he worked closely with the National Register of Historic Places and Historic District Landmark Commissions to re-commercialize many distressed properties and was recognized for helping revitalize areas of St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, and Rivertown, Kenner.

UNIMAX, Inc.

Business Manager: Metairie, LA; 1982-1983

While completing his economics degree at Tulane University, New Orleans, Norm worked full-time for this entrepreneurial spin-off of Century Graphics Corp., a major printing enterprise, supported printing, political marketing and consulting, and real estate and diverse business development initiatives.

Education and Licensing

University School: Shaker Heights and Hunting Valley, OH; 1973-1979

Tulane University: New Orleans, LA; 1979-1983

Bachelor of the Arts, Economics; with minors in Philosophy and Fine Arts

Licensed as Real Estate Agent and then Broker: Louisiana; 1983-1986

Information Technology and Consulting Expertise

Norm’s extensive experience consulting with executive leadership of scores of ‘Fortune 500’ and other enterprises enables a unique understanding of information technology capabilities and visions supporting global strategic and competitive excellence. He pioneered development and delivery of the most sophisticated tools and services for measuring information technology effectiveness and has led numerous multi-client initiatives to define best IT practice. He is an accomplished writer and networked presence communicator expert in the development of ‘Internet’ services and virtual community.  He supports universal access, IT enabled learning, telecommuting, and standards based common operating environments.

Distinctive Competencies

Norm has traveled to over 50 countries, developed international events, and consulted at the global level, offering a uniquely whole-world perspective. He is a strategic, analytic doer who initiates entrepreneurial enterprise and delivers at the highest level. He has extensive fine art experiences that add panache to all design initiatives. He has written and produced videos and develops multimedia services. He has lectured at Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio, and presented on diverse information technology issues and capabilities world-wide.