The author

An independent analyst with a relentless focus on why and how.

The links on this page go to pages on my main website NetJMC.

Analyst

I have conducted 10 annual surveys on the internal digital work environments of organizations between 2006 and 2016. Each year I published a report. The 10th annual survey report was published in November 2016: The Organization in the Digital Age. Approximately 300 organizations participated each year.

My current research is focused on the gig mindset inside organizations. This has led to a book  published in April 2021:  The Gig Mindset Advantage.

Practitioner & management briefer

Previous work: I advised global organizations on their internal digital strategies and organizational culture evolution for over 20 years from the late 90’s through 2016. I retired from this activity in 2017.

I am invited to give briefings to management in many different industries. This is usually in the form of very short customized workshops of 2 or 3 hours with the objective of opening eyes and triggering awareness of the reality of our new era in the workplace. Through articles in business publications (see below) and in-person briefings, I help management envisage how they can define actionable (versus theoretical) strategies and mobilize their organization.

The blend:  how analyst and practitioner came together

Unlike many analysts whose work is based on research and reading, my analytical work is grounded in 20 years of front line advising with large organizations, and supplemented by data from my 12 years of research.

I defined a foundational framework in 2013 using data and insights from several years of annual surveys. It became a reference point for organizations on their digital transformation travels.

Author of 2 books with a 25 year perspective

From old advantages on to new advantages…

L’avantage Internet

My first book was entitled “L’avantage Internet pour l’entreprise” published in France (in French) in 1996 by business publisher Dunod and reprinted twice. It was the first non-technical book about internet and intranet published in France. There are a few used copies on Amazon, and now–even over 25 years later–some of the lessons learned are still relevant.

The Gig Mindset Advantage

My second book addresses the gig mindset. What follows is the description on Amazon:

“Companies and organizations around the world are being confronted with alarming challenges—a global pandemic, market shocks, climate change, political instability. But in these unsettled times, organizational analyst Jane McConnell reveals that managers and executives have a secret weapon on their side: an overlooked group of employees that share “the gig mindset”—a freelancer-style knack for improvisation, adaptability and innovation that offers a crucial key to the future.

“Found at all levels of the organizational workforce but often stifled by managers, gig mindsetters are disruptors who upend business as usual and bridge gaps while achieving surprising outcomes and charting new directions.

“In The Gig Mindset Advantage, McConnell brings her decades of research into workforce culture, organizational strategy and digital transformation to bear on this unrecognized breed of employee whose way of working offers a wake-up call to managers and executives, and a bold new pathway towards long-term success and resilience.”

Articles in business publications

MIT Sloan Management Review

Harvard Business Review Digital

Global Peter Drucker Forum Blog

Me and chez moi

The past and the present

Born in Nebraska, young days in Arizona and university in California, I now live in Provence, just minutes away from the Roman Pont du Gard. The dignity and timelessness of the site are a constant reminder of the balance I (and we all) need between the past and the present.

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