real estate | The Roulac Group Inc. | Stephen Roulac | San Rafael

FUTURIST Stephen Roulac, 55, founder and CEO of The Roulac Group Inc., a consulting firm based in San Rafael, California, that specializes in real estate

SCENARIO “People used to go where the jobs were, but now priorities have capsized. People are choosing more purposefully where they want to live, and then they are looking for a job. In the future, companies that aren’t in the right place may have to move.

“This is going to be true even if jobs become less available. Although people may put more priority on where jobs are, the power pendulum between employee and employer won’t swing back totally. In order to get to — or to stay in — the place of their choosing, more and more people will forego the formal job market entirely and choose to become independent contractors, or free agents.”

SO WHAT? “Places that have a sense of community, good public transportation, and outdoor-recreation amenities will attract people, and therefore companies.”

FUTUROLOGY DECODER KEY “CEOS are going to have to create a ‘space-and-place’ strategy as they develop their business models. To think that you can talk about a business model without answering questions about where your employees and customers will wish to live and work in the future is highly precarious — and each company will need a different strategy to answer those questions. Today, business sees property as a commodity — it’s a low priority. But increasingly, companies will need a strategy for their real estate. Fast-growing companies have plenty of short-term worries, but space and place are long-term issues that companies need to include in their strategic plans.”