The new countdown to Davos on this page brings home how much needs to be done, in how little time. The Forum will decamp from its Geneva headquarters at the end of this week and install itself in Davos. It’s a bit like a travelling circus — we bring everything we need to be self-sufficient. Given that everything we do relies on our database, a significant IT infrastructure is being laid in place for our six days of the Annual Meeting.

As we get closer and closer, I have to admit that our perspective — and that includes mine — gets distorted. We still have to find hotel room for some public figures (particularly those who decided to stay an extra night to have a bilateral with president Clinton). I read of a coup in Côte d’Ivoire the other week and instead of thinking, “I hope everything will be all right”, my first thought was, “That means a free hotel room since the prime minister won’t be coming.”

I intend to remain lucid as the countdown continues.