When I was reading Wikinomics and then The Long Tail, I was struck by three important themes…. 1)The internet allows companies to grow their business if those companies utilize the internet in a creative and open way which branches out beyond their “walls.” 2) If we trust others, the rewards are great and 3) Incentives for collaboration lead to innovation. Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams, as well as Chris Anderson join Shel Israel and Robert Scoble in reinforcing their vision for the future: companies which use open source, mass collaboration, peering, sharing and trust are going to be the ones to succeed in the future.
It was exciting to read Tapscott and Williams story of how Sam Palmisano, CEO of IBM changed the culture of “Big Blue” by figuring out what enterprises the company strategically wanted to do within their walls and those outside of which to partner with suppliers and customers. Sam is a 1973 graduate of the Johns Hopkins’ Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. (His BA from Hopkins, by the way, was his terminal degree.) From what I understand from those who have been close to Sam for the past thirty years, Sam always has always been a relationship person, who climbed up through IBM from his beginnings in its sales force. Three of four premises of Wikinomics: openness, peering, and sharing seem to be the hallmark of healthy relationships, whether on-line or in person. In thinking about mass collaboration and open source operations, neither would be doable without a healthy relationship between the developers, companies, customers and suppliers. Like a relationship, each side must come together as equal partners for the good of the order.
A characteristic I also thought of when reading these books but not mentioned was that of creativity. The examples of companies which succeeded because of their application of Wikinomics also had something in common…. A leader who thought (and I hate this term) outside the box. Being willing to open yourself up to ideas from those outside of your company and allowing others to benefit from sharing your platform shows creativity in understanding how to expand business by using on-line resources.
Tapscott and Williams asked whether “Open-platform orchestrators should compensate those who added value to their businesses?” My answer is YES! Kudos to companies like Procter and Gamble and Merck for their insight in sharing some of their intellectual property and then rewarding individuals from around the world who suggested products and applications to be developed from it. EBay also seems to have done a good job of this as has Google. Just like Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck who provided premiums to customers who expanded their customer base, companies who succeed from the ingenuity of those who help expand their businesses should also be compensated. I often think of people who create content for YouTube and other sites which depend on the work of “prosumers.” It sometimes doesn’t seem fair that YouTube sold for $1.65 billion, but those who made the site work-the consumer content providers- didn’t benefit.
The world is getting smaller. Those who are willing to take a risk, be creative and be masters at creating and maintaining on line partnerships and relationships will be the ones to benefit. My suggestion is that they reward those who take part in their success.
