Open Leadership-The Behemoth and The Virus
The way we lead has to change. For years organizations focused internally to create and maintain growth. Build mass by building more muscle. In the tech sector 10-15 years ago, organizations like IBM built large R&D facilities that researched new ideas rivaling any government or educational facility on the planet. They were behemoths on display for all to see. It worked and was very successful.
But the world has changed. The knowledge landscape has changed. People are connected like they have never been in the history of the world. The reality is that the Behemoth model can not compete with the sheer number of ideas that have come as a result of a more connected global market. The behemoth is heavy, slow and difficult to replicate in a culture of micro communications and hyper connectivity.
The Virus, on the other hand, is smaller, faster and can be replicated at break neck speeds. As a result, it can pop up everywhere as opposed to becoming one large organism occupying a single region. Tomorrow’s leaders will have to know how to leverage the power of that “global market” or Global Community. They will have to look outside of their organization as much as they do internally. They will discern which things to open up and which ones to keep closed. They will have to learn how to command an army of innovators that they may never meet in person. They will have to develop frameworks and then RELEASE control to their community.
