The term “open” is rich with significant and positive connotations. It is associated with frankness, liberty, flexibility, expansion, compromise and sharing. However, it isn’t an adjective usually associated with businesses; words such as “insular”, “bureaucratic”, “hierarchical” and “closed" are much more accurate.
In the following article Don Tapscott, one of the world’s leading authorities on innovation, media, and the economic and social impact of technology, reveals the three dimensions that are key to really opening your business. The three are linked, but distinct. Discover them here!
Dimension 1: Increasingly transparent
Globalization, real-time communication and civil society organizations have changed the rules of business. Now companies are subject to the complex and transformative norms established by social networks that are interested and ready to judge behavior.
However, what corporate roles should be included when managing this transparency? Who should have access to information and with what frequency? CEO of Best Buy Brian Dunn made a bold statement when he announced that the retail electronic company would provide all information to clients, even about the level of defects of products. “Customers have a right to that information.”
However, organizations also have a right to privacy, and employees shouldn’t have to violate those confidentiality agreements.
Dimension 2: Expand corporate frontiers
The traditional, vertically integrated organization is paradoxical in this day and age. For decades, Henry Ford’s assembly line technique was used to beat the competition. However, nowadays advanced companies are making their walls even more porous and using the internet to open and taken advantage of widespread knowledge and talent, looking for the resources that exist outside of their frontiers.
After establishing a framework for innovation, invite clients and partners to help co-create products and services. In the majority of industries, the companies that achieve innovation and high performance are those that establish business networks.
Dimension 3: Share intellectual property
Conventional knowledge says that the company should control and protect the resources and innovations they possess, especially intellectual property (IP), through patents, author rights and brand registration. Many industries still enforce this rigid and closed structure of business. Digitalization is quickly becoming an issue for industries such as music that runs the risk of devaluing this artistic skill if there isn’t some serious innovation. For the interests of all, it is essential for companies to adopt collaboration and discover new ways to include consumers by sharing as well as receiving information.
In conclusion
For individuals and small businesses this is a new and exciting era, with the possibility to participate and add value to economic systems on a great scale. For big companies, the new tools of collaboration constitute new ways to take advantage of external resources, talent and knowledge in order to obtain growth and increased levels of competitiveness. For society as a whole, we can take advantage of the explosion of knowledge, collaboration and innovation in business in order to improve our quality of living and stimulate the economic situation of all.
