This has been the substance of the refrain ever since Taylor succeeded with his scientific management in the early 20th century and ran into heavy weather with his championing of top down power. The refrain has become markedly stronger with the coming of age of the knowledge worker though nobody denies that top down power is essential.
Communities attest that people are quite happy to listen and respond when there is:
- An effortless system for concerned people to progress a consensus
- Easy access to past exchange for sense making
- Swift focus per selected parameters
- Easy response to follow up and anxiety
- Contemplation at convenience, viz., work anytime/anywhere/offline
- Management of chaos.
This is far more demanding than collaboration - what IT offers today - and demands a compelling means for organizing, driving and channneling interactions, viz., constructive team working or purposeful collaboration. The science of collaboration, proven on a prototype scale, makes this possible.
