The Rainmaker

This blog is linked to an interview Knowledge@Wharton conducted with Ray Ozzie, the person who harnessed IT to create the collective. The canvas covered was vast but the talk on clouds did stand out. It is what everybody is talking of these days. It got me wondering when all the cloud seeding will result in rain? The business landscape urgently needs fertility to grow innovation, judgments, and cooperation to cope with the rapidly changing times. But what is growing are more tools, more choices and perhaps a more liberated workforce. Counter arguments abound. Managers have to work harder to stand still. The old knowledge work paradigm of dependence upon administrators to self-organize and share their knowledge has only grown stronger. And, taking Ray Ozzie on his word, the industry has its hands full:

"In each solution within our business, the people who are running those businesses should look at their customers and say, "Given these new tools at my customers' disposal, how should we reshape this?" And I think that is potentially disruptive innovation in a positive way."

The thought is: Must this be the question that decides our future? Must the industry be run by the tools it has created? Amounts to the tail wagging the dog. Why must the customer be conceived of as an individual operating tools. Can IT now not progress to organize the collective? Actually get administrators to engage in collective thinking. Do something to overcome the self-interest that prevents them from sharing knowledge for the good of the organization they serve. Unburden them from the honorous task of organizing themselves for more effective working. In other words, develop the courage to change the centuries old knowledge work paradigm that now appears to be holding mankind back. If IT could get administrators to engage in free flow of knowledge in context - that would be rain. Fertility would follow.