Image via WikipediaMore as I think about the social technologies, I am struck by how many people are caught up at the tools without thinking about the broad societal trends that are being shaped and are also shaping these tools. You might call it cognitive surplus but I love the way Paul Ford describes it - he calls it the "Why wasn't I consulted?" view of people.And it's not just restricted to the internet and business.
Look at stuff like the Right to Transparency act in India. People expect information to be given and their ideas listened to.
So is this the same mindset that's disrupting 30 yr old dictatorships across Tunisia, Egypt and more and more countries? Maybe.
People want to have their say, and first they will start with expressing it - and when nobody listens to them, they will impose it.
What does this mean for organizations? Well as Gary Hamel says, it's time for management 2.0
We are in the early days of this movement, and I won't assume that Organizations 1.0 - built on the assumption of the "boss knows the best" and "command and control" is going to die any time soon. I believe that it's as resistant as the proverbial cockroach.
The organization 2.0 will not be egalitarian. Far from it. It will be biased in favor of opinionated content creators. In some ways it will be a drawback... and a new form of elitism. But I have faith that systems will find their balance and take the lurkers' views by design.
.... more to be continued
