1: EMBRACE THE SWARM
Without some element of governance from the top...
bottom-up control will freeze when options are many. Without some element of leadership, the many at the bottom will be paralyzed with choices.
Numerous small things connected together into a network generate tremendous power. But this swarm power will need some kind of minimal governance from the top to maximize its usefulness. Appropriate oversight depends on the network. In a firm, leadership is supervision; in social networks, government; in technical networks, standards and codes.
We have spent centuries obsessed with the role of top-down governance. Its importance remains. But the great excitement of the new economy is that we have only now begun to explore the power of the bottom, where peers holds sway. It is a vast mother lode waiting to be tapped. With the invention of a few distributed systems, such as the internet, we have merely probed the potential of what minimally centralized networks can do.
In a firm, leadership is supervision; in social networks, government; in technical networks, standards and codes.
My question: what are other examples of appropriate leadership in other areas I am particularly interested in:
an arts focused network (a network of artists)
a network of investors/finance
a publisher as a network of writers
the church (or faith groups) as a network
education/children
education/college age
education/continuing
a network of entertainment options (i.e. around a 'franchise' such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jane Austin)
"bottom-up control will freeze when options are many"
The solution(s) to any problem is(are) creating the right incentive(s).
From governments to business, family's to friends, generation A to generation B, ect... its as simple as that.
wrote about something similar here
http://tee.posterous.com/innovation-and-networks-of-inf
after attending a free-form 'networks of influence' workshop. There wasn't a lot of love in the room for plans, leadership or structure of any kind.
>>Without some element of leadership, the many at the bottom will be paralyzed with choices.
Each member of the swarm has its own criteria for filtering based on its experiences. A grocery store carries 10,000 items. I can go in there and come out with two items... one I went in their for and one other. What would you have to have known about me to predict the first and the second? You could have queried me and predicted the first, but you would have thought that the choice of the second would have overwhelmed me.
"Choosing" is a log n activity.
"bottom-up control will freeze when options are many"
Utilize social proof to direct the crowd and avoid paralysis. In uncertain situations, like those created by increased choice, we decide what to do by watching others. We choose other people's choices.
In a networked environment, leaders can lead by making people's selection of the preferred choice more visible to the entire group. If we see our peers choosing "A" over "B", social proof will do the rest.
Spread the fire. GS