People are the creators
Leadbetter asserts that "Google’s service is based on extracting insight from our collective intelligence" wherein the query engine is based on how each web page is linked by other pages on the Internet by the people - akin to a vote. YouTube is compared to Google where according to Leadbetter, "its ethos is democratic: people can vote on what they like." It is the collection of people that make these new services grow. Google and YouTube are simply enablers. People are the creators. In a related story on Google's acquisition of YouTube, I talked about how YouTube has created successful innovations similar to Google with regards to Vision, Business Model, Technology and User Experience and Partnerships.
Selected references:
Leading eBook on Creativity and Innovation in Business
Creativity and Innovation Best Practices
Creativity and Innovation Case Studies
The Innovation Index
Top 50 innovative companies in the world
Participation
Leadbetter calls this new world of doing business as the world of "We-Think", where "we (the people) are developing new ways to innovate and be creative en masse” without the need for an organization. Leadbetter provides several examples of the We-Think culture including eBay, multi-player computer games, Neopets, Second Life, Linux, Apache, MP3 revolution and more. The common theme across all of these new businesses: participation. This is a strategic shift in business thought - whereas most businesses think of their customers as consumers, these new businesses think of their customers as active participants and "voices in the conversation", not just passive listeners. In Co-Creation driving Innovation, I talked about mainstream businesses such as Doritos, Starwood Hotels and Timex watches embracing this phenomenon and leveraging their customers to create new products.
People Innovation
Leadbetter makes a poignant observation: "Innovation and creativity which were once elite activities undertaken by special people are now becoming mass activities, dispersed across society. This is innovation by the masses, not just for the masses."
Finally, Leadbetter concludes that We-Think scrambles the logic of managerial capitalism, where consumers turn out to be producers, demand breeds its own supply and leisure becomes a form of work. And this leads to the "irresistible force of collaborative mass innovation."
We think Leadbetter is on the money, and we are certainly in the midst of this "We-Think" phenomenon of People Innovation that is not only revolutionizing the way companies do business, but also the business itself.
Leadbetter calls this new world of doing business as the world of "We-Think", where "we (the people) are developing new ways to innovate and be creative en masse” without the need for an organization. Leadbetter provides several examples of the We-Think culture including eBay, multi-player computer games, Neopets, Second Life, Linux, Apache, MP3 revolution and more. The common theme across all of these new businesses: participation. This is a strategic shift in business thought - whereas most businesses think of their customers as consumers, these new businesses think of their customers as active participants and "voices in the conversation", not just passive listeners. In Co-Creation driving Innovation, I talked about mainstream businesses such as Doritos, Starwood Hotels and Timex watches embracing this phenomenon and leveraging their customers to create new products.
People Innovation
Leadbetter makes a poignant observation: "Innovation and creativity which were once elite activities undertaken by special people are now becoming mass activities, dispersed across society. This is innovation by the masses, not just for the masses."
Finally, Leadbetter concludes that We-Think scrambles the logic of managerial capitalism, where consumers turn out to be producers, demand breeds its own supply and leisure becomes a form of work. And this leads to the "irresistible force of collaborative mass innovation."
We think Leadbetter is on the money, and we are certainly in the midst of this "We-Think" phenomenon of People Innovation that is not only revolutionizing the way companies do business, but also the business itself.
Selected references:
Leading eBook on Creativity and Innovation in Business
Creativity and Innovation Best Practices
Creativity and Innovation Case Studies
The Innovation Index
Top 50 innovative companies in the world
References:
Times Online
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