Posted by the ManGeek

Thursday, August 4th 2005 5:44 pm CDT

Paul Graham has a published essay [www.paulgraham.com] discussing some interesting "lessons" for businesses. These lessons are based on observations of how open-source software and web-publishing have shaped commercial competition.

It's an interesting essay to read, citing three main points:

• People work harder on things in which they have interest
• Typical office environments do not always suit productivity
• Bottom-Up approaches can often work better than Top-Down styles

I would not argue that these points are revolutionary ideas. Indeed the first item is often a secret ingredient to the never-attained (in my corporate experience thus far) concept of synergy. (In truth the only time I ever saw synergy achieved was at an equine-study program run by a master horseman named Pat Parelli.) Still these are important ideas that are worth considering.

I would choose to apply these key concepts in a simple way. If people work harder on things they are interested in then leaders should always keep their fingers on the pulse of their people's interests. If that leader finds those interests don't mesh with their goals, they should consider someone else for the task where possible. Too often leaders stifle the interest of those they intend to lead.

I would never argue that the typical life-of-Dilbert office approach is not always productive. However I'd argue against the subject's essay content which states "The atmosphere of the average workplace is to productivity what flames painted on the side of a car are to speed." is not completely fair. I have to agree to point that workplace collaboration is more possible in a shared environment. Communication increases and often team-focused tasks are accomplished very well. However the stark walls and acres of cubicles are often very lacking in motivational quality.

I won't comment on the argument of bottom-up over top-down more than to say: both have their place with differing strengths and weaknesses. It's short-sighted to argue the one over the other. Similarly so to say that one of our two strongest political parties is perfectly accurate in their approach while the other is woefully ignorant.

Overall however I think this article brings up a good point in that size and strength cannot overlook the sheer power of a dedicated group of individuals. I'm led to believe the best lesson that business can learn from open-source is that nothing lasts forever and that which does not grow and evolve will in time be left behind.

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