Retool management for an open and borderless world

“As the distinction between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ disappears, managers must learn how to manage beyond the legal boundaries of the enterprise.”

Emerging business models increasingly rely on value-creating networks and forms of social production that transcend organizational boundaries. In these environments, management tools that rely on the use of positional power are likely to be ineffective or counterproductive. In a network of volunteers or legally independent agents, the “leader” has to energize and enlarge the community rather than manage it from above. Success therefore requires developing new approaches to mobilizing and coordinating human efforts.