As Michel SERRES stated in 2007, it is impossible and completely useless to gather all the data we receive as the flow is too big. We have entered into a time of major changes, when the challenge is not only to know but to have the capacity to quickly find the right data that will really help us stay competitive.
The business 2.0 allows us to take on this challenge.
Nevertheless, it can only emerge through a complete overhaul and a paradigm shift. The Taylorist segmentation which sees each individual as an operator paid to accomplish a specific task is still too widely spread.
To let people think, be creative and participate in the company’s future is still considered by many managers as a waste of time. Whether business is industrial or commercial, it seems right and logical to divide and split activities to produce better and sell more. But tomorrow’s performance can only be achieved by raising innovative solutions which will make a company more unique.
Yet, it’s exchanging, sharing, thinking and confronting ideas that feeds innovation. It appears, thus, impossible to continue splitting problems and leave each individual to fend for himself. The essential factors of the growth of the knowledge economy are the seamless flow of ideas, the stimulation of interactions, the networking and the cooperation of every intelligence.
“The human intelligence is based on efficient neural connections, whilst the organizational intelligence is based on good interpersonal relationships.” This quote from Richard McDermott illustrates what is at stake for the company looking up to guarantee its sustainability.
The collective intelligence must then be mobilized and crafted to suit the company’s development.
It is a long and complex operation: to share his knowledge, to help others succeed, this cannot be imposed on nor can it be made true by a mere statement. The managers play an essential role in creating the conditions of adherence by changing their supervisory stance into that of someone who “helps cooperation”.
It is the requirement for an intelligent business to emerge.