I have been interested in finding links between Real-Time Economy and Social Technologies.
I understand RTE as organizations and communities carrying out effectively and efficiently the present duties and regenerating continuously for future challenges. It is essential to understand that organizations are living systems and learning through relationships with its environments. In this context key issues are conversations and language. Almost classical text for this topic is “The Little Grey Book” of Sun Microsystems. It is worth of reading it again. However, I have not seen much discussion or references to this text. Now, social technologies give real opportunities to reinforce “leadership and language” for regenerating organizations for RTE.
I agree with many of the arguments in the little grey book by Sun Microsystems. Especially, the positions it takes towards change and challenges are insightful and interesting from the point of view of RTE. In our discussions with the case companies, we have seen many companies struggling to get their partners to join in the RTE idea (getting their suppliers to adopt e-invoicing, for example). The companies have taken different measures for doing this. Some have used carrots, some sticks (or negative carrots). It would be very interesting to examine this problem of persuasion from the point of view of language and leadership taken up in the little grey book.
The little grey book page 7 says: "Any change that alters an organization's ideas of truth and identity is threatening.... So, the organization resists conversations that question its ways of doing business and its role in the world. The organization naturally resists new learning, change, and the stress of evolution." The Real-Time Economy program is all about making these changes happen in organizations, lowering the threats new technologies pose on organizations, and making real-time technologies diffused in all kinds of companies, not just the innovator ones.
At Helsinki School of Economics, a competence center dedicated to promoting research and education on real-time technologies has been established. P..
