Introduction
The genius of Peter Drucker was that he made very complex thoughts and concepts seem simple. So it was in the summer of 2000 when he gave an interview to James Daly, editor of Business 2.0, a popular business magazine at that time. In the interview, which was published in August 2000, a few short months after the crash of the dot-com market, Drucker stated:
“The corporation as we know it is
unlikely to survive the next 25 years.
Legally and financially, yes.
But not structurally and economically.”
As entrepreneurs, as well as educators and advisors to business people, we had been considering the impact of advances in communications and information technologies, as well as the loosening of trade. As a result, we had begun work on a book, Collaborative Communities: Partnering for Profit in the Networked Economy. The central thesis of the book is that an organizational form was beginning to emerge that was entrepreneurial in nature and relied on a network of partners to satisfy the needs of customers newly empowered by technology. Indeed, we supposed that the end was near for the traditional vertically integrated corporation.
When we read the interview with Drucker, we knew we were on to something. His views had helped shape our view of entrepreneurial thinking. They would now guide our pursuit of understanding the networked organization. We have spent the past 10 years consulting and doing hands-on research with Global 100 companies, governments, and raw start-ups. We’ve focused on two things:
1. Understanding the structure and governance – the management system – networks require to operate effectively
2. Defining and developing organization wide collaborative ability
Drucker’s words foretold a significant challenge descending upon corporate management. This paper presents The Rhythm of Business’ model of collaborative network design, a set of principles and choices to inform the structure and strategy of an organization for the subsequent 25 years in fulfilment of Drucker’s prophesy. It then uses the on-going experiences of the collaborative network organized to design and develop the Boeing 787 Dreamliner as an example of the management challenges of this new form of organization.
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