The Institutions’ Revolutions – part 6 of the Manifesto is online!

Four Institutions will be deeply transformed – manufacturing, government and representative democracy, education and intellectual property. Find out how they will be transformed in part 6 of the Fourth Revolution Manifesto – now online.

Fourth Revolution Manifesto part VI cover

You can access the part VI of the Fourth Revolution Manifesto – FOUR institutions that will be deeply transformed by clicking on the link. You can also read and share the document on Scribd – it has a great reader and can also be used as a backup if the above link does not work: the Fourth Revolution Manifesto – part VI on Scribd .

Don’t hesitate to comment and bring in suggestions in the comments to this blog post!

Can’t wait to see the follow-up? Next week, in part 7 of the Fourth Revolution Manifesto we’ll finally uncover FOUR KEYS TO SUCCESS IN THE COLLABORATIVE AGE!

Share

The Fourth Revolution Blog on the institution revolution – a retrospective

As part VI of the manifesto is due to be published this week-end on the “institutions revolution” this blog offers a retrospective on a few blogs published by The Fourth Revolution Manifesto on the transformation of institutions

Perfectly acceptable institutions will become inappropriate beyond the Fourth Revolution

Once established, institutions flight for their survival

Professions are just a type of institutions

A great example of what developing countries can bring to the world

Enjoy!

Share

The empathic civilization by Jeremy Rifkin – neuroscience discoveries and the Fourth Revolution

This great animated video by “RSA animate” discusses the empathic civilization, based on a presentation by Jeremy Rifkin.

It shows how very recent neuroscience findings (1990 onwards), using the new technologies of non-invasive brain imagery (a result of the new theories of physics like quantum mechanics that are the precursor of the Fourth Revolution), give incredible insights on the operation of body and mind. That when communication exists between human beings, we automatically empathize.

Thanks to the new long distance interactive communication technology, we can empathize with the whole of humankind, with the whole world. The fundamental consciousness shift that is occurring today as a result will change the world, because our family is extended to the entire humankind and beyond.

We empathize with people at the other end of the globe that are suffering hardship. We give to causes that are entirely alien to our daily life, to fight poverty or hunger at the other end of the globe.

Are you ready to look at humankind as just one single family?

Share

The recipe for an organization’s success

The new recipe for an organization’s success is simple. Simple and so powerful.

It starts with P for Purpose. The organization needs a compelling purpose. Compelling means able to create an emotional connection. And not just for those who work inside the organization, for a network of supporters and followers as well.

The next ingredient is R for Radical. The organization needs to be radical in choosing its areas of activity, its customers, its employees, its contributors, its suppliers. The successful organization knows how to say no. It knows how to take the less traveled path.

The two remaining ingredients are familiar to those who follow this blog. It is O for Open and F for Fluid. The organization needs to be in a close synergy with the outside world, exchanging both ways. Its organization needs to be fluid, flexible, adaptable.

That’s not all. You also need a little bit of IT for Information Technology. The terminology is a bit inappropriate. It should be more “Knowledge enhancing technology”. It is usually referred to as IT so we will stick with that denomination.

Put everything together, mix well, give some emotional heat without overheating, and what do you get?

P-R-O-F-IT. As simple as that!

So, when does your organization start to express a Purpose that can be emotionally moving, be Radical in its day-to-day behavior, and Open and Fluid? That’s worth it!

Share

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Gong xi fa cai!

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Lao Zi – 6th or 4th century BC

…So, when do you do your first step?

Happy Chinese New Year to all Chinese friends!!!

Be the year of the Rabbit the year of your first step!

Gong xi fa cai!

Share

The 21st century enlightenment – the Fourth Revolution in action

Have a look at this very good video on the 21st century enlightenment by RSA. The approach is very much aligned with the Fourth Revolution concept and approach.

It is also a very interesting view point on the need for an empathic civilization and what are the institutions that are needed beyond the Fourth Revolution.

The video shows very clearly the limits of many values and assumptions of the Industrial Age. Beyond materialistic possessions, what makes us really happy? Are our Industrial Age quests for progress, justice and freedom really what we need?

The video finishes on this quote from Margaret Mead: “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead lived before internet and cheap long distance interactive communication. Today, a small group of people can assemble beyond the oceans and the continents in the virtual world. More than ever before, thoughtful people can get together. And change the world.

When do you start a group of thoughtful people?

Share

The organization Revolution – the part 5 of the Manifesto is online!

Organizations – the core value producing institutions of the Industrial Age – will be fundamentally transformed. They will become OPEN and FLUID. Discover the new philosophy of organizations and how it will transform the world in part 5 of the Fourth Revolution Manifesto!

Fourth Revolution Manifesto part V cover

You can access the fourth part of the Fourth Revolution Manifesto – the ORGANIZATION REVOLUTION by clicking on the link. You can also read and share the document on Scribd – it has a great reader and can also be used as a backup if the above link does not work: the Fourth Revolution Manifesto – part V on Scribd .

Don’t hesitate to comment and bring in suggestions in the comments to this blog post!

Can’t wait to see the follow-up?

The next Part of the Fourth Revolution manifesto will be published around February 13.

We’ll dive deep into the consequences of the Fourth Revolution in institutions like government, education and intellectual property – the Institutions Revolution!

Share

The website and blog hosting has been upgraded

Dear all,

Last week the Fourth Revolution website and blog has suffered some severe access problems for part of the world.
We have now moved the website and blog to a different hosting solution.
Everything should be back to normal, except that comments and “like” buttons clicks from last week will have been lost as the blog has been reset with the backup done on Friday January 21.

The new hosting solution should be more reliable and more professional.

Because the site has moved its address it might take some time for you to see it and you might have to reboot your computer.

We regret the inconvenience, if you have commented last week could you please resend your comments.

Any further issue please contact contact@thefourthrevolution.org

Thanks.

Share

The Fourth Revolution Blog on the organization revolution – retrospective

This is the week of the Organization Revolution. The Fourth Revolution Manifesto on the Organization Revolution will be published this week-end.

For those of you who might have missed earlier blogs, here are some links about organizations and the Fourth Revolution. May they inspire you to act today to help your organizations transform!

The organization needs to open itself

How can an organization mobilize the power of the ‘long tail’?

Management’s will to control everything needs to stop

A Revolution in organization management legitimacy

Why organizations don’t implement virtual social networks

Social networks is the foundation of organization’s value creation

The organization’s social network needs to become open to the outside

The organization tomorrow will be more compact. It will be open. It will be fluid. Are you ready?

Share

Harnessing the collective genius of the organization

“The person who figures out how to harness the collective genius of his or her organization is going to blow the competition away“. ~ Walter Wriston, banker, former Chairman of Citicorp.

That’s exactly what the Fourth Revolution will do: release the collective genius of the organization, and of the world beyond. It is the inevitable direction of history.

When will your organization start harnessing the collective genius of its employees? Open up, and harness the collective genius of the world? Become fluid, and become a turbulent cradle of great innovations?

Such is the power of the collective genius, of the collaborative network, that it will crush any organization who stays rigid, hierarchical and closed.

So, you’d better start doing it before your competitors. Become an open, fluid and collaborative organization. It is not just a temporary fad. It is a necessity.

Why don’t you start today? And blow your competition away?

Share

Goldcorp story: creating incredible value by publishing the most secret data of the company

How a mining company created huge value by publishing the most secret data a mining company can hold: all the geological data of the mine.

The story is now classical and counted in most books on the new collaboration tools. But it is worthwhile mentioning it and the deep lessons it holds.

Goldcorp was struggling. Its mine in Canada was loosing money, prospects were dim. Hope of finding new gold was there, geological investigations ongoing, but nobody was sure where to drill. Geologists did not agree. A long and costly additional geological investigation program was yet to come.
The CEO did not come from the mining industry. Attending a seminar in a business school, he had the following idea: and what if I was putting all the geological data public and launch a worldwide contest to advise where to find the gold?

That’s a hell of an unconventional idea in the natural resources industry: geological data is the core of the value of the company. It is the most secret of secrets.
Still the CEO went ahead, against all oppositions. All the available geological data of the mine was put on the web – more than 400 Megabyte of it. People from various industries responded to the contest, coming up with incredibly innovative ideas, new 3D visualization tools. Some of these ideas even led to new ventures. Although the winners were compensated with some money, the main value for them was the exposure and the publicity which allowed them to pursue their own projects and ventures.

They allowed the company to save millions of dollars of geological work and indeed led GoldCorp to find new deposits of gold and ultimately become one of the wealthiest gold mining companies in the industry. The CEO was sitting on a gold mine!

What are the deep lessons of this story?

Value in the Industrial Age was often based on holding to intellectual property and other proprietary knowledge, and keeping it secret.
In contrast, value in the Collaborative Age is making this knowledge public and motivating the world to enhance and transform it for the benefit of the organization.
It is not just publishing proprietary knowledge – that’s easy. It is making sure that a network of followers is deeply motivated to crunch it, transform it, experiment with it, and create something awesome. That’s the hard part. That’s the differentiator.

Creating the network of followers is key. It involves giving away to receive later. It requires a compelling purpose that motivates the followers. It is a long term endeavor.

When do you start creating the network of followers for your company?

Share