In the software development industry the results are in and open source is the winner. As Matt Asay predicts in a recent blog, future dialogues about open source will be less about evangelism and there will be more focus on putting open source into practice.

Which forces us to look, fundamentally, at exactly what we’re putting into practice? Open source software? Or open source itself? What do we mean when we say open source?

At New Kind, we believe that open source is— simply stated—  a beautiful and effective way to scale creative thinking and culture. What is amazing is the rapid acceptance of “open source” beyond software development. Today businesses are looking at open source as a way to create new business models, new management strategies, new marketing, innovation and community-building paradigms.

As we’ve noted before (and will, no doubt continue to note) evangelists in this broader understanding of open source include many of the world’s most influential business thinkers including Gary Hamel, Roger Martin and Tom Peters. Two weeks ago I watched Coke’s VP of Global Branding— David Butler— introduce open source as a powerful branding/design concept to AIGA’s national conference for professional designers. These speakers are not referring to open source software.

But, through the proven success of the open source software development model, in part, they have discovered the competitive power of such creative collaborative, design thinking cultures. And they are advising today’s business leaders to rapidly adopt these new kinds of models across their organizations; internally and externally.

Acceptance will be slow among executives who are just now being introduced to open source creative models. Hamel says they are locked into “archaic beliefs” that must be changed if they are to remain competitive. It took nearly 15 years for the technology acceptance; how long will this take?

The time is now. For organizations where innovation is now a strategic necessity, open source creative cultures are a powerful if frightening alternative to the habitual thinking of analytical-driven, MBA-type cultures. As Martin’s book The Responsibility Virus makes clear, fear is a powerful force that shuts down innovation. Most executives and senior managers have little clue how strongly fear influences their thinking and actions, and the effect that has on the competitive positioning of the organizations they lead.

Open source and design thinking are anecdotes. But there are countless traditional players— individuals and corporations; large and powerful— who have no interest in seeing new competitive threats to their status quo arise. Open source is revolutionary change; landowners seldom start revolutions. These players will not welcome the change open source promises. And they will not play nicely.

Such opposition will look for evidence that open source doesn’t work. To borrow Roger Martin’s language, “reliable” actions will trump more “viable” solutions. When they find ‘reliable’ evidence, they can and will be ruthless adversaries. Open source practitioners must not be naive; evangelism can become a detriment in this environment. Even the Christian Bible (a fair prophet on evangelism) warns, “Faith without works is dead.”

In that context, Matt Asay is correct. Evangelist must begin to play a secondary role to the practitioner. And if Malcolm Gladwell is right, then it takes 10,000 hours for an individual to grasp the nuance and expertise necessary to play that role. That’s a small community of practitioners.

That’s the next challenge for open source.

……………………..

additional resources:

https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/ghost.aspx?ID=/Strategy/Innovation/Innovative_management_A_conversation_between_Gary_Hamel_and_Lowell_Bryan_2065

http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/rogermartin/publications.htm

New Kind partner Matthew Muñoz participated in the AIGA tradition of 20/20 at this year’s Make/Think Design Conference in Memphis. The 20/20 program, curated and moderated by AIGA President Debbie Millman, challenged 20 AIGA chapter leaders from around the country to address the theme of making and thinking as it relates to his or her own local chapter and design experience – each in just 60 seconds.

Taking the stage on opening night with Mike Joosse, Muñoz worked to emphasize the notion that everyone is a designer – everyone makes and thinks. Consider the design of everyday conversations and relationships. The design of making a sandwich, making goals, making someone laugh. To emphasize their perspective, Muñoz  and Joosse handed out buttons designed as conversation starters. Half of the buttons read “MAKE” and the rest completed a sentence. “Make moves”. “Make every day count”. “Make connections”. “Make badass things”.

Feedback from the presentation was overwhelmingly positive — Muñoz and Joosse made a splash.

Image source: AIGA Flickr Group From left to right: Mike Joosse, Matthew Muñoz

Script:

Everyone makes. Everyone thinks. Everyone designs. We believe this because we see it in our chapter. We see it in our larger community. We see it here.

There are a hundred thousand ways to make. You can make friends, make a sandwich, make someone laugh. You can make it rain. You can make unattainable goals, and then meet them. You can make happiness. You can make badass things.

You can make simple connections with people, because sometimes — more than any designed artifact — its the conversations, relationships and examples we set that make impressions on those around us.

Through these actions, we’re making thinking, either directly or indirectly, encouraging ourselves or others. In this bag [pause for effect of putting bag down on stage] are 1000 humble reminders. 500 buttons say MAKE and 500 complete a phrase. These buttons are happier when paired together, so we encourage you to connect with us and as many others as possible.

And when you leave here on Sunday, we hope this tiny symbol reminds you of your ability to continue making beautiful thinking.

We hate to brag, but…

New Kind partner David Burney was recently recognized as a 2009 Fellow by AIGA, the professional association for design. The celebration took place at the Design Legends Gala held last month at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Burney is only the second designer from the local Raleigh chapter to have been given this award (Meredith Davis, from the NC State University College of Design was appointed as a Fellow in 2002).

Through the Fellow award, AIGA Raleigh lauds Burney on a national level for the creative brilliance that he has brought forth during the past 30 years of his career. The Fellow award program is a means of recognizing designers who have made a significant contribution to raising the standards of excellence in practice and conduct within their local or regional design community as well as in their local AIGA chapter. Education, writing, leadership and reputation, as well as the practice of design are given equal consideration in measuring each designer’s contribution.

David sits among names such as design and management guru Shel Perkins, 23-year Pentagram partner Kit Hinrichs and Moira Cullen, senior director of global design at The Hershey Company. And no, we’re not surprised, but we are immensely proud.

To celebrate, the AIGA Raleigh chapter will roast the big winner on Friday, November 6, 2009 at the Burning Coal Theatre.

Image Source: AIGA Flicker Group Left to right: Matthew Muñoz (New Kind), Mick Hodgson (PhD), David Burney (New Kind)