Challenging the Status Quo

All around us, the rules of engagement are being rewritten. Perhaps the term ‘rules’ itself is inappropriate in this age where Wikipedia, Linux, Facebook, Napster and eBay are new flag bearers. These live laboratories of the human mind are governed not so much by rules as by the power of collaborative thinking.

In a process-driven world, the quest for efficiency and productivity through best practices of the past often inhibited innovation and evolution. Yet, today an ostrich-like approach will not be able to withstand the winds of change. In order to find solutions to some of the unprecedented challenges being faced by business, we need to challenge the status quo and break mindsets with a fresh approach.

Outside our business silos, we see traditional structures of creation tumbling as an unstructured collective of individuals become the new custodians of power and choose, create and destroy according to their needs. This process of co-creation and innovation is an exciting new territory as it multiplies synergies and has a disruptive impact on existing thought process.

In business as well, there is a compelling need to challenge the status quo. And there is an important lesson here staring us in the face: a need to “unstructure” the highly strait-jacketed world of business and technology today.

The changing mechanics of the human thinking is intrinsically linked to the future of business – and in turn linked to the future of technology.

As an instance, for the large part today technology plays a key role in enabling businesses – rather than businesses defining how they wish to leverage technology. But the individual has power over technology – and when business and the individual come together – and define the future of technology – structures will be broken, and the true power and ubiquitous nature of technology will set individuals free to run powerful businesses.

We need to bring business, technology and people together to unlock thought by raising questions that reveal new perspectives.

Existing thought leadership platforms, however, tend to structure the thinking upfront stating the problem and a suggested solution. Instead, the need of the hour is free-flowing discussion on the interlinked future of business and technology. Thought leaders, who play the role of the ‘thought provoker’ rather than problem solvers; who become a catalyst that creates other thought leaders without a care for hierarchy.

This will help bring alive communities rather than organizations, stimulating thought with the power to transform technology and business. It is only through such unshackling of ideas that the world will emerge more creative, collaborative and empowered to deal with tomorrow.