Saturday, April 04, 2009

Integral Business Meshworks Part 1 (and where I have been)

I haven't been blogging much lately, but I've been musing... Musing on death and rebirth, emergence from the abyss, intentional evolution, and the nature of change and innovation - collective and individual. (My views are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of IBM).

Clearly, we are in the midst of a breakdown of multiple sorts - economic, ecologic, and more subtly perhaps, a breakdown of belief systems, faith, political norms, and trust in the systems that we have perhaps previously taken for granted as being self-correcting or at least somewhat predictable. Now, nothing feels predictable. The future is more "up for grabs" than perhaps at any other time in human history. It feels (to me) like we are at a critical turning point, or perhaps better said, a choice point. Or, as my CEO Sam Palmissano has stated, it is time to co-create a smarter planet.... To which I say.... well - sort of...

The key word here is co-create. Not collaborate, not innovate, not evolve. Co-create. Forrester writes about their view of innovation co-creation - and the need for tech companies to form "customer-focused Innovation Networks (CFINs) in which they co-create innovation value with their corporate clients." I haven't read this entire article (but I will). I sense though, that this is only part of the co-creation equation - a good start. From what I've read, this is focused on creating technical solutions - externally focused.

So, I've been musing. I first learned of the term and concept of co-creation when becoming a certified professional life coach - in my training with The Coaches Training Institute. Actually, I am a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC). Learning and action is co-created by everyone in the room, everyone in the process. Wayne Dyer (whom I've never read) has a book called The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way . I believe the focus of this book (and many other spiritual & personal growth books and programs) is more on the individual internal will and how individuals can more effectively (intentionally) create clarity and "co-create" by aligning personal purpose with "source".

Then we have the works of Senge, Scharmer, Wilbur and other leading and bleeding edge thinkers & practitioners... that look at co-creation in a more wholistic or "integral" manner. That's where I'll go in my next post....