Friday Five — September 11, 2015

Given the economic environment most businesses operate in today, [Red Hat CEO Jim] Whitehurst points out that an open framework can go a long way in boosting innovation and creativity. Decision making though, can be a tedious process. "When decisions are handed down from above, a lack of commitment and follow through often result. That's why an open organisation strives for change management to happen during the decision process, not during execution. We've learned that to bring about changes in our organisation, it's not enough to simply try and sell our associates on a decision after it has been made," he says. The focus instead is bringing on ownership in the changes needed by involving people in the decision making process.

This Autumn, CIOs might be surprised by a wave of new companies and solutions based on Machine Learning technologies. The progress made by the human kind in understanding how the brain learns and predicts, and how to replicate that behaviour through artificial intelligence, has been enormous in last few years. I believe we are about to see machine learning algorithms solving old problems in a completely new and dramatically more accurate way, from incident management to adaptive web design. —Alessandro Perilli, GM of Cloud Management at Red Hat

Why is this topic of the 'open organization' something for business to pay attention to, now? This call for change in corporate culture and leadership style has held the battle-cry headlines from prominent thought leaders such as Harvard Business Review, McKinsey, Deloitte, author Geoffrey Moore and casts of others over the course of a few years now. Most of us readily recognize there is something really different and special about companies like Whole Foods and Zappos that transcend just great customer service. But, examples of established organizations and leaders rooted in command and control cultures that have actually transformed their leadership to break down silos are few and far between. Now, with [Jim] Whitehurst's book, we not only get an intimate view into [an] 'open organization'...but we have proof that 'open' begins with 'open-style' leadership and if you don't have these skills now, you can transform to get them.

The World Wide Web was officially born way back in 1991 and has developed considerably since then. So, what will the internet look like a similar distance ahead? We asked a range of industry insiders, and have collated their professional opinions, below. Interestingly, they're remarkably consistent... "The boon and bane of the internet in 2040 will be that most real world objects will be connected to it via pervasive IPV6 wireless internet. It will allow amazing gains in productivity. We will see services and products we couldn't have imagined. The downside will be the huge potential risks to security, privacy, and sanity. A well monitored 2040 internet life will be productive, but like rats in a maze we have to ensure it is happy as well." —James Kirkland, Chief Architect of Internet of Things and Intelligent Systems at Red Hat

We all want to be seen as smart and capable, especially in the workplace. But it's by making contributions to the team or community that actually earns you influence and trust–not your ability to show off how smart you are. Great team members have a willingness to admit they don't have all the answers. Rather, they seek to talk through problems and think on their feet in order to reach the best conclusions with the help of their team rather than shoulder the burden of coming up with all of the answers on their own. Rather than seek personal awards and achievements above all else, great team members value their contributions to the group's accomplishments instead. And by doing so, open themselves up to opportunities. I've seen it first hand at Red Hat. The individuals that are team players are often called to participate on more cross-functional team projects, allowing them to enjoy broader opportunities and experiences across the organization. —Jim Whitehurst, CEO, Red Hat