Jose Miguel Parrella

Authored Comments

I'm reading the book. Although I do think Mr. Whitehurst put significant effort in structuring a framework around the strategy (rather than tactics) behind open organizations it was certainly refreshing to read (and, like Jono, identify with) some of the tactical things mentioned re. the role of mailing lists, IRC, etc.

What was particularly enlightening was the detail put into describing how meritocracy in an open organization does not equate to all voices being heard equally, and how self-made leaders bring meaning to the open concept. This makes the role of managers self-evident and the purpose of management moving to focusing on purpose and facilitation.

I would like to see the dialogue on open organizations and organizational maturity going. In the book there are mentions to organizations that fail to buy into the open concept: both big corporate as well as startups settling after periods of rapid growth. For Red Hat it seems like open organization comes as second nature due to open source and freedom being a core value. For companies not in the same vertical but that bring open into their practice, it looks like they are trying to reinvent and disrupt after pursuing purpose (customer service, agility, entering new markets, etc.) yet I think that for everything in between there has to be a number of enabling triggers - it could be evolving demographics, it could be shifting customer sentiment, or it could also be simply achieving a maturity stage where cogs on a wheel is not cutting it for ROI anymore.

I've been reading the book and it's very refreshing. The definition is also novel. At least where I come from, it seems like the definition of an "open source foo" is passing law on it. I would love to hear about the impact that passing law (mandating open source, barring everything else, even mandating particular "types" of open source, behaviors and expectations) has had in the broader open source communities. When I take a look at the market share, contribution to broader projects, etc., of places where law has been passed, it is disheartening. See the focus being moved to open government, civism and knowledge sharing thru events is really refreshing. I think it's time for us as a community to step up and question the procurement law thingy where it hasn't been yielding results and come to a much necessary balance to move forward. Great job!