Swarm Creativity: Competitive Advantage Through Collaborative Innovation Networks

Swarm Creativity introduces a powerful new concept-Collaborative Innovation Networks, or COINs. Its aim is to make the concept of COINs as ubiquitous among business managers as any methodology to enhance quality and competitive advantage. The difference though is that COINs are nothing like other methodologies. A COIN is a cyberteam of self-motivated people with a collective vision, enabled by technology to collaborate in achieving a common goal--n innovation-by sharing ideas, information, and work. It is no exaggeration to state that COINs are the most productive engines of innovation ever. COINs have been around for hundreds of years. Many of us have already been a part of one without knowing it. What makes COINs so relevant today, though is that the concept has reached its tipping point-thanks to the Internet and the World Wide Web. This book explores why COINS are so important to business success in the new century. It explains the traits that characterize COIN members and COIN behavior. It makes the case for why businesses ought to be rushing to uncover their COINs and nurture them, and provides tools for building organizations that are more creative, productive and efficient by applying principles of creative collaboration, knowledge sharing and social networking. Through real-life examples in several business sectors, the book shows how to leverage COINs to develop successful products in R & D, grow better customer relationships, establish better project management, and build higher-performing teams. In short, this book answers four key questions: Why are COINs better at innovation? What are the key elements of COINs? Who are the people that participate in COINs and how do they become members? And how does an organization transform itself into a Collaborative Innovation Network?

About the Author :
Peter A. Gloor is a Research Fellow at both the Center for Coordination Science at MIT's Sloan School of Management and the Center for Digital Strategies at Dartmouth University's Tuck School of Business, exploring Collabortive Innovation Networks. Until the end of 2002, Gloor was a Partner with Deliotte Consulting, leading its e-business practice for Europe; before that, he was a Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Section Leader of Software Engineering at Union Bank of Switzerland.

Review :
"Filled with real examples and practical suggestions, this thought-provoking book gives insightful guidance to anyone trying to harness the power of collaborative innovation unleashed by today's new communication technologies." --Thomas W. Malone, Director, MIT Center for Coordination Science, and Patrick J. McGovern Professor of Management, MIT Sloan School of Management "This book illustrates that collaboration is key for successful companies. It shows how collaboration and innovation extends into all aspects of daily business life. Applying the principles outlined in this book will help companies to innovate by working together and learning from each other in social networks." --Dirk Havighorst, Senior Manager Procurement & Supply, DaimlerChrysler "Swarm Creativity brings a totally fresh look at innovation and collaboration. This book is a must-read for anyone in a business who is faced with the need to constantly innovate in order to remain competitive. It helps organizations shape their strategies based on principles of social networks, ethics, and meritocracy. By becoming Collaborative Innovation Networks, organizations will increase performance and become more creative." --Kurt Wolf, Managing Director, UBS "Peter Gloor offers a visionary guide into novel organizational forms and the opportunities they present for innovative companies. This is a wake-up call, challenging our most basic assumptions about management of organizations. His timing is perfect: loosen the hierarchy...harness democracy...think not of employees, but of partners. This is a book packed with insights and wisdom. Leadership would be well served to incorporate its lessons into the new networked business world of today." --Walter Etter, COO, Banca del Gottardo, Switzerland "We live in the age of networks. We advise young people to build networks to advance their careers. We study organizations by assessing the networks that develop within and among them. We encourage firms with like technology to cluster geographically so their scientists can 'network'. And, of course, there is the Internet that has changed the world, scientifically, socially, and politically. Peter Gloor takes us through one of the most important of these developments: the creation of Collaborative Innovation Networks..." --Thomas J. Allen, Howard W. Johnson Professor of Management and Professor of Engineering Systems, MacVicar Faculty Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology "Gloor's contribution is the enumeration of a set of principles to improve the probability of incubating a successful collaboration network."--Journal of Product Innovation Management