An Architecture of Transparency - Andy Blumenthal
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This document discusses the benefits of transparency and openness in organizations. It argues that transparency allows for greater information sharing, collaboration, and rapid advancement. When people feel safe contributing different perspectives and are rewarded for difficult conversations, organizations benefit from increased engagement, productivity and sustainability. The document also discusses how social media is helping to break down barriers and encourage transparency in both personal and professional realms.
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usually doesn’t stop us from father used to say, “With
trying again and again. At one’s love, the joy is twice
our essence, we are social the joy and sadness is half
creatures. the sadness.”
We have long known Now we are realizing
that as individuals we are that we are not only “more”
limited by our own foibles as people with those imme-
and weaknesses, but with diately around us, but we
others we are stronger, there is synergy, and we are able can also grow, learn, and be strengthened by connecting
to leverage off each other’s strengths and accomplish with people all over the world.
great things together. Anyone who has been blessed with Of course, it’s a different connection—but communi-
a genuine partner or significant other in his or her life cation and working together is still a powerful force. We
knows the power of this amazing coming together. My do not need to look far for examples, whether it’s Wiki-
pedia or open source software, we are developing great
and amazing new things by breaking old taboos.
JTD%/JK'.LJ7 Social media is showing great potential for helping
organizations overcome their innate fear of transparency.
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as companies and agencies now have Facebook pages
and Twitter accounts, putting up videos on YouTube and
photos on Flickr. Executives are blogging, and stakehold-
G$+0$(8&*#!=#C70""&"8#@/+1> ers are talking back. We are opening up as people, orga-
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An Architecture of Transparency - Andy Blumenthal
- 1. ANDY BLUMENTHAL J>%J4FIC@:F@84:%5P%!4=>BQ=4:>FR%P54% -84B:9E:B%=>N%-84%-4?=>CS=@C5>B N owadays, there is a lot of talk about creating “sus- tainable” organizations, meaning those that pro- duce value—not only financially (the old way of think- ing) but also environmentally, ethically, socially, and so on. But how often do we talk about creating organiza- tions that are productive from the perspective of human capital—in which people not only feel safe to say difficult things but also are encouraged and rewarded for doing so? When people are free to contribute their fullest, they are not only more engaged and productive, but also contrib- ute to every other form of organizational sustainability. This kind of integrated sustainability is achievable through a commitment to transparency, which facilitates the kind of information sharing and collaboration that promotes rapid advancement. In our personal lives, we are opening up and building lives of increasing trust and transparency. Some would say that those of us who are “revealing” ourselves online in blogs, tweets, social networks, and so forth are fool- hardy. There are cyber criminals, identity thieves, and other predators out there. The chorus is “it’s a dangerous world out there!” And it surely is. So the point is not to give away the proverbial “kitch- en sink” to psychopaths or adversaries, but to sensibly and discreetly share and collaborate. The Internet has changed us like almost nothing else in history has. We have opened up to others—and often to complete strangers online—in ways we never would’ve imagined we would or could. We link in and friend people in social media, reach out with posts and remarks, seek help and give assistance online, and com- municate and collaborate online. And much of this is happening in “virtual” blindness to who is on the screen and keyboard at the other end. What’s more, it seems, in regardless of gender, race, religion—all we need to do is many ways, like the most natural thing in the world to reach out and there is someone else reaching back! do this. Trust and transparency may be foolhardy when we get Now, with this new sense and exhibition of trust and burned, as happens in many a bad relationship, but that transparency, we are starting to realize the true mean- ing and benefits of globalization. We are one people, ,-#.%!"'%/-00&.#!12 Visit the new A&G Web site at www.architectureandgovernance.com 9
- 2. A&G usually doesn’t stop us from father used to say, “With trying again and again. At one’s love, the joy is twice our essence, we are social the joy and sadness is half creatures. the sadness.” We have long known Now we are realizing that as individuals we are that we are not only “more” limited by our own foibles as people with those imme- and weaknesses, but with diately around us, but we others we are stronger, there is synergy, and we are able can also grow, learn, and be strengthened by connecting to leverage off each other’s strengths and accomplish with people all over the world. great things together. Anyone who has been blessed with Of course, it’s a different connection—but communi- a genuine partner or significant other in his or her life cation and working together is still a powerful force. We knows the power of this amazing coming together. My do not need to look far for examples, whether it’s Wiki- pedia or open source software, we are developing great and amazing new things by breaking old taboos. JTD%/JK'.LJ7 Social media is showing great potential for helping organizations overcome their innate fear of transparency. M0+$"(+#H"$(+,+&'(#O+*%&$(*$1+(#G1>>&$ It is moving rapidly and decisively throughout the ranks as companies and agencies now have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, putting up videos on YouTube and photos on Flickr. Executives are blogging, and stakehold- G$+0$(8&*#!=#C70""&"8#@/+1> ers are talking back. We are opening up as people, orga- nizations, and as a society. Cloud computing is another area where we can open up our individualistic information technology architec- =(*%"/7/8:#G/71$&/"'#0"3#O''($# tures and instead share resources—applications, storage, N0"08(>("$ infrastructure—with tens, hundreds, and thousands of other customers, through IT cloud vendors such as Ama- zon, Google, Microsoft, IBM, and more. The future is going to be truly amazing if we can E1'&"(''#C+/*(''#N0"08(>("$#L/"2(+("*(#H1+/,(#]]^ only have the courage to open up and share and, at the same time, have the wisdom to build in enough security that the few bad apples don’t spoil the pot for everyone else. A&G M0+$"(+#H"$(+,+&'(#O+*%&$(*$1+(#G1>>&$ J.L1%AK&0'.!"JKU%2/1"3(+#/2# D'(+4*("$+&*#H"$(+,+&'(#O+*%&$(*$1+(-# !=#O+*%&$(*$#.(8&/"07#L/"2(+("*(Q#=%/18%$#F(03(+#H3&$&/" E1+(01#/2#O7*/%/7-#=/60**/-#@&+(0+>'# 0"3#H),7/'&9('<#B(#67/8'#0$## %$$,QTT1'(+*("$+&*(0<67/8',/$<*/># 0"3#%$$,QTT$/$07*&/<67/8',/$<*/><# E71>("$%07#"/$('#$%0$#`$%('(#0+(#>:# _$%#!"$(+"0$&/"07#E1'&"(''#.17('#@/+1> ,(+'/"07#9&(5'#0"3#3/#"/$#+(,+('("$# $%/'(#/2#>:#08("*:<a ! ,-#.%!"'%/-00&.#!12 Visit the new A&G Web site at www.architectureandgovernance.com 10