#DefragCon 2013 Notes: Industrial Entropy and the Future of Work – Chris DeVore, Founders Co-op
Industrial Entropy and the Future of Work – Chris DeVore, Founders Co-op Ronald Coase – “The Nature of the Firm” paper – why companies exist Firms gathered people around knowledge and tools that were often too expensive for an individual to purchase Digitization moved work outside the firm Now tools can be purchased to solve problems individually Rule #1: Capital seeks dominance VC Firms are designed for these kinds of firms – they try to dominate the majority of a market Rule #2: Achieving dominance is “planful” Executing through the rapidly changing technology and markets is difficult and requires persistence Rule #3: Dominance has become fragile Microsoft used to dominate, but is no longer feared like it was Agility at scale = Dominance A capability, not a state of being – mindset, values, leadership A good example is Jeff Bezos moving the entire organization to an SOA/API-centered approach with small teams that can execute Use the rate of technology + cultural change as a strategic weapon against the incumbency The education system needs to skill people to handle the new, flat economy where there isn’t a natural promotion within a firm Chris’ full blog post also available with more details
Industrial Entropy and the Future of Work – Chris DeVore, Founders Co-op
- Ronald Coase – “The Nature of the Firm” paper – why companies exist
- Firms gathered people around knowledge and tools that were often too expensive for an individual to purchase
- Digitization moved work outside the firm
- Now tools can be purchased to solve problems individually
- Rule #1: Capital seeks dominance
- VC Firms are designed for these kinds of firms – they try to dominate the majority of a market
- Rule #2: Achieving dominance is “planful”
- Executing through the rapidly changing technology and markets is difficult and requires persistence
- Rule #3: Dominance has become fragile
- Microsoft used to dominate, but is no longer feared like it was
- Agility at scale = Dominance
- A capability, not a state of being – mindset, values, leadership
- A good example is Jeff Bezos moving the entire organization to an SOA/API-centered approach with small teams that can execute
- Use the rate of technology + cultural change as a strategic weapon against the incumbency
- The education system needs to skill people to handle the new, flat economy where there isn’t a natural promotion within a firm