Balancing open and closed systems

This weeks obsession is with Reid Hoffmann, the Oracle of Silicon Valley.

Last night while I was doing the dishes I was listening to his podcast Masters of Scale, the episode with Joi Ito. It prompted me to furiously take notes despite my wet hands, that was how much value I found in it. It's what formed the foundation of last nights blog about un-specialising medicines.

It was about the challenges and opportunities of balancing closed and open systems. Harnessing the power of closed institutions, but forcing them not to stagnate by introducing elements of radical openness. That balancing the two doesn't need to be a zero sum game. Institution bashing vs drinking the koolaid. Regularly bring outside voices in to make sure institutions are thinking about the future and innovating.

But achieving this is hard. Creating conversations across silos is hard. That's how the silos came to be. To make it easier to communicate. It really does require you to be bold I guess.