I've waited until the very last minute to do my review of Wikinomics.  Why?  Well, because we've already spent a lot of time this month talking about the internet, blogs, and social networks.  Some people might be thinking... "What does this stuff have to do with sales and leadership?"  After reading the book I've realized the answer is two fold... "Everything!" and "Nobody is really sure... yet."  So, I decided to go and look at the numbers.  What kind of reader interest have these articles generated so far?  What I found was staggering and unexpected!  In just three short weeks, "Generating Sales Through Social Networking?" jumped straight to the top of the "most popular" articles ranking on SalesBlogcast.com... sitting just behind the Jill Konrath interviews, "Selling to Big Companies - Part 1" and "Selling to Big Companies - Part 2!"  It's obvious... this has been a hot topic and a great series of conversations throughout the month.

Let's get to the book, Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, and focus simply on how the concepts of Wikinomics might affect sales and leadership.  In the spirit of mass collaboration, collective intelligence, and peer-to-peer networking, I want to try something a little different on this post.  Let's make this an ever living article where we can continuously add new ideas and answers as the global collaboration economy takes shape in the years to come. 

The following is a list of notes and ideas that came to mind while reading the book.  Your next step is to add your own comments and ideas.  Unlike a wiki that would allow for ongoing changes to the post itself, we will create a list, or should I say... a log of ideas to review and track it's progression... forever! 

The Four Principles of Wikinomics

1. Openness

Unlimited depth of resources

A force for growth and competitiveness

Being smart

Good timing

For every top producer and thought leader in your organization, there are hundreds that are just as good or better across the globe.  It’s about going outside your corporate boundaries.

The three golden rules that distinguish the internet from any previous communications medium:

2. Peering

Mastermind groups, think tanks, and ideagoras creating knowledge and innovation for current and future business

Think about rating systems on sites like Amazon.com.  Customer reviews allow new prospects to get feedback on the quality of the product before making a purchase.

3. Sharing

Tom Peters – FREE STUFF... "Tom Peters is a passionate communicator with many provocative ideas to share. The documents listed here include a number of Tom's most inspiring messages. And they're all absolutely free. Download, print, discuss, dissect, and disseminate to your heart's content. We ask only that you not alter the files, claim them as your own work, or charge for their use."

Marshall Goldsmith… during this training session, he talks about how he shares all of his stuff… Think about how many thousands of dollars he might charge to do this seminar… and it is FREE on YouTube!

Flickr (sharing photos), iTunes (free podcasts), YouTube (videos), Skype (Is internet telephony the future?)

4. Acting Globally

Exciting yet dangerous time to be in business… paradigm shift

Harnessing the power of human capital across borders

An environment of collaboration, freedom, flexibility, self-management, diversity… an environment where people think of themselves as "global citizens" ...self-organizing, peer-to-peer collaboration of their choosing

What kind of leader will it take to lead these changes?

According to the book… "In the new world of Wikinomics, it turns out, that just about anyone can be a leader?"

How to think with a collaborative mind

Where do I see opportunity?  Get heavily involved now... take advantage of your ability to reach out and build a presence without boundaries... establish your foundation for the future… Somebody is going to figure out how you get paid for all your hard work and FREE information.

Reminder:  Your next step is to add your own comments and ideas.  Unlike a wiki that would allow for ongoing changes to the post itself, we will create a list, or should I say... a log of ideas to review and track it's progression... forever!