David Ritter is VP for strategic consulting at Boston Consulting Group.

Open source is about passion. How to unleash the passion of open source in a traditional organizational setting?

IBM and viral marketing was until Linux an oxymoron.

[Story about how the Linux quickly solved a security problem found in Italy.]

More than 80.000 e-mail message a month coordinate the Linux actions.

Why are people participating in open source projects. Hacker motivation: Creativity, learning, fun, skill, freedom and need

These are people that volunteer significant amount of time, they are IT professionals, and typically generation Xers

The creative connection. Not a religious crusade to destroy Microsoft. A desire to contribute, learn, share and fulfill a need for something to be done.

Community believers 19%, hobbyist 27&, professionals 25 %, learning and stimulations (the rest)

Are there companies that have been able to achieve “open source mentalities” in other areas. Example from Toyota and the fire at he Korean plant of Aisin Seiki.

Centered around trust. Information symmetry/transparency. Individual learning. Shared mental models. Swarming. Its about the work and not about who you are. Meritocracy and not feudalism.

Take the look at the world though networks. Social networks, networks of interactions between people. How can work be done across traditional boundaries to benefit the company as a whole?

Case story: Key players become apparent in physicians referral networks. Which doctors refer most often to hospitals. Some key players really matters. The same thing takes place with respect to contributing to scientific research. Influence the key players and you influence the world.

Open source software projects in a company: Look for target problems or projects that have a clear objective, where individuals can make a difference, that will benefit from a lot of eyeballs, and that cross organizational boundaries.

A few ideas to consider for potential open source projects: Your product support knowledge base, IT or technology standards. your IT application portfolio.

Open source project check list:
– Global goal. A compelling collective vision.
– Individual goals. “It’s the work, stupid.”
– Peer leadership. Fact based, passionate, open and accountable
– Modularity
– Connectivity
– Work norms
– Work space
– “Call to arms.” Why this effort, why us, why now?