Introducing: The Human Enterprise
In my new role as Software AG’s Chief Strategist, I would like to define a broad technology trend that I refer to as “The Human Enterprise”.
Taking back the word “Enterprise”
My first order of business in establishing “The Human Enterprise” is to take back the word “Enterprise”.
In the context of software, the word “Enterprise” has now officially come to mean software that sucks. Enterprise Software hit the nadir of suckitude at the launch of “Enjoy SAP” This is like the American Dental Association launching “Enjoy Root Canal”. SAP is certainly an easy target, but lets face it, “Enterprise Software” is generally a poorly integrated mess.
Working with Enterprise Software feels a bit like walking through an industrial landfill or an airport hangar. Nothing is built to human scale.
The word Enterprise used to mean an industrious undertaking requiring effort and/or boldness.
We are not beings of Pure Logic…
This weekend I went to see the movie “Star Trek”. In particular (no spoilers) I thought the performance of Zachary Quinto as the young Spock was particularly enjoyable. In an interview with Young Hollywood, he says “I think Spock experiences deeply run emotions…That is the dilemma and conflict of Spock - he cannot experience these emotions in the normal way.”
It’s a wonderful study in contrasts—Gene Roddenberry’s original view of Star Trek was an internationally heterogeneous (and intergalactically) cast all working together harmoniously in something called the “United Federation of Planets”. This model of a heterogeneous and yet federated future is a recognition that the Enterprise is constituted of a number of cultural groups or tribes, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
We are not beings of Pure Logic. Like Mr. Spock, we are mixed creatures of both passion and logic and as we learn more about Social networks through social software, we increasingly realize that we are tribal and that scalable business systems depend on leadership and federation.
Greetings Miko, appreciate your post. Note that your thinking extends beyond the “enterprise,” to encompass more generally the concept of an “endeavor.” If the focus on “business systems” has led to the bloatware one finds across many segments of the enterprise software market, it is a fine time to focus on as you say “leadership and federation,” and the “endeavor to achieve.” Semantically this may more precisely reflect the socioeconomic zeitgeist, no?
Would enjoy knowing your further thoughts, and if you’re interest have a couple more on this topic as well.
Best, Ken
Wonderful observation and absolutely concordant with my views. Leadership is potentially transcendental in that it can allow us to be a part of something bigger than ourselves–and inspire us to give up what we are asked to in order to partake. This is almost exactly the folk definition that Gartner fellow Daryl Plummer uses for Federation (what you need to give up in order to be a part of something bigger).
I’m very interested to hear what you have to say on this topic and you are very perceptive to see the larger scale implicit meaning in the phrase “The Human Enterprise”. Nicely done.
Miko