Day 10: Sub-rosa and the footprint engineers

So Stockholm draws to a close and the jet engines are warming up for Munich! From one spired and gothic christmas card setting to another. I hope the gluehwein stands are up.
How lucky to run into Fredrik this afternoon. Over dinner we had a great chat and invented the word "impact engineers": the people who finely craft the entire footprint of an idea; the emotional extent of engagement (not to be confused with sapient nitro's idea engineers).
By shifting the focus from what goes into a value proposition, to what comes out of it (the footprint), you begin to appreciate all manner of avenues and emotional connections that can be made. Spinning out into the social and community imprints that are caused by products, services or simply connections around ideals, we begin to see the need for a more holistic understanding of how an idea becomes cultural currency.

This holistic view makes the concept of secrecy almost redundant. VC's and angel investors have long refused to sign NDA's when they discuss business plans with start-ups. Besides the cumulative value they get from seeing all the competitive ideas, the fact is that an idea really has no value until it is connected to people who actually do something with it. If your company is aligned around what you are trying to achieve, your team will succeed if they are more strongly bonded to making the idea happen. A competitor cannot copy the DNA of your crew's passion.

Further illustrating the point Fredrik told me about the famous Arwin poker parties in Stockholm. The burst of software successes coming out of the vodka belt owes at least part of its momentum to these events. Over smokey games of poker, competitors talk freely about their businesses ideas, challenges and needs with direct competitors. This is a truly advanced way of understanding dynamic competition (or the 90's buzzword co-optation). Historically the most successful case of competing this way, was the textile industry of Perugia (here is a really fat dissertation on the subject). In Italy, local families invest in technology that is shared with their direct competitors (who reciprocate with other high tech investments which is also shared). This reduces the overall need for investment as redundancy is eliminated through cooperative trade. The business success is not secured through some patent or secret business plan, it is secured by your ability to actually do something. And to consistently keep doing it. The ability to connect people with outcomes is the only sustainable competitive advantage.
The sub-rosa Stockholm industry shindigs fuel the debate and build a large idea imprint. If your competition begins to chase the same dream, your business value will increase. It is time for footprint engineers to come forward and build momentum through engagement, leaving isolation to the people who are overly confident that their ideas will save them.