The Art of Losing Control

Planning and control are fundamental goals that firms pursue at considerable expense. Illustrative examples include ISO 9001, Six Sigma and ERP systems. The exploration of radical control reduction has been left to communities of loosely connected amateurs. The success of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) has shown that production models with low levels of control can be competitive. Commercial applications of these models promise competitive advantages to those who overcome the challenges of surrendering control and finding matching business models. This article outlines opportunities and risks associated with this phenomenon.