Being an "Out there person"

Filed under: AOL, Business, Weblogs, Inc.

Ted pointed me to a report that profiles the "out there person" that has been showing up in organizations recently. The report says that the "out there" folks are more likely to:

Value fame as an "asset"
Willing to share certain types of sensitive information on the web
Believe it is appropriate to criticize their organizations on the web
Believe that "organizations need to be more transparent to succeed"
Believe "there's no harm in openly discussing the work I do inside my organization with others"

Obviously I agree with all those points. However, the fame part I think is a temporary thing. Folks who are open and transparent today are getting famous for their candor but in another couple of years this candor will be the norm. Folks like Scoble when he was Microsoft (he's now at Podtech), and Jeremy at Yahoo, were viewed as shocking two years ago, important this year, and in two years they will simply be the norm. That's how trends go.

Mark Cuban deserves a lot of credit for this trend as well. He's always been blunt and to the point. Some folks don't like it, sure, but most folks love it. And, at the end of the day you have to be who you are. Cuban is Cuban--that's it. He will tell you to your face that something is stupid, say it on his blog, or say it on ESPN. He will also listen to what you say and if he was wrong say "@#$%#$%, I was wrong about that one!"

So, I would add to the list another two points. Out there folks are:

#6: Willing to listen to all sides of a debate openly
#7: Willing to change their position quickly and without remorse

As Ted points out, I brought this brutal honesty to AOL and that was always the plan (Ted, Jon MIller, and Jim Bankoff very clear with me to "go for it" and not pull punches). A year after I was there folks were routinely "mixing it up" on the group listsrvs and the heroes started to emerge. The folks who cared, the folks who were engaged, and the folks who could keep up chimed in--those who couldn't stood on the sidelines.

These were flat out sparring matches and we debated major topics. One exchange that went for what seemed like 50 comments was a debate surrounding Netscape's video hosting. (As in should Netscape have it's own video hosting or should it just dump folks to AOL's video service). I argued that Netscape should have it's own video services even if there was some overlapping pieces. Others thought I was crazy and doing duplicate work (shades of peanut butter--yes). Of course, in business most answer are not right or wrong--they are 50, 60, 70, or 80% right or wrong.

That debate however let everyone know who was smart enough to be in the debate. Some jumped into the debate with weak arguments and got smacked down real quick--as they should be! If you're not able to jump in the ring and defend your position don't jump in the ring. It was great--AOL was alive with debate and deep thinking in an open platform where *anyone* could chime in--your title didn't mean a thing. Everyone involved got a serious education--including myself. After that debate the video group and I became fast friends, and the collaboration level only *increased*. Debate is great.

Anyway, the report goes on to say: "In summary, your 'Out There' people are the ones who are:

Fast followers
More flexible
Open communicators
Aspire to greatness
Looking for new, innovative ideas
In short – your future leaders

I agree with these as well. If your putting yourself out there you have to be flexible and open, and just by the fact that you are open you're gonna find innovative ideas. I will add the follow to the list. "Out there" people are:

#7 Passionate
#8 Lovers of intelligent debate
#9 Don't take themselves to seriously

Frankly, I couldn't run a business any other way. The only way to really get things done is to be out there. There is so much noise in the space, so little attention, that you're best bet for building great products is being totally honest about what you're doing and letting folks help you.

Read/Write web has some additional thoughts.

Dec 11th 2006 1:11AM
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1. Jason, your approach to the world is inspiring, and that's what first drew me in (I was a long time GG listener, and was introduced to you there). Clearly it's working for you.

Being out there, as you state, might well be on its way to becoming the fashion. As a result, it's a vehicle for creating buzz as well as street cred.

But while you've put it to good use, and others have too (such as Cuban, who I agree deserves much of the credit for bringing "open and transparent" into vogue on the net via his blog), it's not requisite for success.

I cite Steve Jobs and Apple Computer as a company that is very efficient at capitalizing on secrecy. They create buzz by keeping tight lipped. It doesn't always work in their favor, but on balance it's done more good for the company than it has hurt the company.

(To make a long post even longer, I've found it interesting that while there is a call for transparency in business, the recipe for success in politics has been quite the opposite for the last six years.)

Posted at 4:25PM on Dec 11th 2006 by Matthew

2. The "out there person" is one who values truth. They realize that in the age of the Internet, only the best will succeed. Rather than attempt to stifle intelligent and open debate, they allow it to press forward, exposing inefficiencies wherever they may exist. This type of debate is the light which drives away the darkness of ignorance. This is what makes progress possible, and is the force which will allow our Internet to flourish.

Posted at 9:48AM on Dec 12th 2006 by James Evans

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