Executive Thought Leadership

The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos is a gathering I look forward to every year. It is an opportunity to exchange viewpoints with a diverse and inspiring group of leaders who, as the Forum’s slogan indicates, are “committed to improving the state of the world.”

This year’s meeting was of particular significance because of its focus on “The Power of Collaborative Innovation,” a trend we’ve been discussing for several years at Cisco. I believe the rise of collaboration and the technologies that enable it—something many call “Web 2.0”—is the most important market transition since the initial rise of the Internet in the 1990s. And I see collaboration and Web 2.0 technologies fueling the next phase of productivity, business models and innovation.

The World Economic Forum is the epitome of this collaboration trend, bringing hundreds of business, political and NGO leaders together to collaborate on solutions to some of the world’s most pressing social, political and business issues. While at this year’s Forum, we had the opportunity to talk with dozens of CEOs, heads of state and other key government leaders about important topics like globalization, the economy, climate change, education, and how technology can help address these opportunities and challenges.

This issue of Thoughtleaders takes a deeper look at the impact of these trends, examining the ways in which collaboration and Web 2.0 are transforming business and society. Renowned organizational theorist Professor Thomas W. Malone, the founding director of MIT’s Center for Collective Intelligence and the author of The Future of Work (Harvard Business School Press, 2004), shares his thoughts in an interview that starts on page 3. Additionally, among other executive and research perspectives, I share my own thoughts in “The Promise of Collaboration,” which was originally published in conjunction with the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting.

At Cisco, we believe collaboration and its enabling technologies have the potential to unleash an era of productivity and prosperity beyond what we have previously experienced. I hope you find this issue of Thoughtleaders valuable in your efforts to understand and harness the power of collaboration.