Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy―and How to Make Them Work for You

by Geoffrey G. Parker

SELF-GOVERNANCE RULES FOLLOWED BY INTEL ARCHITECTURE LABS IN LAUNCHING THE USB STANDARD 1. Give customers a voice in key decisions. Use a separate business unit, with a “Chinese wall,” to handle conflicting agendas. 2. For trusting relationships, open standards must remain open. 3. Treat IP [intellectual property] fairly, yours and theirs. 4. Communicate a clear road map and stick to it. Commitments to act or not act must be credible. 5. Reserve the right to enter strategically important markets with notice. Don’t surprise people and don’t play favorites with news. 6. In case of big investments, share risk and bet your own money. 7. Do not promise to not change the platform. Do promise early notice. Have skin in the game, so change bites the platform, not just the partner. 8. It’s okay to offer differential benefits to partners with differentiated assets. Just make sure everyone understands how to qualify. 9. Promote the long-term financial health of partners, especially smaller ones. 10. As the business matures, decisions increasingly favor outward progression from core platform, to complements, to new businesses that cannibalize the platform.