What if you got this message from a friend? What does it mean? And why was it “sent from iPhone”? It means that an organization’s culture has reached the point where, using tools like wikis, “individuals contribute to both the work and the art of the organization, then it is something they will tell their friends about.” It was sent from an iPhone because the person’s employer empowered them to choose the best tools for their needs. That’s how the organization of the future is going to work.

Apple has a long history of introducing products that start out simple, and maintain their simplicity of interaction even as they add more functionality. iPhone started out simple and will grow more feature rich over time, as both Apple and 3rd party developers create new tools for it.

That’s the formula for a successful, highly-used tool that people rave about.

The key thing is that it happens gradually. This gradual growth means that people have time to get used to the platform, contribute to it, and help influence its future growth.

Likewise, wikis start out simple and grow more information rich over time, as contributors add information to existing pages, create new pages, and gradually evolve the structure to keep the stable of information organized and easy to access. What makes them better than traditional enteprise tools is that they don’t force a rigid, rule-based system on people. People are in control.

“People understand control in a very serious way, and they know when they have it and when they do not.”

Wikis give people control, and the ability to not just make meaningful contributions to organizations, but be recognized as the source of meaningful ideas and contributions:

“Front line employees, having access to the same knowledge and data (which was previously locked up), will contribute to the high-level decisions of executives through rapid feedback loops and clued-in executives will not react to obvious needs but will co-opt them.”

We all understand wealth in a similar fashion, and we know who is reaping the wealth from our work. When enterprise software generates returns for the user in the same way that it generates returns for the enterprise, then users will feel delighted. Whether it is more personal interaction, a sense of control or more personal time, the changes that will be noticed will not be in interfaces or firewalls, but in the actual everyday life of the user.

I use both a wiki and an iPhone every day.

Check out my new Wikipatterns book – a how-to guide for growing wiki use in organizations with practical advice from a wiki expert. (That’s me!)

Here’s what people are saying about the book:

• “Create an idea-sharing environment where incomplete can be linked together and from this, solutions emerge.” – From the book’s Foreword, by Ward Cunningham
• “I’m going to recommend this without even reading it! Should be an e2.0 must-read top-shelfer…” – Susan Scrupski
• “Just pre-ordered this from Amazon. Looks to be a good read and an essential tool in any E2.0 evangelist’s tool kit.” – Scott Gavin
• “I love it when this happens, a blog I’ve read for ages (devoured some would say) gets published in book format. Needless to say my copy is already ordered.” – Gordon McLean