As managers, we need to shift our thinking from command and control to coordinate and cultivate
- the best way to gain power is sometimes to give it away.
- Thomas W. Malone

We are at the dawn of a new way of working together, thanks in large part to technological advances that allow a radically superior mode of innovation than ever before. Swarm Creativity introduces a powerful new concept – Collaborative Innovation Networks, or COINs.

A Collaborative Innovation Network (COIN) is a cyberteam of self-motivated people with a collective vision, enabled by technology to collaborate in achieving an innovation by sharing ideas, information, and work. People work together in a structure that enables a fluid creation and exchange of ideas. It may look chaotic from the outside, but the structure of a COIN is like a beehive or ant colony, immensely productive because each team member knows intuitively what she or he needs to do. It is no exaggeration to state that COINs are the most productive engines of innovation ever.

COINs are powered by swarm creativity. This Web site explores why COINs are so important to business success in the new century. It explains the traits that characterize COIN members and COIN behavior. It makes the case for why businesses ought to be rushing to uncover their COINs and nurture them, and provides tools for building organizations that are more creative, productive, and efficient by applying principles of creative collaboration, knowledge sharing, and social networking.

• discover how to convert your organization into an ecosystem of Collaborative Innovation Networks by Knowledge Flow Optimization
• discover how to find Collaborative Innovation Networks using our TeCFlow (Temporal Communication Flow) visualization software
• read Peter Gloor and Scott Cooper's latest book "Coolhunting - Chasing Down the Next Big Thing"
• read Peter Gloor's book "Swarm Creativity - Competitive Advantage through Collaborative Innovation Networks"
• read the SwarmCreativity Blog

New: read an article describing "Coolhunting" in the New Scientist

New: watch Peter Gloor talking about "Coolhunting" on YouTube

New: read Scott Cooper and Peter Gloor's article "The New Principles of a Swarm Business" in the April 2007 Sloan Management Review

New: join a virtual Brownbag meeting discussing research on COINs and Dynamic Social Network Analysis

New: download Peter Gloor's keynote presentation at the 2007 IEEE Symposium on Collaborative Technologies and Systems (CTS 2007)

New: read a review of "Swarm Creativity" in HBS Working Knowledge

New: read an interview of Barbara Brynko, Editor in chief of Information Today,about Swarm Creativity

New: watch a WebCast recorded at BIF-2 about "SwarmCreativity - Reaping the Rewards of Collaborative Innovation"