It may be argued that peoples for whom philosophers legislate are always prosperous. --Aristotle
You don't need to go to business school. You don't need an MBA. Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest leaders of all times,
learned all he needed to know from the classics--especially the Bible and Shakespeare. The classics are "open source,"
meaning that they are available to all for free, and so it is that in addition to emphasizing the use of open source software
to enhance your business's bottom line, we emphasize using the classics to enhance your business's higher principles. Here's
a free publication Dr. E's been assembling: NAVIGATING AN INTERNET BUSINESS WITH A CLASSICAL
BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY. And here's the outline of a talk Dr. E regulary gives to Duke students, Classical Business Principles for Ecommerce:
Balancing Open Source and Proprietary Paradigms to Optimize Business. And here's the Authena.org project, which is
devoted to Open Source Digital Rights Management and the Business of Content. And finally, here's Homer's Open Source Odyssey
2001: Classical Computing and a Brief History of Open Source: (On Patents, Trademarks, and Business Principles).
As the philosophy of modern business is rooted in technology, it is thus rooted in open source, as all science and technology
have advanced by an
open source philosophy. If you're running a business, whether it's
a sole-proprietership, a startup, or a public company,
the contemporary marketplace demands that your strategy leverage an open source philosophy.
The mark of wisdom is to read aright the present and to march with the occasion. --Homer
The purpose of this site is to celebrate an optimal blend of time-honored traditions, such as
principled
accounting and conscientious customer-service, and the latest innovations in business and technology.
Both
proprietary and open source paradigms play invaluable rolls in successful businesses these days, and
the prudent leader must know when to select which. But even proprietary technologies, such as Micrsoft Windows and the Intel
Architecture, are built upon thousands of open source hours, given freely by scientists and engineers in the pursuit of truth
and excellence.
Although the one constant entity in business and technology is change, the philosophy which recognizes
this and continuosly strives to adapt may be constant. In the midst of continual innovation
and
evolution, there are those ever-fixed stars which must be navigated by, which are known as Truth.
Open Source adheres to these precepts, as although culture and software are always evolving, the open methods by which they
best progress remain fixed.
Business, like art and literature and academia, has not escaped postmodernization.
The once noble professions of accounting and business law have of late been tainted by the relativistic
philosophies which have bestowed upon us postmodern art and a general decline in civility. It is as if
truths no longer matter, but only that which is believed to be true.
Too often in recent
times, hype, mathematical gimmicktry, and fictional creations on the balance sheet have been passed off
as innovation
and creativity. The entrepreneur's road is a long and hard one, and too many tried to take too much
credit in walking down it, while all they were doing was hitching a ride on hype. In short, talk is cheap.
He is not wise to me who is wise in words only, but who is wise in deeds. --SAINT GREGORY
The better businesses, like the better literature, have ever been fashioned to withstand the test of
time. While the insiders and ambitious dishonest may cash out in short-term pyramid schemes passed off
as entrepreneurial ventures, the greater public is oft left holding the bag. And in the long run, the
public's faith in the institutions they invest in is eroded.
More will be added soon, and here are some articles on Open Source management:
Homer's Open Source
Odyssey: Classical Computing and a Brief History of Open Source.
Open Source Management
Myths of the Internet Economy
Outline of a talk given by Dr. Elliot
McGucken to the CPS
181s Ecommerce course at Duke University
