Sunday, August 17, 2003
E-bay -- a dynamic self-regulating economy or overgrown flea market?
Last week, Businessweek carried a special report on the future of technology. In it, Robert D. Hof pondered the e-bay economy and its continued and astounding growth. I have used e-bay as a virtual analogy to explain the concepts behind RISC, in the sense that it too is a platform that greatly reduces transaction costs for buyers and sellers to do business. So, it was interesting to read Hof's take.
eBay's success holds potent management lessons for many businesses. In place of Stuyvesant's tyrannical approach, seemingly a model for conventional business management, Meg Whitman must take a more laissez-faire approach. It is based on cooperation and finesse, not coercion and force. To make sure eBay doesn't do something that incurs the wrath of its citizens and incites a revolt, eBay's executives work more like civil servants than corporate managers. They poll the populace through online town hall meetings and provide services to keep them happy -- and business humming.
eBay's success holds potent management lessons for many businesses. In place of Stuyvesant's tyrannical approach, seemingly a model for conventional business management, Meg Whitman must take a more laissez-faire approach. It is based on cooperation and finesse, not coercion and force. To make sure eBay doesn't do something that incurs the wrath of its citizens and incites a revolt, eBay's executives work more like civil servants than corporate managers. They poll the populace through online town hall meetings and provide services to keep them happy -- and business humming.
