Jim Whitehurst

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6 Examples Of Open Source Best Practices In Knowledge-Sharing Projects

The very effort of creating open source software is a massive knowledge-sharing experience, covering all the domains of software development with many methods and practices. Although there is rarely only one way to achieve a goal, open source communities have, over time, honed their knowledge into best practices as a natural byproduct of the open collaboration and transparency passed on within their respective communities. But what about best practices that span communities, which are useful beyond the unique needs of a single project and broadly applicable to any and all open source software efforts? I'll look at six different knowledge-sharing communities that take six approaches to gathering, maintaining, and distributing their best practices.

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A Guide to Building Trust in Teams and Organizations

My travels globally have given me a feeling for how best to work in many different contexts—like Latin America, West Africa, North Africa, and Southeast Asia, to name a few. And I've found that I can more easily adapt my work style in these countries if I focus on something that plays a role in all of them: trust. In The Open Organization, Jim Whitehurst mentions that accountability and meritocracy are both central components of open organizations. Trust is linked to both of those concepts. But the truth, I've found, is that many people don't have the information they need to determine whether they can trust a person or not. They need data, along with a system to evaluate that data and make decisions...

A New Perspective on Meritocracy

Meritocracy is a common element of open organizations: They prosper by fostering a less-hierarchical culture where "the best ideas win." But what does meritocracy really mean for open organizations, and why does it matter? And how do open organizations make meritocracy work in practice? Some research and thinking I've done over the last six months have convinced me such questions are less simple—and perhaps more important—than may first meet the eye...

A Primer on the Open Source Movement from a Health Care Perspective

Open source, in myriad forms, has emerged as a significant development model that drives both innovation and technological dispersion. Ignore it at your peril, as did the major computer companies destroyed or totally remade by Linux and free software, or encyclopedia publishers by Wikipedia, or journalists and marketers by social media. The term "open source" was associated first with free software, but it goes far beyond software now. People around the world use open hardware, demand open government, share open data, and--yes--pursue open health. The field of health, in particular, will be transformed by open source principles in software, in research, in consultations and telemedicine, and in the various forms of data sharing all these processes call for.

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Accountability Goes Both Ways

Back in 1999, when eZ Systems was founded, it became one of the first organizations to pioneer an open source business model. Years later, in 2009, a Community Board was put in place to govern and grow the community—and to implement a system of accountability that incorporated the commercial entity and the community surrounding it. I'm now Chair of that board. And as Community Manager at eZ Systems, I want to share some of my views on the relationship between the company and the board, in light of one core value of The Open Organization: accountability...

Amida Releases Enhanced Blue Button Software Component

Press Release | Amida | September 2, 2014

Amida is pleased to announce the second release of its Data Reconciliation Engine (DRE). The DRE is a Blue Button-branded software component that supports the aims of the Blue Button Initiative, a nationwide public-private effort that enables patients and consumers to gain easy access to their own health information...

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An App Competition Is Fertile Testing Ground for Open Organization Principles

It was just a typical, mundane day at school, when I happened to bump into my friend, Sheng Liang, who asked me if I was interested in participating in a competition with his friend, Li Quan. Sheng Liang has an entrepreneurial and competitive mindset, someone we usually see busy with some sort of idea or competition. So I was intrigued by his proposal. He told me about the "SIA App Challenge"—an app development competition from Singapore Airlines (SIA)—with a grand prize trip to Silicon Valley...

Jim Whitehurst Argues that Innovation Requires New Approaches to Feedback and Failure

"Organizational culture" is something plenty of people are puzzling over today, and with good reason. More and more leaders are realizing that the culture permeating and guiding their organizations will determine whether they succeed or fail. The term “organizational culture” refers to an alignment between two forces inside an organization: values and behaviors. Aligning those forces productively is one of the most difficult and important tasks facing leaders today. Customers and partners routinely tell me they want to create a "culture of innovation" in their organizations. By this, they usually mean that they want to create contexts where certain actions—those that generate new and unforeseen sources of value capable of fueling growth—are not only expected but also commonplace...

Open Business Conference Keynote: 'Open Or Die'

Matt Asay | ReadWrite.com | April 29, 2013

Taking the stage at the Open Business Conference, Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst opened the event with a provocative question: is the industry's choice to go open... or die? Whitehurst clearly has a dog in this fight, given that his company is the first open source vendor to reach $1 billion in annual revenue. Read More »

Open Education Is About Improving Lives, Not Taking Tests

While recently reading The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent and Lead, by George Couros, I was struck by the parallels between the author's thinking and that of Jim Whitehurst in The Open Organization: Igniting Passion and Performance. "Sometimes it scares me to think that we have taken the most human profession, teaching, and have reduced it to simply letters and numbers," Couros says early in the book. "We place such an emphasis on these scores, because of political mandates and the way teachers and schools are evaluated today, that it seems we've forgotten why our profession exists: to change—improve—lives." In other words education has lost it's "Why?"—and that is central to its mission...

Open Health Round-Up For 2014: Notable Articles, Reports, And Events

Even the hidebound field of health care can undergo a lot of change over the course of one year. Key health IT trends that I saw throughout 2014 are summarized in another article. Here I'll list some of the most notable articles and reports related to open source, standards, and transparency in health. Read More »

Open Source Software's Implications Beyond Software

Jim Whitehurst, CEO of Red Hat, was sporting his awesome red shoes as he spoke to a crowded room at All Things Open last week. During his keynote on Day 1, he talked about how open source is a key part of the open organization, but what we're all looking to achieve has implications far beyond software. Jim began his keynote by explaining why there is a need for the principles of open source in business. If we think of the world we come from and the world we are coming into we see that there is a long line of change...

OSEHRA 2014 Announces Speakers for Open Source Summit

Press Release | OSEHRA | June 4, 2014

OSEHRA is excited to announce the confirmed speakers for the Opening Session of the 2014 Open Source Summit: Global Collaboration in Health IT! Keynote speakers for the 3rd Annual Summit, to be held September 3-5 at the Bethesda, Maryland North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, include: Read More »

OSEHRA 2014 Announces Sponsors for its Open Source Summit

Press Release | OSEHRA | August 7, 2014

The Open Source Electronic Health Record Alliance (OSEHRA) is excited to announce the confirmed sponsors for the 2014 Open Source Summit: Global Collaboration in Health IT to be held September 3-5 at the Bethesda, Maryland North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. Read More »

OSEHRA 2014 Summit Shows the Future for Open Source EHR's— US Government IT Procurement

The recent 2014 OSEHRA Open Source Summit: Global Collaboration in Healthcare IT, held September 3-5 in Bethesda, MD, was a huge success and clearly marks a watershed moment for open source health information technology (HIT), as well as a transformation in the way that US government agencies procure technology. The Summit featured more than 120 speakers addressing 90 separate sessions over three days. According to Seong K. Mun, President and CEO of OSEHRA, “this Summit demonstrated solid growth in both the depth and breadth of the OSEHRA Community.” Read More »