What can we learn from Coke?

Coca-Cola Company recently announced that it has created a new type of fountain vending machine that will give consumers unprecedented choices in creating their own beverages. The new machines, called Freestyle, allow people to mix and match in ways that the old six spigot machines can't match. A brief description of the machines and what they represent as technology can be found here.

Bob Evans, a columnist for Information Week, opined this week that there are six lessons that corporate chief information officers can learn from the creating of this new machine. These six lessons apply equally to library officers. The lessons include understanding where the choke points are across your demand chain; effective internal collaboration; keeping in touch with your funders; product co-creation with your users; external collaboration; and being at the table when new ideas are being considered within your environment.

Mr. Evans's full article is here.