Traditionally everything was done as a hierarchy. Decisions were pushed down from the top. What has happened in the 21st century, though, is that networks are displacing hierarchies. Fred Wilson brought this up in a blog post today and I thought it worth remembering.

Networks are replacing hierachies as we enter the information era.

I also like what William Mougayar said in a comment to the post:

I’m going to take a shot at defending this claim “Networks are replacing hierarchies as we enter the information era.” People are mis-interpreting it, because of the word “replacing”.

Maybe it’s a long shot to say “replacing” now. But Networks are emerging in parallel to existing systems. They may not be replacing them, but they are growing alongside these incumbents, and gradually taking a bigger share, such they will become more dominant over time. Networks are emerging in new areas that didn’t exist before.

So, Networks are making hierarchies less relevant, as we enter the information era.

My questions: How far can we push this? Can all systems and software be network-driven instead of hierarchical? Is the usage network or the software itself? What does network-driven software look like and can it be done for non-open source solutions? Does a focus on the network give that company an advantage over the hierarchically-oriented company? Are there places where hierarchy still wins? Can systems be both at the same time and, if so, how does an organization decide how much of each and when?

The best I can do is learn from mistakes. I will always make them.

When we released version 4.0 of powerOne, apparently, it was quite controversial. I guess I should have anticipated that since iOS 7 was so controversial and we were following Apple’s design aesthetic here. We changed colors within the app, darkened the calculator, removed lines around the buttons, etc. I and everyone I had shown it to thought it looked incredible.

Some of my customers didn’t, though.

Oh, boy, did I hear about it. Some were polite, offering constructive criticism, and some, frankly, were bordering on belligerent. I didn’t take it the wrong way, though. Their passion for our products far outweighs any negativism they could throw my way.

We reacted as quickly as we could. Each email received a prompt response, sympathizing and telling him or her that we are formulating a plan. After a few days to make sure we had much of the feedback, we developed a plan, executed that plan, and released a new version. We decided to add themes to the calculator, simplify the breadth of colors, and revert some back to the 3.0 originals. I wrote a blog post and sent it to all those who emailed, making sure they were okay with our direction before developing it. Finally, after approval yesterday and today, I emailed everyone to tell them the new versions are available.

I’ve always cared deeply about providing incredible customer service. I believe this is part of the reason our customers are so loyal. We try to respond to emails within an hour of receiving them and try to treat our customers with the respect they deserve. After all, they paid us money for our products.