Keynote: Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones - Simon Wardley, Researcher, Leading Edge Forum
Channel: The Linux Foundation
Date: 2017-02-17

Keynote: Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones - Simon Wardley, Researcher, Leading Edge Forum

Deng Xiaoping once described managing the economy as crossing the river by feeling the stones—in other words have a direction but be adaptive. But in a world of constant change, how do you determine the right thing to do? Which pebble to tread on? How do you understand where you’re going and where you need to go? How do you know if your strategy is right? Is there even such a thing?

Simon Wardley examines the issue of situational awareness and explains how it applies to the world of open source. Using examples from government and the commercial world, we explore how you can map your environment, identify opportunities to exploit, and learn to play the game. 

About Simon Wardley
Simon Wardley, based in the UK, is a Researcher for the Leading Edge Forum and the lead practitioner for the Wardley Maps advisory service helping clients anticipate market and ecosystem developments.Simon’s focus is on the intersection of IT strategy and new technologies, and he is the author of multiple reports including Clash of the Titans – Will China Dethrone Silicon Valley? where he assesses the hi-tech challenge from China and what this means to the future of global technology industry competition. His previous research covers topics including Of Wonders and Disruption, The Future is More Predictable Than You Think - A Workbook for Value Chain Mapping, Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts: Strategies for an Increasingly Open Economy, Learning from Web 2.0 and A Lifecycle Approach to Cloud Computing.Simon is a seasoned executive who has spent the last 15 years defining future IT strategies for companies in the FMCG, Retail and IT industries. From Canon’s early leadership in the cloud computing space in 2005 to Ubuntu’s recent dominance as the #1 Cloud operating system.As a geneticist with a love of mathematics and a fascination in economics, Simon has always found himself dealing with complex systems, whether it’s in behavioural patterns, environmental risks of chemical pollution, developing novel computer systems or managing companies. He is a passionate advocate and researcher in the fields of open source, commoditization, innovation, organizational structure and cybernetics.Simon is a regular presenter at conferences worldwide, and has been voted as one of the UK's top 50 most influential people in IT in Computer Weekly's 2012 and 2011 polls.