I must confess I do not read that many business-focused books. Currently, I’m reading two books about cooking and listening to a sci-fi audiobook (Artemis). I’m typically reading about the US food system, sci-fi or memoirs (especially ones where someone drastically changes their life for a year).  Every so often though books outside that genre catch my attention. The Open Organization was just one such book.

I’m always a fan of a “stranger in a strange” land approach to looking at something so Jim Whitehurst’s look at Redhat after being an executive at a much more traditional organization (Delta Airlines) peaked my interest. I participated in weekly Twitter chats each about a book chapter and saw other people’s views on ways to operate in an open org. Since becoming involved in OpenStreetMap I’ve become particularly interested in new ways that people can work together. It being distilled into practical approaches was useful as I continued on my own open journey.

A few months ago there was a call for proposals for case studies for a new book called the Open Organization Workbook. Heather Leson and I proposed to write a chapter focused on OpenStreetMap. This past week our chapter and the entire book was released under an open license for all to read. I feel privileged that I not only had the opportunity to share my knowledge but also collaborate with a great co-author. I hope you all enjoy it.