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Here's a white paper on Strategic Doing. We've also launched a new web site on Strategic Doing, where we will be collecting stories, tools and insights into how to do strategy in open networks.

Just got back from Workforce Innovations, the largest gathering of workforce development professionals in the country. With our partner, Near Time, and the Department of Labor, I participated in the launch of Innovating Networks.

Innovating Networks introduces Web 2.0 technologies to economic and workforce development professionals.

The Web 2.0 changes everything because, for the first time, anyone can leverage the interactive power of the Internet. I've included a number of videos below to give you a sense of the possibilities.

Web 2.0, of course, creates new oppportunities for building innovating networks -- clusters -- within regional economies. (In a separate post, I'll give you a briefing on what I've been doing to launch a water technology cluster in SE Wisconsin.)

The new access to a powerful Internet also challenges us to come up with new appraoches to strategy. Strategic planning was developed by large multi-divisional corporations. It works well in a command and control environment. But the process does not work well in a network. We need new practices. That's what strategic doing is all about.You can download a white paper on strategic doing attached to this post.

You can also go through the slides from my Strategic Doing workshop here.

Here's a video overview on Web 2.0.

Here's an explanation of a blog.

Here's an explanation of the power of networks and social networks. (Innovating Networks has some elements of social networking, because it makes the "people network" of economic and workforce development more visisble.)

Here's an explaination of a wiki. Innovating Networks integrates wikis with blogs in an easy to use platform.

Here's an explanation of an RSS feed, another Web 2.0 technology. RSS feeds  help you filter information quickly. Near Time's platform integrates these technologies so that you can keep up with news more easily.

Next week at Workforce Innovations, I'll be releasing a white paper on open innovation models of economic development and workforce development. I've attached a copy.

I will also be releasing a white paper on Innovating Networks. I've attached a copy of that one, as well.

There will be a third one on Strategic Doing for a session I am conducting on that topic. It's not quite ready yet. I'll post it here shortly.

Strategic Doing is a set of principles, practices and disciplines for implementing strategy in a network. Old models of strategic planning were designed for hierarchical organizations, and they do not work well.  Strategic Doing represents the alternative.

(All this material is distributed under a Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License. That means you are free to distribute and modify anything you see in the white paper for commercial or noncommercial purposes. You do not need permission. Just tell people where you got it.)

One of the major challenges we face in the years ahead will be integrating education, economic development and workforce development. The old federal programs-- many of them stretching back to the 1930's -- create turf in our regions.Defending this turf has not only wasted resources. It has also kept us from seeing new opportunities that are fast emerging for innovation.

Next week, at Workforce Innovations, a group of us will be launching Innovating Networks, a new collaborative web site. 

Innovating Networks is an online community of workforce development professionals and economic development practitioners.  This collaborative web site provides an opportunity to share best practices, success stories and all types of information using Web 2.0 tools while networking and interacting with professionals and practitioners from across the country. It's a promising initiative to bridge the divide among education, economic development and workforce development professionals. I've been working on this initiative with our Web 2.0 technology partner, Near-Time.

I-Open (the Institute for Open Economic Networks) is the non-profit spin-out organization I formed with colleagues from the Center for Regional Economic Issues at Case Western Reserve University. Near-Time and I-Open have been collaborating on a number of promising approaches to support "strategic doing" (how you do strategy in a network), Open Source Economic Development and Open Source Workforce Development.

I'll be reporting from Workforce Innovations in New Orleans next week.