Pilot Principles
We believe in diversity and respect.
The work and wellbeing of the Platform are strengthened profoundly by the diversity of our community and our differences in background, culture, experience, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and much more. We actively seek and welcome constructive contributions from all people, including people of color, women, the LGBTQIA community, and persons with disabilities, as well as perspectives from people across the spectrum of disciplines and methods. The roots of this deep commitment are many and, appropriately, diverse. We are very much learning how to reflect this in our practice and welcome new ideas.
We believe in collaboration.
The Platform and HBS Digital Initiative community are fundamentally built on the principle of collaboration: that everyone has something valuable to contribute, that by building on each other’s ideas we can achieve far more than any one of us could on our own, that each of us has a role to play in our community. In that spirit, we invite you to share your thoughts and questions on community norms — everything from how we comment to appropriate ways to share these ideas outside of the platform. It is important to note that as the host, common bond and the academic home of the community, HBS asserts a broad right to use in diverse ways any of the materials developed in the Platform. The idea here is not to claim all the value, but to provide maximum flexibility towards making the Platform a success.
We believe in attribution.
The nature and provenance of contributions will be wide ranging and we expect that some will be clearly associated with one person, while others will be group products. We will endeavor to recognize these ideas appropriately, crediting and respecting the rights and interests of the creators. We note again that HBS asserts a broad right to use in diverse ways any of the materials developed in the Platform.
We believe in openness.
This does not mean publicizing everything or that we cannot have more private conversations, but that we are biased toward being open due to the proven benefits of the approach. We are committed to sharing our learnings from this challenge with the world, though we aren’t yet sure of the best way to go about that. We have discussed everything from a book, co-authored by Clay and some top contributors from this challenge, to a series of articles in the Harvard Business Review, to the HBR or other blogs. We have scholarly aims and we also believe that this group can help to reorient our economy toward investments in innovation and growth. To be successful, we need to share the fruits of that work with the world.
We believe in discretion.
We recognize that there is potentially sensitive information arising from your participating in the Platform, from anonymous user data to your ideas and comments, and we will treat it in an appropriate manner that encourages involvement. As conveners, we will follow good academic practice and balance attribution with privacy for your contributions, and manage data in accordance with the HBS Privacy Policy. Participants should also use the utmost discretion when sharing accounts of the Platform to sustain the spirit of trust and inquiry that are essential to the endeavor. This shared respect will promote open and honest conversations and the insights they make possible.
We believe in experimentation.
The Platform is a new and experimental technology. We are not yet sure how it will work, where shortcomings will arise, or under which circumstances we will make surprise progress. It will be a learning experience at every level, from substance to process to platform, but above all, it will be aimed at developing novel and powerful ways to collaborate as a community. It will be anything but perfect — indeed, challenges will offer some of the most valuable lessons — but we will learn together and be all the better for it.
The Quick Version
1) We will learn: our approach will evolve with experience, we will
- refine our tools
- adapt our processes
- hone our norms
2) We will minimize barriers to participation
- we want it to be easy
- we want it to be comfortable
3) We will make engagement worthwhile by building
relationships
- understanding on the substance
- understanding of the process
- understanding of the platform
4) We will share our journey with others, learn from it and build upon it
- we will communicate within Platform and HBS
- we will communicate with the public via blogs, articles, books
- we will utilize discretion when sharing with the world
5) We will respect each other to
- build and sustain this community
- develop our capacity to collaboratively innovate
- create opportunities to implement what we learn
6) We ask you to help improve this effort now and moving forward by
- sharing thoughts and questions directly and with the group
- embracing the spirit of the Platform, even if it’s new to you
- reflecting on the Platform during and after the challenge
If you want to contribute to or clarify anything posted above, please email diplatform@hbs.edu.