What if all companies, or organizations, worried a little less about themselves?

What if companies instead worried about the impact they could have and how to speed progress towards that goal?

It appears Tesla Motors has done just that. Take a look at the post on their blog where they say, “All our patents belong to you”. They take the stand that battling the problems underlying carbon emissions is much bigger than they could directly affect. Instead they want to encourage others to join in the battle. And join by using Tesla’s intellectual capital.

Technology leadership is not defined by patents, which history has repeatedly shown to be small protection indeed against a determined competitor, but rather by the ability of a company to attract and motivate the world’s most talented engineers. We believe that applying the open source philosophy to our patents will strengthen rather than diminish Tesla’s position in this regard.

Now I highly doubt there are any of the big automobile manufacturers who could even come close to offering something as cool. But … now they can’t say they don’t know how.

tesla-roadster Is freeing up the intellectual storehouse enough?

What would it look like if your own company took the same approach? Would you have a larger impact? Would it actually be a good strategic move?

Time will tell. But for now a Tesla remains on my want-list.

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