We are distinguished from other animals by our capacity for social learning – gaining knowledge not just from our own experience but from the experience of others – and the acquisition of such learning is immeasurably enhanced by our ability to communicate.

16: Must Companies Maximise Profits?

“Organisations have distinctive cultures and collective intelligences, and it is through these differentiating characteristics that they contribute to our economy and society.

The critical resource for a firm lies in its distinctive capabilities or distinctive combinations of capabilities.

Today the hallmark of successful business is access to collective intelligence that is not common property.

When executives deliver that routine cliché of modern management – ‘Our people are our greatest asset’ – the commercial value of the collective intelligence developed within the corporation is probably what they have in mind. The asset is the capability of individuals and teams within the business to solve problems, to devise and deliver new products and to win

the commitment of suppliers and the trust of customers. Collective intelligence is the basis of the competitive advantage of most successful corporations, and it is enshrined in its people.