Back in the Box

And that's a crucial link. For as customers are invited into the culture of a company, they voluntarily and enthusiastically join the innovation effort as well. Companies as varied as Adobe software and John Fluevog Shoes use the Web to bring customers into the development process. Fluevog fans submit shoe designs online, some of which actually are turned into products, while Adobe Photoshop's best "plug-in" features are programmed by users and then uploaded to a special community site.

Most businesses are too confused about the value they actually offer to wrap their heads around the notion that everyone--customers, employees, and even shareholders--is just looking for a way to join in an enterprise that someone cares about. If you have even just a vague memory of what it is you and your company actually do, this should come as a tremendous relief. Get back in the box. You may find it difficult to remember why you were trying to get out.

Douglas Rushkoff is a professor of communications at New York University whose book, Get Back in the Box: Innovation From the Inside Out (CollinsBusiness), is due out this month.