Public policy formulation based on consulting self-defined ‘stakeholders’ is
dangerous and inhibits progress and innovation
We, the scribes, know ALL about
document reproduction, and we are
perfectly placed to advise the King and
the Pope on how Mr Gutenberg’s great
invention should be deployed
We, agree, as the parchment makers, we
too are ‘stakeholders’ in this great new
technology – so we will make sure that the
King and the Pope know how best to deploy
Mr Gutenberg’s great invention
And don’t forget us – the Quill makers
– not to mention the goose farmers
who rely on us. We agree with the
other stakeholders that this invention
is safe in our hands
Johannes Gutenberg : (1432)
“The philosophy of the divine right of kings died hundreds of years ago, but not, it seems, the divine right of inherited markets. Some people still believe there’s a divine
dispensation that their markets are theirs – and no one else’s - now and for evermore. It is an old dream that dies hard, yet no businessman in a free society can control a market
when the customers decide to go somewhere else. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men are helpless in the face of a better business model. Our commercial history is filled
with examples of companies that failed to change with a changing world and became tombstones in the corporate graveyard.”
Walter B. Wriston, Chairman of Citicorp (1981)
“Like any mature organism, incumbent telecoms service providers whose business model served the world so well for a century by delivering global telecommunication, have a
vested interest in ‘trying to make tomorrow like yesterday’ to ensure the survival of their entrenched business model. Regulators, public policy makers and politicians have no
moral or political authority from the citizens to assist them in succeeding.
Malcolm Matson : OpenPlanet Limited (November 2015)
[email protected]
Having consulted the many stakeholders
about how best we can bring the benefits of
Mr Gutenberg’s wonderful new
technological innovation to our people, we
have conclusion that they are able to do this
by using the printing press to increase their
output by printing their invoices.