For those who know what “open source” means, the very concept isn’t alone what spurs excitement, but the potential held within that concept. For those who aren’t entirely sure what open source means, this post is for you.

Wikipedia defines open source as follows:

“Open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product’s source materials—typically, their source code.”

In the past, software and web organizations focused on getting the end product to the consumer, then periodically charging for newer versions or iterations of the same software. In the past bunch of years, however, an excellent shift in this model has started to reach critical mass, whereby lots of organizations are starting to treat their initial release of a product as simply that: the starting point. By sharing the blueprints behind the software, these organizations provide users worldwide with the ability to modify, adapt, and enhance the software as they see fit.

Instead of relying on a software development team within the walls of one organization, companies receive input from thousands of people around the world. Additionally, these external contributors become strong advocates and highly active users of the particular software. High-engagement users doubling as programmers, ultimately makes for one very useful piece of software.

Several companies have used this approach and become very successful. Linux, Apache, OpenOffice, Firefox, and, more recently, Google have been embracing all that is open. The other week, in fact, Firefox celebrated their fifth anniversary by posting this video:

The best part about the open source approach is that it doesn’t have to be limited to software. An example of someone that knows this well is Rob McEwen, former Chairman and CEO of Goldcorp. Way back in 2000 he decided to share his blueprints with the world, but instead of releasing code for programmers, he sent out mining and sample data to geologists. This was a great move on his part as the insights gained helped transform an underperforming mining site to one of the most profitable properties in the industry.

Put simply: don’t let the almost instinctive traditional “need” for secrecy blind your organization to the possibilities that exist with true global collaboration. What else do you think you could do if you tried implementing a few of the open principles?