Red Hat’s Jim Whitehurst: Agencies Should Embrace Open Principles Amid Innovative Disruptions

Jim Whitehurst, president and CEO of Red Hat, wrote in an FCW commentary published Wednesday that government agencies should reassess how they operate and advance a change in culture in order to foster innovation.

“First and foremost, that means questioning the principles that drive those organizations, which are still optimized for industrial-era economies,” he wrote.

Whitehurst discussed how open principles guide organizations in their operations. He also described open organizations as institutions that can weather disruptions and adopt collaboration and transparency, among other principles, as core values.

“These organizations can act with greater agility, learn from passionate global communities, benefit from more engaged employees and stakeholders, and innovate more frequently because they’re built on values more conducive to adapting to the future rather than controlling it,” he added.

Changing the culture of a government agency requires a transformation in the culture and behavior of leaders, Whitehurst noted. He said government leaders “need to function as catalysts for constant change and become agitators who bring the right people together at the right moments to solve the right problems.”