What is the best way to find something? What’s the fastest and most efficient way to get something done? Using the internet and social networks?

Those are some of the questions asked in a recent DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Network Challenge competition. All around the country the Pentagon hid (in plain sight) 10 eight-foot diameter red balloons. One was in Union Square in my nearby San Francisco. Then DARPA offered a $40,000 prize for the group that first found all ten.

The winners were the M.I.T. Media Lab’s Human Dynamics Group. They didn’t use GPS, they used email, Facebook and YouTube. Basically, they offered to pay money to people with leads. The effort spread virally through the Internet and the team located all ten balloons in an amazing eight hours and 56 minutes!

Can crowdsourcing to your networks help you achieve your goals faster?

Preparing for the future starts with re-thinking your present model for sustainability. While the prospect may not be staring you in the face, there are likely several interesting partnerships your organization could consider that would enable it to more effectively meet its mission – perhaps in ways you have not yet imagined.

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