Ask me who I think the corporate leader is in elearning and I'd say IBM. Why? Their name comes up in publications, white papers and journals frequently and members of their training team work as journal reviewers.

Is everything they create really innovative and outstanding? I have no idea. I've never actually seen anything they've built, and I've certainly not seen everything they've built.

But by giving away some of their ideas and sharing with the wider community they've built a reputation (in my mind at least).

Here's another example. Citrix runs webinars of virtual training all of the time. I attended a couple and then read the Toolkit for the Virtual Classroom. It was OK. Then I attended a training with one of our virtual trainers and looked at the Vitrual Toolkit. Ours were better, hands down. But, they are gaining a reputation as experts by sharing (for free). We are not.

There was a time that a product could be built once, and the sold again and again. You came up with a good idea and sold the product.

I think that has changed. Now, you come up with a good idea, develop the product, and then give it away ( or at least a version of it) for free. Why? Because the product is no longer what has the value.

Instead, the value is in the innovation and problem-solving that came up with it - the ability to have another good idea. Getting recognized for having that good idea, also encourages you to come up with another one, a better one.