“By organizations embracing and encouraging innovation, that really doesn’t equate to every factory worker walking off the line and putting on a lab coat. That would no doubt be asinine. Building Innovation cultures come in many flavors (see this by Hutch Carpenter on the many incarnations). It really means opening up the participatory funnel on not only suggesting but more importantly, refining the good ideas and getting the kinks out. In practical terms this means getting the big brains hidden in the corners of your enterprise to contribute unique data points (validation, rebuttals, refinement, oversight) to remove risk and enrichen outcomes.”

That last bit sent me head whirling around a bunch of conversations I’ve been having lately (with everyone from Liz Pearce at Liquid Planner to Nathan Gilliat to Larry Hawes to Jay Goldman over at Rypple). The common thread is this: whether it’s project management, social media tools, feedback management, community management — whatever — what we’re really trying to do isn’t just to create some “emergent atmosphere for collaboration,” it’s to get mechanisms in place that create feedback loops into EVERY SINGLE STEP along the value chain (product management, partner management, channel management, sales management, customer management, etc).

Sameer’s point then is key: by creating feedback loops along the value chain, what we’re actually doing is lowering the risk associated with decision points. And when you can lower the risk of any decision in an appreciable way, and then manage that risk in a unified fasion, what you (theoretically) get is a business that fails less and succeeds more. Bottom-line: you get a business that is more profitable because it makes fewer mistakes.

This tact seems to me to be so much grounded, and oddly, strategic than simply focusing on collaboration. Collaboration is kinda squishy. Creating feedback loops at decision points in the value chain to lower decision-risk — THAT is a goal=foucsed outcome that makes sense. That is something you can sink your teeth into.

It’s this kind of “grounded yet strategic” approach that I’m asking (demanding) from all of the defrag breakout sessions. I think it’s gonna work out well.

As always, join us.

1. In a discussion this morning, I talked through two sales models in the “e2.0″ space — one, wherein non-IT people sign up for accounts, and the vendor then approaches IT about signing up for a comprehensive license; one wherein, the vendor uses more traditional enterprise sales methods to sell directly to IT.

2. Then, I commented on Fred Wilson’s blog about “enterprise software” being a contrarian investment. Fred agreed, but added that they won’t invest in anything where “IT is the gatekeeper.”

Taken together, those threads start to point to something interesting: In the past, enterprise software sales has been a top down, “get IT to buy-in” kind of sale. Increasingly — because of open source and SaaS delivery models — enterprise software sales has become a bottom-up, “well, they’re already using it, so we’d better sign a license” kind of sale.

I first began to notice this back when I was starting/running SaaScon– the sponsors didn’t WANT enterprise IT guys there. They weren’t the customers. They wanted line of business decision makers in HR, marketing, sales, whatever.

It also makes me think that the 25 million that it used to take to start an enterprise IT company is dropping because the structure of the sales channel/force is changing - radically.

The funny thing is, I think that — completely inadvertently — a great majority of the Defrag sponsors use the “bottom-up/grassroots” method. And…all of this is making me really look forward to the Enterprise Irregular sessions on the economics of modern software.

1. We’re working our asses off over here to make this Defrag better than ever.

2. If you haven’t been to a Defrag, you really owe it to yourself to come check us out.

3. If you’re in “enterprise 2.0″ space and haven’t been to a Defrag, you REALLY owe it to yourself to come check us out.

4. Don’t believe me? Just ask around.

Let’s close the week out this way: Register today (super early bird rate), and you could win a 2nd Defrag ticket for free. That’s right - register today (by 10pmMST), and over the weekend, I’ll pick one registration that I’ll then give a 2nd ticket to Defrag togratis.

But wait there’s more! (Can you hear my TV commercial voice?)

Register today, and you’ll get the most coveted of invites: the chance to hang out w/ me, Kim and the staff when the conference ends. That’s right - at the end of every conference, we pull up a table in the bar, languish in our exhaustion and enjoy the fruits of our labors (ie, liquor). Register today, and you’ll be hanging with us (while I pick up the tab). This is your chance to see me at my most vulnerable: exhausted and consuming alcohol.

And there’s still more….

Register today and if you’re around the morning of November 16th, you can come golfing with us (you have to pay for your own round, though). We’ve got this little known, new tradition happening the day before shows at the Omni Interlocken - we golf. Early. Badly. With no concern for weather. Wanna meet the Defrag staff out on the golf course? Register today, and we’ll assemble groups of four to head out on the Omni’s awesome course.

I’ll throw more stuff in as it comes to me….but you get the point: Register Today.

A little over a month ago, the idea arose that the EI’s might bring some content to Defrag. And, after some discussion (internally for them, and between their side and me), we’ve decided we both love the idea.

And so, it is with great fanfare that I’m pleased to announce that the Enterprise Irregular’s first ever “content track” will be taking place at this year’s Defrag. Steve Mann (the driving organizer behind this) and I have discussed the broad themes they’ll be addressing, and we’ve narrowed it down to “The Platform Shift” (you know what that’s about), and “The Economics of Modern Software.”

The EI’s are some of the smartest people I know, and having them bring their unique, seasoned perspective to Defrag is going to up the bar to an even higher standard. Now, in addition to everything you would’ve received by attending Defrag, you can throw in the added benefit of a track of content from the Enterprise Irregulars.

If this is all starting to seem a bit overwhelming (in a good way), that’s because it is. Here’s how Defrag’s shaping up:

The day before Defrag starts (November 16th), Ben Kepes is organizing an unconference (at the Defrag hotel) called Technology4Good — focused on using technology to bring about positive change in our world.

The night before Defrag we have our now traditional pre-conference dinners — where space is EXTREMELY limited and always goes very fast (and the only way in is to register for defrag).

The first morning of Defrag will bring keynoters like Jeff Jonas (Chief Scientist, IBM), Dr. Michael Wesch (Digital Anthropologist, Kansas State University), Dr. Paul Kedrosky (King of the CNBC airwaves, financial dude extraordinaire), Esther Dyson (she needs no introduction), Scott Porad (Cheezeburger Network), and Vinnie Mirchandani (to talk visualization of data and the National Hurricane Center) to stage.

The first afternoon of Defrag will offer breakout sessions around analytics and BI, interfaces, the adoption gap, semantic filtering, and the EI track.

The second morning of Defrag brings keynoters like David Weinberger (The Cluetrain Manifesto), Alex Wright (author of Glut), Stowe Boyd, Vivek Wadhwa (of BusinessWeek, TechCrunch and Duke University), and JP Rangaswami (Information as seen through the eyes of a Foodie) to the stage. While Defrag’s second afternoon will cover everything from mobility to the social customer to the importance of APIs to project management.

Did I mention that I’m not even CLOSE to done with the agenda? There are still more keynoters, sessions and networking events to be added.

Bottom-line: We’ve worked really hard over the last three years to build a good reputation with Defrag, but this year’s Defrag is going to put the past year’s conferences to shame.

And it’d be a real shame if you didn’t come and contribute your voice to our conversation.

You simply will not find a more intellectually stimulating, high-powered, intimate gathering of brains this fall — now with the added benefit of the Enterprise Irregulars. I hope you’ll choose to join us.

Be sure to REGISTER TODAY, as super early bird pricing expires tomorrow evening.

I asked Paul to shoot me a paragraph about his keynote at Defrag. He sent over this:

===

Monkeys and Typewriters and Data

We have instrumented the planet. From webcams, to sensors, to servers, to satellites, we collect more data, on more things — at more times and in more places — than ever before. From Chinese electrical consumption, to Lake Havasu water levels, to Amazon web traffic, to iPhone backorder times, we have it all.

But given enough data, there will always, even if by chance, seem to be something wrong, something right, and something doing nothing at all. How do we tell the difference? Let’s talk about how we keep all these monkeys and typewriters with data from screwing up the world.

===

As I was receiving that, I was on the phone with Esteban Kolsky. We were talking about how data has become commoditized, and in some ways - useless. Every piece of technology generates more data at a greater volume and velocity - and our ability to process and analyze that data is reaching dizzying speeds. In essence, if I can gather the data to argue the sky is green (to 99% certainty), and you can simultaneously gather the data to argue the sky is blue (to 99% certainty) — then what GOOD is the data?

More pointedly, how do we (and business) know what “objective” measures must be in place to help us determine what we consider valid insight, and what we consider just “analytics” (ie, data that can be massaged to say anything). It’s actually a *philosophical* discussion at some level.

Is it possible that we need to make our organizations *dumber*? Is it possible that when infinite amounts of data can be crunched by ever increasing numbers of people, we’re actually entering a *dangerous* place? What if “transparency” has nothing to do with “intelligence” - and too much “intelligence” (analytics, not insight) is a bad thing? And who the hell gets to make these judgements anyway?

Defrag: working hard to make your head spin.

Come drown in data with us, while we design what life-rafts should look like. Join us.

If we look at the current economic situation (from my admittedly, U.S.-centric viewpoint), we find ourselves in a world where a massive amount of liquidity has been pumped into the system (via the actions of the Fed and other central banks). Companies (technology and otherwise) are now sitting on a massive amount of cash in the face of fears around economic recovery, and as I’ve pontificated over the past few weeks, we’re going to see a huge M&A surge heading into year’s end (before cap gains taxes increase substantially around these transactions). Just this morning, we see over 2 billion in M&A transactions (Intel and 3M).

One of the great debates raging in macro-circles is around deflationary vs. inflationary cycles. And so, I read with great interest this blog that Phil shot my way over the weekend. In “The Techn-Sponge” the blogger (I can’t seem to find this guy/gal’s name) asserts that the technology sector (via Moore’s law) is having two effects:

1) as 1.5% of the world’s GDP, the tech sector’s march via Moore’s law (where the price for similar functionality gets halved every 18 months) is soaking up all of the excess liquidity that has been pumped into the system

2) the second order derivative of that is an increase in the rate of productivity gains (via - the tech sector)

In plain speak: all of the money and low interest rates that SHOULD have kick-started the economy and effectively brought real inflation back is being “sucked up” because of the very nature of the tech sector itself (a sector which plans for and KNOWS that falling prices — ie, deflation — is the order of the day).

The blogger goes on to assert: “We have never had a significant technology sector while also facing the fears (warranted or otherwise) of high inflation.”

His (or her?) final assertion is that the only way from dropping into dangerous deflationary territory is to start up the printing press again and keeping injecting trillions into the economy until we see inflation.

Now, I’m not sure about his conclusion (which is to say that I’m willing to question the magnitude of the effects that he asserts), but I’m fascinated by the idea that something structural changed with the rise of the tech sector - and that structural change is directly related to the productivity boom. To be fair, TONS of people (from Mary Meeker to Thomas Friedman) have theorized about structural economic changes (related to worldwide tech growth) - that is certainly nothing new. What I like here is the direct tie to tech being a deflationary force that has set up its own positive feedback loop.

So, if this guy is even half right, what does this all mean? A few guesses:

1. Unemployment in double digits is just a symptom of this deflationary environment we live in (the “new normal” - ugh).

2. Our beloved tech sector (and all of its SaaS-y, e.20, cloudy goodness) is soaking up all of the liquidity that would normally lead to inflation (and lower unemployment). And the continuing productivity gains that we’re all making our living selling will just make sure that it stays that way.

3. Tech product cycles can only get faster (in a deflationary environment the only way for tech companies to maintain price points is to release new products at a faster and faster rate).

4. “Collaboration” (ie, e.20, social software) will hit a cycle where we see some sort of productivity jump (a leap) that coincides with mainstream adoption.

5. The deflationary force that is the baby boomers layers on top of all of this and makes it more than likely that the debt-to-GDP worriers (John Mauldin) are right — we don’t see another secular bull market until 2017-2020.

Bottom-line: in some strange way, we (the tech sector) are the architects and perpetuators of this low growth, no inflation, rising productivity era we find ourselves in.

Which I suppose is better than the alternative. Maybe I’ll just start referring to this as the Sponge Bob economy (hat tip: “the techno-sponge”).

By the way, wanna chat more about deflation, collaboration, markets, innovation cycles, baby boomers and other goodness — join us at Defrag — the super early bird rate expires this Friday.

I’ve barely got an outline of an agenda up, but you can at least know this: the keynoters include Esther Dyson, Michael Wesch (digital anthropologist, KSU), Paul Kedrosky (on data, markets and highway debris), Jeff Jonas (chief scientist, IBM on “organizations are getting dumber and it’s IT’s fault”), JP Rangaswami (”information as seen through the eyes of a foodie”), David Weinberger (of Cluetrain fame), Alex Wright (author of Glut; on “oral culture in social networks”), Stowe Boyd (on Community), Vivek Wadhwa (on Innovation), and topics that span analytics, semantic data, collaboration, social CRM, feedback and product management,  and APIs. Plus, I’m most likely adding two awesome keynote speakers this week.

In short, missing out on this is just gonna be silly, as I don’t think you’ll find a more influential collection of tech minds this fall.

The price is right right here, and it only goes higher — so use the code “eb1″ and take an additional 10% off of The Worm.

Update: Vinnie Mirchandani, author of The New Polymath, has signed on for keynoting Defrag. Vinnie will be addressing analytics and data visualization in a polymath world.

As I’ve said before, I’m a startup guy. I have two business mantras that I live by: 1) always be starting; and 2) always be closing. I take those to mean that you can never reach a place where you’re just “turning the crank” on an existing product/solution because just doing that is actually losing ground, and whatever the case, you’d better be thinking revenue 25/366.

Defrag, I think, reflects the strong entrepreneurial bias that we (Brad, Phil, Me, and Kim) bring to the table. Even our “big sponsors” are actually small entrepreneurial groups inside of the big Co’s — folks that are, by and large, all about disruption. Beyond the big guys, Defrag is built with the help of startups in varying stages.

But it goes deeper than sponsors. Our agenda has such a strong subtext of entrepreneurial spirit that almost every topic or talk screams “I’ve got this brand new thing that’s gonna change the world.”

Further, we’re going to be offering 15 “entrepreneurial scholarships” to Defrag this year: full conference passes for 15 entrepreneurs. Details to follow, but I suspect the requirements will be something along the lines of “pre-Series A” and blah blah blah.

Bottom-line: the topic at defrag is the tools and technologies that can be used to deal with the data deluge, but the context and subtext for defrag is entrepreneurism. If you’re not an entrepreneur inside of your company (big or small), I really don’t know why you’d come to Defrag. If you are an entrepreneur inside of your company (big or small), you’ll find yourself right at home and learning/interacting a TON. Join us.

Prior to running conferences, I ran marketing for a startup (Ping Identity). Ping was very successful while I was there (and is, in fact, still very very successful; disclosure: I still own shares), and I’d like to think I had something to do with that. But that “something” wasn’t because I was inherently good at marketing (the process of marketing). It’s because I had really really good teachers.

My teachers included Chris Locke and Doc Searls (co-authors of The Cluetrain Manifesto), Steve Larsen (who’s done more internet marketing for more big name tech companies than you’ll ever remember), and industry veterans who ran marketing for Rational Software, RSA Security, and Macromedia — not to mention all of the people in my network that I learned from along the way.

I learned a lot from those teachers. And I like passing it on. So that’s what I’m gonna do.

Here’s the special offer: Somewhere out there is a startup that’s landed their seed round, or is on the verge of Series A, or a product launch, or something. They’ve done the market testing, built the product, done some fundraising, landed some customers — the early stuff. What they haven’t done is bring consistency and organization to their marketing. They need a messaging platform. They need to understand how that messaging platform translates into campaigns, leads, qualified leads, sales process, and predictable revenue funnels.

That’s not a small thing. It’s actually a really daunting thing. Especially if you’re one of the founders or early employees and you’re suddenly facing a board that’s wondering how you’re gonna pull this one off.

So, the offer is this: Become a Silver Sponsor for Defrag and you’ll get me for free.

Here’s what I mean: Sign up as a silver sponsor for Defrag, and between now and November 17th - we’ll work together on your messaging platform, on marketing campaigns/plans for 2011, and on how to translate all of that into repeatable, consistent revenue. Together we’ll build your messaging, do the copywriting (and I ain’t talking patents), figure out the campaigns (goals, spend, metrics), work the creative, and lay out the plan that gets you to point X on a budget of Y. Basically, you spend 10k to be at Defrag, and I’ll throw in 10k worth of marketing consulting (and we’ll use Defrag as a platform).

Am I gonna do this for more than one startup? Hell no. I don’t have the time or energy.

Do I think this can jumpstart the marketing for your company? Absolutely.

And here’s the ultimate kicker: If you’re not happy with the results of my (free) consulting services, I’ll give you the same level of sponsorship at Defrag 2011 FOR FREE.

Let’s recap:

1. Become a Silver sponsor at Defrag.

2. Get Eric’s marketing services for free from now until Defrag.

3. Jumpstart your startup marketing.

4. If you’re not happy with the result of the plans we put together, get the same level of sponsorship for Defrag 2011 for free.

At which point, you’re wondering: Why is he doing this? He must just suck at marketing. Go ahead - ask around. Call the CEO of Ping Identity (andre) and ask him (ok, he’s gonna kill me for that one).

The reason I’m doing this is simple: I got this weird inspiration to do so last night, and if I’ve learned one thing in my 38 years on this planet it’s this — I don’t fight moments of weird inspiration.

So - who wants it? Ping me enorlin AT mac.com.

(man, it’ll be a real blow to the ego if no one takes this…)

Update: Mike Maney (@thespin_md on twitter) has offered up some of his personal PR wizardry as part of the deal.

Update 2: Ben Kepes (@benkepes) is throwing his hat in the ring as well - offering up “word smithery” as need be. That means that you sponsor Defrag and get the combined marketing/PR/copywriting services of THREE seasoned startups dudes. There’s only one question left: do you have the guts?

Update 3: And Krish Subramanian is on board as well. That means you now get me (messaging platforms/campaign planning), Mike Maney (PR), Ben Kepes (copywriting) and Krish Subramanian (User Experience) all in with the silver sponsorship. And don’t forget - if it doesn’t work, I give you another Silver in 2011 for free. #totalsteal

1. Don’t open with “Our CEO normally gets paid to speak, so we’re thinking a keynote would be appropriate.” Yea, no. First off, if your CEO normally gets paid to speak, then I’m sure you’ve got plenty of paid requests lying around — why don’t you go pursue those. Secondly, really? THAT is how you’re gonna open your pitch? wow.

2. Don’t push for a keynote - period. Look - the keynoters are a big deal. A big deal. Like a “make or break the show” kind of big deal. And yes, I’m sure you’re a big deal too –but know this: I spend MONTHS finding the right keynoters, and they’re always a mix of authoritative voice, uniqueness, topical relevance and just plain striking my fancy at the moment. Do some of our past breakout speakers receive keynote slots? Yes, they do. I just informed Maggie Fox (of Social Media Group) yesterday that I had slotted her in a keynote talk. Prior to that, she hadn’t asked, and had no idea. I did it because I saw her talk at last year’s Defrag, and I like the way her brain works (plus I now know she’s good on stage). So, if you want a keynote - start with a breakout.

3. Don’t dictate to me how much time you’ll need on stage. Here’s the thing: even the BEST public speakers rarely need as much time as they think — and I’m talking the pro’s that do nothing but speak (and get paid for it). Most people can say what they need to say in 20 minutes (rarely, 30). A lot of speakers give BETTER talks when they’re “rushed” into squeezing their talk into 10 minutes.

4. Do engage me personally. I’m enorlin AT mac.com. Don’t worry about CFPs, or submission deadlines, or any of that crap. Just email me. Write an interesting blog post about a topic you’re working on. Do something engaging. Start a conversation. 99% of the Defrag talks get formed in *conversation* not in solitude. So, let’s chat.

5. Do address one specific topic. If your talk is “how to succeed with social media on zero budget” you can forget speaking. If your talk is “what you can learn from the behavior of bird flocks” - you’re probably in. Pick one topic. Address it succinctly.

6. Don’t fall into the case study trap. There are plenty of conferences looking for case studies. That’s not Defrag. I’m looking for analogies, wild theories, off-the-wall statistically backed up realities, talks that integrate facts from other disciplines. Tell me how the Incredible Hulk taught you the essentials of API pricing, or why fly fishing on the Madison river is the perfect analogue for analytics, not “the four steps to on-boarding a white label social networking platform.”

7. Do use humor, personality, and integrity as your tools. Did you give a killer talk at an O’Reilly show? Send me the video. Make some joke about how you know you’ll have to step it up to make it into Defrag (see - a JOKE), and let it fly. Really, be human.

8. Get to know me. For better or worse, Defrag is run by me (Eric) and my wife (Kim) — not a team of salaried professionals. That means that A) I don’t get paid unless Defrag succeeds and B) whatever the hell I say goes. So, get to know me. Follow me on Twitter, read the blog, etc. And then use that to your advantage — example: If you submit a talk entitled, “Holy Diver: Why Ronnie James Dio Rocks Harder than Anyone Ever” — you might just make it on stage (I have an 80s metal fetish — something you’d know if you knew me.)

[sidenote: when I say "what I say goes" - I don't mean that as "it's my world and you're living in it." Quite the contrary. Defrag's my baby - and my ONLY goal is to have attendees coming out saying, "that was the best conference ever." Anything short of that sends me back to do it again. You'll notice we're on year four. Bottom-line: the agenda is a collaborative effort that emerges from endless conversations, and it's aimed at pleasing. The responsibility for that falls (ultimately) to one person - me.]

9. If you don’t get on stage, don’t give up. Come to Defrag anyway. Get to be part of the community. Your chances will increase exponentially if you do. I can tell you that as a conference organizer there’s nothing more off-putting than someone who tells me how important Defrag is to their world, and then doesn’t come if they’re not on-stage. I actually had someone tell me that Defrag isn’t worth their time if they’re not presenting. See, that’s funny - cuz you just became not worth Defrag’s time.

10. Make the last minute pitch. Rule #1 of conference organizing: speakers will suddenly develop an emergency that prevents them from speaking and let you know about 7 days before hand. At which point, I’m looking for cool talks. Be in touch late and often.

Lastly, remember - I’m just a human dude. I make stupid mistakes all of the time. I may have overlooked you - and I may totally regret it. Don’t hold it against me — keep the conversation going year-long. Remind me that I was an idiot for not putting you on stage.

Alright, getting off of the soapbox….Defrag’s gonna absolutely blow people’s hair back this year. I hope you’ll join us (one way or another).