I'm going to be moderating a panel called "Exploding the Enterprise" at Supernova 2004. The panel is Friday June 25 from 9:15-10:00am. The panelists are John Hagel, Halsey Minor, Gordon Eubanks, and Darren Lee. I know Darren, of course, and have met Halsey and Gordon before. I'm looking forward to getting to know John. Here's the sumary of the panel from the Supernova site:

Business is increasingly distributed. We work in shifting teams, separated by geography both physical and organizational. Companies depend more and more on independent contractors, telecommuters, and outsourcers. Can technology help, rather than hinder, those processes? Should it? Will the grand visions of Web services and federated digital identity become realities? Can any vendor make money in an increasingly standards-based, commoditized marketplace? And what happens to the people involved, as the old centralized organizations are blown apart?

I attended a MIT continuing education course 4 or 5 years ago where someone (wish I could remember who) presented research that showed that group interaction dropped in half when participants were seperated by more than 400 feet (yes, feet!). And that's on the same floor. Don't even talk about stairs.

So, I think the underlying question is "have we moved past that" or are we just kidding ourselves with the notion of the "exploded enterprise?" This is a good group to discuss these issues. I invite you to help me put together the panel by helping me come up with good question to ask the panel in advance of the conference. Post your questions, comments, and thoughts over at the Ask Phil Forum.