Too many people might not understand what you mean by “constituencies.” Beyond customers, which may be considered the most integral constituents for a corporation, we also have other constituents to consider.

Probably most important are employees. NGEs engage their employees in such a way that the employees truly understand that their contributions directly affect the corporation’s ability to remain competitive. The more engaged the employee base is with the company vision, the higher the performance of the employees, and, ultimately, the more agile the organization becomes.

Next, a company must understand that there are a group of interested individuals, who are neither customers nor employees, who have some bearing on the company’s vision. These are “community members” who are interested in the company’s products, services, or expertise. These are the types of people who might join a user group, for example. They have an interest in what the company does, and they will have input on the company’s vision. They may be potential customers or employees of the company in the future. NGEs understand that the input from interested, but somewhat unconnected, parties is still valuable to their overall organizational flexibility.

Finally, one often overlooked NGE constituent group is employment candidates. These people are important to an NGE because they offer the potential to grow an organization. The more high-quality talent a company can secure, the better able the company is to compete on a global scale. NGEs recognize the importance of these “talent communities” to their ability to remain flexible and agile.

Any other additions to the “constituencies” section?

-Katie

Tony,Nice post. I couldn’t agree more. Having legacy and enterprise applications wrapped in a SOA architecture and accessible via Web Services is a must for Next Generation Enterprises. All of the On Demand apps and collaboration in the world will be …