Business as a Conversation?

For those of us interested in improving businesses through software, is it productive to consider Business as a Conversation as Keith Swenson ponders?  Let's take a brief look and see where that leads us...

Conversations are a huge factor in conducting business... and it's the nature of those conversations that can give us the clues that we'll need to build better business software. All business boils down to the delivery of something from a supplier to a customer, and the business conversations that take place all pretty much boil down to the following topics:

• Conversations to insure that the supplier and customer completely agree on what it is that the supplier will deliver
• Conversations to insure that the supplier will deliver whatever it is "on time" and "on budget"
• Conversations after delivery to deal with dissatisfaction on either side.

Conversations in business are all about assuring agreement and tracking progress and compliance. If there's any doubt that the supplier will deliver, the customer will want status updates. If the schedule slips or the budget is blown, the customer and supplier will have to agree on what to do about it. If the supplier or customer aren't happy after the fact, then they'll have to discuss what can be done to heal the rift and prevent future occurrences.

What does this tell us about the software that we'll need to help improve businesses?

Business is improved by increasing the supplier's understanding of what the customer wants, and by increasing the customer's confidence that the supplier will deliver on time and budget...  Increasing understanding and confidence... If our software helps accomplish either of those objectives, then we're on the right track.