Jul 30, 2025
Read Time: 3 mins
The Who
What is the first community you felt a sense of belonging to and why? How has this community influenced your personal and professional life?
The first community where I truly felt a sense of belonging was the one we built at the company I co-founded, Mphasis. It wasn’t just a workplace; it was a living system of people united by a shared belief: that technology could unlock transformative outcomes. Many of us were far from home, navigating global markets with bold ideas and few safety nets. That deep camaraderie, forged in ambition and adversity, has stayed with me. It taught me that trust and talent are the foundation of innovation—and that enduring success is always a collective effort, never an individual achievement.
The Why
What role do you think the communities play for the future of your business - be it from a brand, talent, innovation or sustainability lens?
In a platform-driven world, where customer needs are dynamically fulfilled in an ecosystem, value is no longer created solely within firm boundaries. It’s co-created across communities. Whether you’re building a brand, attracting the next generation of talent, or tackling systemic challenges like sustainability, the organizations that thrive are those that orchestrate communities, not control resources. Community—the trusted engagement in a selected ecosystem—is the new competitive advantage. It’s where innovation emerges, reputations are established, and trust accumulates over time.
The What
Can you share a success story where community cultivation efforts, be it inside your organization or across the ecosystem, have led to meaningful impact? If you did, how did you measure this success?
One example is the global innovation network we nurtured at Philips during my time as Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer. Rather than building everything in-house, we convened a community of academic institutions, startups, patients, and clinicians to co-create digital health solutions. A standout success was the remote patient monitoring platform we co-developed with hospitals and tech partners, which was rapidly scaled during COVID. We measured success not only through adoption metrics but also by the reduction in hospital readmissions and improved patient outcomes, which our community took collective pride in.
What strategies have you found effective in fostering a culture of collaboration and trust, the key ingredients for communities? How do you maintain and nurture this culture over time?
The key lies in clarity of purpose, measurement of contribution to mutual value creation, and shared governance. Communities thrive when everyone has skin in the game and a voice in the process, without slowing things down. At the same time, trust is sustained by transparency, particularly in the process of decision-making and the recognition of contributions. Rituals matter too. Whether it’s a regular town hall, a founder roundtable, meetings at the coffee machine, or extracurricular activities, community isn’t built in Slack threads alone. It needs consistent human rituals.
The How
How do you balance the needs and interests of the community with the business goals of your organization? What strategies do you use to align these objectives?
You balance this by ensuring that the business serves the community’s needs, not the other way around. In platform ecosystems, long-term success is not about optimizing for the next quarter but about building shared value over time. The strategy we followed was simple but powerful: build trust and contribute value. When communities thrive, so do the businesses that nurture them. Note that organizations are communities in their own right. Co-creating objectives with your community is one. Another strategy is designing incentive structures that reward collaboration, whether through open IP, shared data assets, or mutual access to the market. Think less like a fortress, more like a town square.
The Next
What role do you see technology playing in the future of community cultivation? Are there any emerging tools or platforms you are particularly excited about?
Technology is now a force multiplier for communities. AI-powered platforms, decentralized governance, and collaboration tools are lowering the barriers to co-creation at scale. I’m particularly excited about how foundational models, combined with secure data-sharing infrastructure, will enable domain-specific knowledge communities—for instance, in rare disease research or sustainable homes.
What advice would you give to other leaders looking to adopt a community-powered lens in their organizations? What common pitfalls should they avoid?
Start with purpose and empathy, not tools or metrics. The biggest pitfall is treating the community as a marketing strategy or innovation tactic, rather than a philosophy of value creation. Communities aren’t “managed”; they are enabled, listened to, and invited to shape outcomes. Don’t rush the process. Invest in trusted relationships that benefit both parties. A community is not your audience; it’s your co-creator.