This is a self-selecting group of people, loosely tied by the SAP Community. Each person who has contributed chose to get involved and commit time to a project that presents special challenges. A recipe for disaster, especially when some members didn’t know each other before ESME kicked off. In my case I’ve only met one of the team in the real world. But no.

As this story explains, in the right circumstances and conditions, it is perfectly possible to assemble a working unit that is able to deliver. Key ingredients:

I sense that if the community is large enough, you’ll always find groups who are willing to push the boundaries of innovation and invention. The fact SDN and Twitter have brought this group together in a discoverable context is more than serendipitous, more than coincidental. It is more than vaguely knowing, learning to trust and having a deeply felt mutual respect for one another. It is because the community exists for EVERYONE’s common good and provides the environment for EVERYONE to get something positive out of their involvement.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Power of Crowds: Experiences in Community Management
• Community is Open Source: On SAP Developer and Business Process Communities.
• Community Managers and Managing Communities