By breaking huge business units into smaller, nimbler teams, companies stand a chance of rekindling the creative spark that got them rolling in the first place. After all, “small is the new big,” as Seth Godin, a prolific blogger and author, puts it in his 2006 book of that name.

It is a point of view shared by a diverse group of business leaders, management consultants and information technology experts. According to Philip Rosedale, founder and chairman of Linden Lab, the company that created and operates the virtual world of Second Life, companies seeking to foster creativity must find ways to break apart the bureaucratic hierarchies now smothering it. Optimizing a company for creativity involves helping individual employees of every rank develop an entrepreneurial spirit. In Mr. Rosedale’s view, the most creative work environment is one where every employee, regardless of job title, has enough freedom to develop that sense of personal initiative.

“Most companies erroneously focus on competition and on differentiation from their competitors,” he contends. “The business opportunity lies in turning creativity into productivity.”

Decentralizing the hierarchy opens the door to creativity, giving workers the leeway they need to make significant decisions without first jumping through executive management hoops. “The idea,” he says, “is to enable a creative environment where there’s a good degree of experimentation.”

Optimizing a company for creativity also optimizes it for small-group collaboration. And that opens the door to new information technology that lets team members work cooperatively from anywhere on the planet. “That’s the revolution that’s making all of this possible,” Mr. Rosedale says.

It’s great to see these ideas picking up steam and getting out there in the mainstream press.

When the Dell Studio Hybrid Desktop PC was first introduced we just saw the bamboo clad version, now there is a range of them.

The starting price for these smaller desktop PC’s is $499. These computers come with a range of interchangeable sleeves, these range from Bamboo, Emerald, Quartz, Ruby, Sapphire, Slate and Topaz.

The Dell Studio Hybrid can be stood vertically or horizontally and come packed with a host of features. There is an HDMI port as standard, optional extras available are WiFi, a wireless keyboard and mouse, Blu-ray and a TV tuner.

The Dell Studio Hybrid should be available from today, visit: Dell

Introducing the new Studio Hybrid desktop starting at only $499!