--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our sense of \"open\" is that the authority…" description: "\"Our sense of \"open\" is that the authority to make decisions about that gets distributed based on merit and understanding and participation and leadersh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/mitchell-baker-10687_associates_our-sense-of-open-is-that-the-authority_1351487.jpg" --- # Our sense of "open" is that the authority to make… ![“Our sense of "open" is that the authority to make decisions about that gets distributed based on merit and understanding and participation and leadership, not solely on employment or a title or a business plan. Technical colleagues will define "open" as "open standards," "interoperable" - you can…” quote by Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/mitchell-baker-10687_associates_our-sense-of-open-is-that-the-authority_1351487.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/mitchell-baker-10687_associates_our-sense-of-open-is-that-the-authority_1351487.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/mitchell-baker-10687_associates_our-sense-of-open-is-that-the-authority_1351487.jpg) > “Our sense of "open" is that the authority to make decisions about that gets distributed based on merit and understanding and participation and leadership, not solely on employment or a title or a business plan. Technical colleagues will define "open" as "open standards," "interoperable" - you can find it, search it, cut and paste it, view source, mix and match - all those things that we associate with text on the Web, that you can continue to do that with audio and video and whatever's next.” [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Open means decision power is shared based on expertise, involvement, and leadership rather than job title or plan; openness also implies transparent, reusable standards across media. **In simple terms:** Decision power shared by merit, not title; openness = transparent standards. Key Takeaway Empower expertise, share authority. Themes collaboration transparency meritocracy open standards Mood optimistic inspirational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - software development - community projects - media publishing Key Concepts participatory governance digital openness interoperability Questions to Reflect On - How can organizations shift authority to merit? - What barriers prevent open standards adoption? A Different Perspective Open models can be slowed by hierarchical inertia. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Associates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/associates/) [Audio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audio/) [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Business plan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business-plan/) [Colleagues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleagues/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Define Open](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/define-open-4598456/) [Employment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employment/) [Interoperable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interoperable-4598458/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Merit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merit/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Open Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-authority-4598457/) [Open Open](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-open-453538/) [Open Standards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-standards-3016385/) [Participation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/participation/) [Plans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plans/) [Source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/source/) [Standards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standards/) [Titles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/titles/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Video](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/video/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) ## Related quotes > [When I helped to develop the open standards that computers use to communicate with one another across the Net, I hoped for but could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vint-cerf/when-i-helped-to-develop-the-open-standards-that-computers-use-to/) [Vint Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vint-cerf/) > [I know a smart business decision when I see one — choosing open standards is \| a very smart business decision indeed,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neelie-kroes/i-know-a-smart-business-decision-when-i-see-one-choosing-open/) [Neelie Kroes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neelie-kroes/) > [We fully expect our competitors to join us in embracing open standards with their next redesigns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-davidson/we-fully-expect-our-competitors-to-join-us-in-embracing-open/) [Mike Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-davidson/) > [Our message, to people around the country and around the world, is this: Apple is open. Open to everyone, regardless of where they come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/our-message-to-people-around-the-country-and-around-the-world-is-this/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [Do I open it? Do I open it? Of course I freaking open it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/do-i-open-it-do-i-open-it-of-course-i-freaking-open-it/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [Texas people are very open, because it's open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-martindale/texas-people-are-very-open-because-it-s-open/) [Margo Martindale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-martindale/) > [Open to me, so that I may open. Provide me your inspiration So that I might see mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/open-to-me-so-that-i-may-open-provide-me-your-inspiration-so-that-i/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [His mind is so open - so open that ideas simply pass through it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-h-bradley/his-mind-is-so-open-so-open-that-ideas-simply-pass-through-it/) [F. H. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-h-bradley/) > [That way of inspiration is always open, and open to everyone; it acts as go-between, interpreter, it explains symbols of the past in to-day's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilda-doolittle/that-way-of-inspiration-is-always-open-and-open-to-everyone-it-acts/) [Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilda-doolittle/) > [You have to be open, and being open is a daily challenge, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ness/you-have-to-be-open-and-being-open-is-a-daily-challenge-i-think/) [Mike Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ness/) > [We're also looking a lot at graphics and video. We've done a lot on a deep technical level to make sure that the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/we-re-also-looking-a-lot-at-graphics-and-video-we-ve-done-a-lot-on-a/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [I created an online program that has audio lessons and PDF worksheets and two hours of video. So it's like a course you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-pais/i-created-an-online-program-that-has-audio-lessons-and-pdf-worksheets/) [Josh Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-pais/) > [I'm kind of old-school and love nothing more than sitting, opening a book, and reading it. But I also love listening to audio books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/i-m-kind-of-old-school-and-love-nothing-more-than-sitting-opening-a/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [The Huffington Post Investigative Fund's goal is to produce a broad range of investigative journalism created by both staff reporters and freelance writers, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/the-huffington-post-investigative-fund-s-goal-is-to-produce-a-broad/) [Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/) > [You must study their deliveries, their use of their bodies, their timing, and their use of audio and vocal effects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklyn-ajaye/you-must-study-their-deliveries-their-use-of-their-bodies-their/) [Franklyn Ajaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklyn-ajaye/) ## More by Mitchell Baker > [If you're a Firefox user, you get accustomed to your history and the URL bar and finding things. That should be available on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/if-you-re-a-firefox-user-you-get-accustomed-to-your-history-and-the/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [The web as a platform is the most powerful platform we have ever seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/the-web-as-a-platform-is-the-most-powerful-platform-we-have-ever-seen/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [Mobile devices are kind of at the opposite end of PCs, in that PCs are pretty open and you can do a fair amount…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/mobile-devices-are-kind-of-at-the-opposite-end-of-pcs-in-that-pcs-are/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [I grew up as an only child. I think it might just be that my dad really didn't care that I was a girl.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/i-grew-up-as-an-only-child-i-think-it-might-just-be-that-my-dad/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [I have a personal life and a professional life, and there's no way to separate them; for a while I tried, but no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/i-have-a-personal-life-and-a-professional-life-and-there-s-no-way-to/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [I'm a good communicator, and I'm a good translator. I can talk to engineers; I can talk to people for whom technology is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/i-m-a-good-communicator-and-i-m-a-good-translator-i-can-talk-to/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [We worked very hard to make extensions very simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/we-worked-very-hard-to-make-extensions-very-simple/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [I think HTML5 is one area where Mozilla has done very poorly at actually communicating what we have done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/i-think-html5-is-one-area-where-mozilla-has-done-very-poorly-at/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [I guess my other advice is that it's really good to be comfortable among groups of men! It's just a very common work setting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/i-guess-my-other-advice-is-that-it-s-really-good-to-be-comfortable/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [When people think of Mozilla, they generally think of the browser, but Mozilla is really much more than that. Mozilla is of interest to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/when-people-think-of-mozilla-they-generally-think-of-the-browser-but/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [There's the classic charitable contribution, which we receive thousands, and we're extremely grateful and they often come with notes from people, which are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/there-s-the-classic-charitable-contribution-which-we-receive/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [But most of us who aren't models aren't models, right? And so, you just have to get used to that and sort of read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/but-most-of-us-who-aren-t-models-aren-t-models-right-and-so-you-just/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [WorldGate offers interactive set-top-box applications. Its customers want to interact with the Web as an adjunct to other things they can do, and WorldGate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/worldgate-offers-interactive-set-top-box-applications-its-customers/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [We're also looking a lot at graphics and video. We've done a lot on a deep technical level to make sure that the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/we-re-also-looking-a-lot-at-graphics-and-video-we-ve-done-a-lot-on-a/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [When we got ready to ship out Firefox 1.0, the last set of things we did was to make it appealing to a consumer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/when-we-got-ready-to-ship-out-firefox-1-0-the-last-set-of-things-we/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) [Explore all 64 Mitchell Baker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) ## More Associates quotes > [ The young man \[Turgot\] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecclesiastical-career-was-placed/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [A free society depends upon a high degree of mutual trust. The public will not give that trust to officials who are not seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-cox/a-free-society-depends-upon-a-high-degree-of-mutual-trust-the-public/) [Archibald Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-cox/) > [Deliver me from all evildoers that talk nothing but sickness and failure. Grant me the companionship of men who think success and men who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-feather/deliver-me-from-all-evildoers-that-talk-nothing-but-sickness-and/) [William Feather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-feather/) > [I wanted to be a painter and an artist. And it's interesting that in some of my later musical works, I refer so often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/i-wanted-to-be-a-painter-and-an-artist-and-it-s-interesting-that-in/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [I don't wear makeup. I don't wash my hair every day. It's not something that I associate with myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-kunis/i-don-t-wear-makeup-i-don-t-wash-my-hair-every-day-it-s-not-something/) [Mila Kunis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-kunis/) > [You can't really come into a concept record objectively, because you immediately associate it with Yes, stuff from the 1970s that punk rock kicked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-meloy/you-can-t-really-come-into-a-concept-record-objectively-because-you/) [Colin Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-meloy/) > [“Some of our friends are our friends only because we used to be friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-our-friends-are-our-friends-only-because-we-used-to-be-friends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [In social networks, you gain and bestow status through those you associate with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-reilly/in-social-networks-you-gain-and-bestow-status-through-those-you/) [Tim O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-reilly/) > [Men take on the nature and the habits and the power of thought of those with whom they associate in a spirit of sympathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/men-take-on-the-nature-and-the-habits-and-the-power-of-thought-of/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/the-less-you-associate-with-some-people-the-more-your-life-will/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [No adversity is in kind or degree peculiar to us; but if we survey the conditions of other men (of our brethren everywhere, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-barrow/no-adversity-is-in-kind-or-degree-peculiar-to-us-but-if-we-survey-the/) [Isaac Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-barrow/) > [Tantra is not sexual yoga. When the word tantra is used in the West, very often people immediately associate it with some kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/tantra-is-not-sexual-yoga-when-the-word-tantra-is-used-in-the-west/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [There are certainly times in history where power associates itself closely with fields that we would call the humanities, like rulers surrounding themselves with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/there-are-certainly-times-in-history-where-power-associates-itself/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Surround yourself with people of like mind and different talents and temperaments with the purpose of serving the goals of every member of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-olson/surround-yourself-with-people-of-like-mind-and-different-talents-and/) [Jeff Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-olson/) > [The goose that lays golden eggs has been considered a most valuable possession. But even more profitable is the privilege of taking the golden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-d-brandeis/the-goose-that-lays-golden-eggs-has-been-considered-a-most-valuable/) [Louis D. Brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-d-brandeis/) [Browse all 471 Associates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/associates/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our sense of \"open\" is that the authority to make decisions about that gets distributed based on merit and understanding and participation and leadership, not solely on employment or a title or a business plan. 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