Under the old hierarchical structures, producers would produce
goods and services to be consumed by consumers. The producers,
of course, would try very hard to produce goods and services
that customers would be willing to pay for. They would monitor
their customers and business trends to determine what the market
wanted, and then they would create those goods and services and
try to sell them. Though the successful business tried very hard
to attend to its customers and the market, there was always a
deep division between the producer and the consumer. The
producer used its capital (money, equipment, people, and
processes) to invent, design, build, and market those goods and
services that it thought people would buy. The consumers used
their capital (money and credit) to buy, or not buy, the goods
and services that producers offered. The roles were well-defined
and complimented each other, but seldom bled into each other.
Now the roles are beginning to bleed into each other as
consumers are wanting a piece of