????“今晚生意怎么樣？”我們問道。那位UberX司機聳聳肩說：“還好現在節過完了。”途中，我們反復聊到了打車軟件Uber的定價策略，定價的理由和所需時間，以及在新年夜高峰時間定價機制的作用原理。這位司機跟我們分享了他的策略。他會在某個社區的十字路口等待，而不是四處轉圈。“如果我是距離最近的出租車，軟件會將用戶分配給我。如果我沒有快速響應，軟件就會把客戶分配給下一輛車。”

????值得一提的是，作為一個獨立的個體，這位司機對Uber的策略、定價和車輛分配系統的運行方式竟然如此了解。他改變了自己的決策和行為，選擇有價值的時間和地點開展工作，從自己掌握的信息中獲益。Uber通過向司機公開這些信息，吸引了大批用戶，包括出租車司機和其他職業的駕駛人員。

????透明，也就是把公司的做法、政策、算法，甚至代碼、經營數據和未來計劃，全部提供給客戶、員工或商業合作伙伴，這種做法與傳統的商業慣例截然相反。而且，透明還能提高公司及合作伙伴的動力。為什么？因為放松控制和暴露弱點可以提高忠誠度，深化客戶關系，揭示公司尚未意識到的問題，刺激創新，提高核心產品或服務的價值，使參與者可以采取獨立的措施，為共同的目標而努力。

????2008年，達美樂比薩（Domino's Pizza）在互聯網上進行了客戶調查。客戶明確表達了自己的感受：他們不喜歡比薩的硬皮、沙司或奶酪。客戶調查或許并不新鮮，但達美樂比薩卻不同尋常地采取了更加開放的做法——把調查結果公開，同時邀請客戶幫忙來解決這些問題。這家公司在18個月時間里在社交媒體上收到了成千上萬條信息；雖然它失去了一些客戶，但它還是邀請老客戶品嘗公司的比薩，同時不斷做出改變。

????2009年底，這家公司的產品重新上市，同時推出了一系列商業廣告，其中把公司遇到的麻煩和解決方案作為賣點。結果客戶反響積極。而且，達美樂并不是把這種做法作為一次性的嘗試。它繼續維護與客戶的這種關系。目前，這家公司在Facebook上的粉絲超過了900萬人，在Twitter上的粉絲也達到48.3萬人。2014年2月，達美樂比薩的股票從2009年的7.73美元上漲到了72.18美元。

????調查并不新鮮，但科技使商家能夠更容易地吸引更多的人參與調查，把調查變成可以持續的對話。達美樂發現，參與調查的客戶、員工和店主都是被解決問題的挑戰性所吸引。而且，科技使各家公司更容易將這種開放的態度擴展到提供輔助產品與服務的供應商、經銷商和其他合作伙伴。

????"How's business tonight?" we asked. The UberX driver shrugged, "Better now the holidays are over." For the rest of the ride, we went back and forth on what Uber was doing with pricing and why and for how long, and how peak pricing had played out over New Year's Eve. The driver shared his strategy for waiting near a particular neighborhood intersection rather than circling. "If I am the closest car, it assigns to me. If I don't respond quickly, it assigns to the next car."

????It was notable how much the driver, an independent entity, knew about Uber's strategy, pricing, and the way the ride assignment system worked. He changed his decisions and behavior to benefit from that information by choosing when and where it was worthwhile for him to work. By making all of this clear to drivers, Uber has attracted a large base of drivers, including from the ranks of cabbies and other professionals.

????Transparency -- making the practices, policies, algorithms, and even code, operating data, and future plans available to customers, employees, or business partners -- runs counter to traditional business practices. It also has the potential to raise the tide for companies and their business partners. How? Loosening tight control and exposing vulnerabilities can increase loyalty and deepen relationships, reveal problems companies aren't yet aware of, spur innovation, increase the value of a core product or service, and enable participants to take independent actions that serve a common goal.

????In 2008, Domino's Pizza (DPZ) took to the Internet to survey its customers. The customers made their feelings clear: They didn't love the crust, the sauce, or the cheese. Perhaps nothing new in a customer survey, but then Domino's took the unusual step of opening up further -- actually sharing the survey results publicly and asking customers to help fix the problems. In 18 months, the company received thousands of messages through social media; it invited regular customers to try its pizzas and made changes along the way, even while it lost some customers.

????When the company relaunched its product at the end of 2009 with a series of commercials featuring its troubles and solutions, customer response was largely positive. And rather than a one-time experiment, Domino's continued the relationship and now has more than 9 million fans on Facebook (FB) and 483 thousand followers on Twitter (TWTR). The company's stock has risen to $72.18 in February 2014 from $7.73 in 2009.

????Surveys aren't new. But technology makes it easier to involve more participants and to turn surveys into conversations that continue over time. Domino's discovered that the types of customers, employees, and store-owners who get involved are those who are intrigued by the challenge of solving problems. Technology makes it easier for companies to extend openness to suppliers, vendors, and other partners who provide complementary products and services.