I am inspired by the out-of-the-box experiments in enterprise that proliferate during our moment. The social venture initiative, led by entrepreneurs who launch for-profit companies to solve a human problem, has turned into a movement. Meanwhile, not-for-profit organizations are becoming increasingly savvy about deploying business practices to set their projects free from unending cycles of charitable support. We can see emerging a generation of leaders who can walk comfortably in both worlds without contradiction.

I was very surprised that President George Bush brushed over the health care crisis in his State of the Union address earlier this week. "Crisis" is not an exaggeration. Nearly one-quarter of Americans walk around in a precarious state absent health care insurance, yet this country expends nearly 15% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on health care. That figure is almost double the percentage of GDP expended by other industrialized nations.

Burdened down by rising costs, American businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to compete in a global economy.

Wal-Mart has come to terms with the fact that its public image is taking a nose dive. According to The New York Times, Wal-Mart hired a top-notch polling group to gauge the consumer impact of its reputation. The results reportedly show that anywhere from 2 percent to 8 percent of Wal-Mart shoppers have stopped visiting its retail stores due to "negative press they have heard."

Wal-Mart is trying hard to change that public sentiment, of course. The retailer harvested bushels of good will with its aid to victims of Katrina. While government agencies floundered, Wal-Mart effectively delivered emergency goods to those in most need. Late in 2005 Wal-Mart also announced a campaign that it trumpeted as the beginning of a new era for the company. Among the noteworthy initiatives: reducing greenhouse gases at its stores around the world by 20 percent in the next seven years; offering health-care coverage to all workers for around $25 a month; and calling on Congress to raise the nation's minimum wage above the current $5.15 per hour.

I have written extensively in the WAG about how the organization is undergoing a radical transformation. A dynamism is evolving that challenges traditional command-and-control structures. The network trend is not limited to the business enterprise alone; non-profit and governmental organizations fall equally under its sway.

The network enterprise does not follow the same rules as the classic corporate model. In order to adapt to this Next Reality, the leaders of an organization must dispense with six fallacies that once upon time made perfect sense.