Driving Integrated Interconnected Business Ecosystems
The integrated interconnected business ecosystem is a framework that offers a pioneering approach, one that builds the mechanisms to unlock sustainable and connected growth. This approach to business ecosystems fosters continuous innovation and works towards lasting competitive advantage through its interconnected parts.
At its core this holistic framework harmonizes five independent layers- Innovation, Entrepreneurial, Business, Dynamic and Enterprise Ecosystems- creating a virtuous cycle of value creation, resilience, sustainability and adaptability.
By adopting this framework, your organization gains a comprehensive implementation to back your move towards Business Ecosystems in design and thinking
Comparing Operating Models to change to Business Ecosystems
Forget how you operate in traditional business models if you are considering the value and benefits of applying Ecosystem thinking and designs. You really have to think radically differently.
There are significant differences in how we (can) operate and appreciate the distinctive aspects between our traditional management approach and applying Ecosystem thinking and design. Initial assessments are highly valuable before you embark on participating in Ecosystem collaborations.
There are several emerging frameworks that provide for both universal and distinct application stages. There is always a need to emphasis “contextual nuances” and those “triggering points” but those are further critical aspects to explain for gaining a deeper understanding of Business Ecosystem distinctiveness in future posts.
My aim is to encourage business thinking around Collaborative Ecosystem Management for the future. Considering and then undertaking Business Ecosystems has a very different organizational impact and significant changes to be considered to be built and then put into place.
One exercise I recently undertook was to compare traditional to ecosystem distinctiveness. I offer here ten key distinctive areas for comparison. Let me share these:
There are many aspects to evaluate. Here I provide a handy comparison of existing and necessary changes likely to be made for Ecosystem management. Take a look at many of the principle differences.
I have put these into ease-of-reference set of tables.
Feeling trapped, break out of the box with Innovation Ecosystems
We continue to fail to unlock the full potential of innovation. I continue to receive reports on the latest surveys on the management of open innovation and its progress.
So little is said or discussed on changing the innovation system, it seems organizations are (really) comfortable with incremental or experimental innovation as the extent of their ambition. We are trapped in a ever decreasing cycle.
I recall one report mentioning only 7% of innovation is deemed radical or significantly changing the way business undertakes innovation.
The business model, built on the premise the knowledge needs to flow into “us” and not mutually sharing the final outcomes, going into the market. Why?
In my view, Innovation Ecosystems Outperforms Traditional Internal Innovation Structures? Why don’t we change?
Recognizing Dynamic Ecosystems are at the core of Innovation Business Ecosystems
The strategic shift to dynamic ecosystems as a decision-making core for innovation and business ecosystems reflects a paradigm shift towards intelligent, real-time responsiveness.
This approach emphasizes not only operational flexibility but also strategic agility, enabling businesses to anticipate and lead rather than merely respond to change.
So what is special or radical in making Dynamic Ecosystems central?
We live in a world that is highly dynamic, it shifts and alters constantly. We have pursued Innovation in linear ways and these always lag. Technology has provided us to escape from the past and respond on a constant ‘real-time’ basis.
The old record and sound of Innovation certainly needs changing.
Recently I have been reading about how innovation management needs to get back to basics or how it needs to be given a fresh lick of paint in professional certification, revised and updated university training programs or short courses.
For twenty years, since I have been working in the innovation space, we have constantly complained about so many different aspects of innovation failure and offered solutions to why innovation management still seemingly fails to deliver on its promise to build new growth inside our organizations. Offering innovation advice is a big industry to consult and academically, to teach in.
We keep innovation management locked into a 20th-century paradigm and I believe we must break the “chains” and make a significant shift in our innovation thinking, into innovation and business ecosystems
My review of 2024 from a posting perspective has been a really positive one.
Taking my two primary posting sites of paul4innovating.com and ecosystems4innovating.com I wrote just over 100 posts, which always comes as a surprise in what it entails in time invested.
The split between sites was fairly even as I continue to increase my focus on building the building case for Ecosystems, in thinking and design.
In this reflective post I took a look back on why I moved from an “absolute” focus on innovations into innovation and business ecosystems.
Pitching the reasons to change to Innovation Ecosystems in thinking and design
So after working through the values of the Innovation Ecosystem over a series of three posts I asked Chat GPT to help me in making a pitch for the change from existing internal orientated innovation processes and structures.
I wanted to go way beyond just “open innovation” here, I wanted to provide a compelling set of reasons to make this move or accelerate this into reality.
Does this resonate with you? Are you moving along this journey of change seeing the reasons and lasting potential?
Unlocking the Full Potential of Innovation: Why an Innovation Ecosystem Outperforms Traditional Internal Innovation Structures and Systems
Buttons & Threads: Applying a Modern Ecosystem Perspective
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the “buttons and threads” concept perhaps is a powerful metaphor for understanding and designing interconnected business ecosystems.
This updated perspective integrates technological advancements and business practices to illustrate how organizations can thrive in a network-centric world.
I was first introduced to the “Buttons & Threads” concept while working within one alliance I had in consulting while living in Singapore back in 2003. This concept was envisaged, in my view, before its time and ability to deliver due to the constraints of not having technology sufficiently capable and developed to be scaled and connected up, to fully gain the value that this concept offered from an Ecosystem perspective.
The Concept for a Dynamic Ecosystem as the Core to the Interconnected Business Ecosystem framework has been a slower realization than I had initially recognized.
In some ways this is the most important post, to date, on the extending out of the Interconnected Business Ecosystem framework. I wrote a post explaining out the shifts that have been taking place in this evolutionary process but I fell into the trap of keeping this as a linear sequence process and it simply is not.
It is the dynamics within the system that brings Dynamic Ecosystems into the core, representing its “nerve center” in an environment that is constantly pulsating, ever-changing, that feeds and reacts to the surrounding Ecosystem layers of Innovation, Entrepreneurial/Start-up, Business and Enterprise Ecosystems.
Lets build this explanation further on why Dynamic Ecosystems are so important and central to this Ecosystem approach.
Shaping Innovation through Entrepreneurial and Start-up Ecosystems
By including Start-up and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems into the Interconnected Business Framework, it becomes more comprehensive and reflective of the full spectrum of business activities. It can enable how ideas flow from innovation through entrepreneurship and into established business practices, and how larger businesses can engage with and benefit from entrepreneurial energy.
This inclusive approach would make the framework more robust and applicable across a wider range of organizations and scenarios, from nascent start-ups to multinational corporations, while still allowing for specific focus on entrepreneurial challenges when needed.
Entrepreneurial or Start-up Ecosystems: Let me explain the role is in supporting startups and new ventures, driving economic growth and innovation. it has its own unique characteristics and focus.
