Trust, dialogues and relationships often lead to new breakthrough ideas

There is a realization today, far more than in the past, that greater trust in relationships builds not just from projecting forward aspirations and values, but also in gaining a greater community involvement.

This greater community involvement often leads to new collaborative breakthrough ideas not possible without this open sharing.

For example, if a business addresses its environmental footprint and works to change its social impact in ways to protect our planet it gains clear identification and association.

Trust comes from connecting shared values and providing the narrative of how this journey will be undertaken and asking others to help build this in collaborative engagement and shared platforms.

Today, the notion of resiliency and sustainability is being looked at in fresh ways inside and along businesses’ supply chains. The ability to address circularity, and to provide greater transparency and agility are all moving up the agenda with this sustainability focus.  Efficiency, Equity, and Connectedness all become action points to improve.

The rise of the collaborative platform

The search is for more integrated models to simplify complexities and provide complete solutions to meet customer needs, which can be provided with less hassle and searching.

To achieve this level of integration, a higher collaborative model needs to be designed. This “collaborative evident” positioning gives confidence and benefits to the ecosystems needing to be built to achieve this in highly visible ways.

I wrote a piece Building Ecosystems and Sustainability suggesting by taking an ecosystem approach in a highly collaborative and networked manner opens up the potential for a more sustainable future.

Our leaders of business have to steer this new sustainability ship.

Leaders today need to constantly seek out stakeholder inclusion, show genuine emotion and intuition, and provide the mission and purpose in inspiring ways to give the shared vision and journey. I outlined my thoughts on what a CEO or board should convey in “A statement of Ecosystem intent”

Leaders need to rely increasingly on determining and investing in the responsible use of innovation and applications of emerging technologies for generating new organizational value. They need to become more reliant on outside contributions, in having equitable exchanges and shared value. Finally, leaders need to offer intellect and insights into continuous learning and offer open knowledge exchanges where all learn and gain.

Where are the new growth engines?

Companies have choices if they are to embrace sustainability fully. They need to have a no-holds evaluation of their existing business and a really strong sense of the future to move the “today forward” and equally ensure a “future back” perspective to guide and give direction and support to the work needing to be undertaken.

I wrote a piece on “The value of three horizon mapping for a Sustainability Journey” that mapping the future can help to provide a structured pathway in any sustainability journey.

This outline of the important aspirations and milestones offers a good level of the necessary level of clarity of understanding, of the Strategic choices in any new direction to change the core and the business model.

Then the decisions to be taken on what product reinvention needs to be applied to reduce, adapt and reflect an environmentally evolving position needs to be delivered to support that final choice. These choices of the offering come after the analysis of where the organization needs to head in its intention and need, for this sustaining journey.

Partnerships, collaborations and networks become essential

There is a real need to seek out innovative partnerships that form this new sustainability ecosystem so a shared environment can develop jointly, deploy resources, and scale solutions in more agile and rapid ways to meet customer needs.

Signpost the future, begin to undertake the transformation journey

Then, a business needs to set about operations reinvention, where data, insights and technology, transform the understanding; to nudge and cajole behaviour change and provide transparency of the total journey of a product or solution from its creation to fulfilment.

Ecosystem thinking is becoming central to our future as we open up to greater co-creation and collaboration opportunities. I believe co-creation offers the potential to spreads risk, it can accelerate ideas into higher-value solutions, and builds out diversity within the connections and relationship network.

You heighten that increased awareness and focus you need in constant dialogues and exchanges, that have the powerful “combination effect” of greater potential to give impact and value in returns.

Having a greater connection we attuned far more to customer needs or market trends. Building the capacity to innovate in more open, ecosystem ways strengthens the business pathway to a sustainable future.