We live in a world of interconnected Ecosystems. Businesses have been actively working in their own connected ecosystems to suit their own business needs. That needs to change. We need to open up our thinking to collaborative ecosystems.
Let’s briefly examine why and what I have been working on as my focus for some time—the need for interconnected business ecosystems. They are highly valuable and very relevant today in dealing with complexity. They are interlinked in different ecosystems to generate greater returns and resolve complexity and challenges that need co-creation and cooperation.
Connected Business Ecosystems for Impact and Value
After a short break, I have further solidified and deepened my approach to business ecosystem thinking and design through my “Hierarchy of business ecosystems” framework. This recent work has been focused on making this framework more robust, where integrating the suggested ecosystems of innovation, business, dynamic, and enterprise ecosystems brings out the value of such an overarching design.( see below for these as integrated value )
I provided a recent post “Returning to the Hierarchy of Business Ecosystems” where I summarized what the framework provided in its structured approach but also highlighted the area for improvement in its design value by offering a more robust, real and practical construct that offers components and bridging points for adoption. Some of these really important ones I will post upon as they need that “singled out focus” such as a more comprehensive Governance mechanisms, explicit integrations of dynamic adaptation and resilience, addressing interdependence and feedback loops and more quantitative metrics.
The Vision of the interconnected Business Ecosystem has this as its objectives.
“The Hierarchy of Business Ecosystem Needs presents a holistic approach to navigating the complexities of the modern business landscape. It emphasizes collaborative ecosystems as the key to unlocking untapped potential, driving sustained growth, and achieving collective prosperity.
A relatively quick post, partly as Hannover Messe 2024 is in full flow and tuning into events like this, you realize where we are all being pushed to the future,. Although GenAI gets a lot of central billing in the talks and demonstrations, the future “buzz words” that tell much of the immediate future are wrapped up in the solutions being offered.
Hannover is seemingly emphasizing the power and need of Ecosystems, platforms, marketplaces, end-to-end processes, and sustainability to set up so as to gain value and impact from all the data and AI coming towards us. These events are always forward-looking; you get the impression there are some big, even mega ecosystems, being built, but the reluctance and convincing are still lagging from those attending, transformation is a very tough call.
I am not sure we have crossed that “tipping point” needed from the essential missing piece—customers of all sizes and shapes—being convinced that opening up to far more collaboration and co-creation is in their interest. They need to cross the chasm and start with, perhaps, extending their existing thinking on “Partner Ecosystems” and opening them up to real collaboration and co-creation sharing.
Crossing the chasm into a new way of doing business through Ecosystem thinking and design is upon us all.
Who orchestrates or facilitates this process of building out a Business Partner Ecosystem? Is it the lead company recognizing the value of building a more robust partner ecosystem or bringing in a specialized consultancy able to facilitate the significant amount of work this usually means?
It is not just about dedicated time but about experience, understanding, and recognition of all that can potentially change when exploiting ecosystems and being adaptive enough to respond.
There are typically two main approaches to orchestrating the process of building and managing a partner ecosystem:
There is a growing trend towards Partner Ecosystems, so what’s the opening business case?
Partner ecosystems play a crucial role in business growth and success, especially in today’s interconnected and globalized business environment. They can tackle business issues, support social problems, and overcome the complex and challenging issues we increasingly face.
A partner ecosystem refers to a network of complementary companies, organizations, and individuals collaborating to create (additional) value for customers and drive innovation.
However, it’s important to note that building and managing partner ecosystems can be challenging. You need to obtain sound advice, relate to what ecosystems can provide, and recognize that they can challenge or disrupt much of what you have in place as they are highly collaborative with other parties However, that is not such a bad thing in today’s unpredictable world. We live in an interconnected world, and your business should reflect that in more open co-creation ways
All around us, we are faced with new challenges and growing complexity.
We seem caught up in more wicked problems that require a profound shift relating to innovation. Increasingly, we are also witnessing growing dissatisfaction with the impact that innovation has today to overcome customer needs and provide more sustained growth, returns, market and customer impact.
One of the implications of this growing recognition is that innovation today rarely succeeds in isolation, staying within the four walls of one organization. Solutions required are becoming highly dependent on a more dependent type of complementary innovation: open, collaborative, sharing, and exchanging collectively around a given concept to take it to market. This requires business ecosystem thinking and design.
Working in Ecosystems will change the nature of business activities.
The importance of a radical mindset shift in Business Ecosystem Design
What makes Business Ecosystems different in how we approach them, the answer lies in our mindset? Are our existing ways of approaching business design different and within this, how important is a radical mindshift in any Business Ecosystem thinking?
Business ecosystems do need to be understood as radically different from how ‘we’ have undertaken the way we have “gone about our business” and think this through for the potential promise it might offer. Most businesses operate within their protected environment of designing, building, optimising and going to market. It is very singular, and everything is channelled through them.
A single entity undergoes and contract with selected suppliers and often stays with them for many good reasons, they conduct their proprietary research, build there own concepts of products and services and undertake the build to deliver internally within their selected ecosystem of stakeholders. This works and continues to function, but up to a certain point.
Today, this often silo thinking does need to be challenged and at least an initial rethink for instance about Partner Ecosystems and the value they can bring in different approaches, thinking, market offerings and mindsets does lead on to the broader adoption of Business Ecosystems. Applying a radically different collaboration thinking for co-creation can offer significant benefits, returns and rewards.
Marketplace Design can drive bottom-up Ecosystem designs.
Do Marketplace designs drive the adoption of platforms and ecosystems? Marketplaces should certainly be fast followers as they will shape future decisions by their attraction. Once a platform and its strategic design and intent are in place, Marketplace attracting becomes a critical attraction as the place you buy, sell and develop the solutions needed to achieve the value derived from building and investing in platforms and collaborations built around Ecosystem thinking and design.
Does this more “bottom-up” approach of accelerating the attraction of having Marketplaces more open and ready for the “trading” business make sense, and is the better way to achieve an Ecosystem adoption?
Marketplace designs can indeed drive the adoption of platforms and ecosystems. A marketplace approach can facilitate a “bottom-up” adoption strategy, where individual participants are attracted to the ecosystem through the value they can gain as buyers, sellers, or users of services.
It is always vitally important that any contributor to marketplace solutions receives recognition for their work, efforts, or willingness to participate in enabling and strengthening the Marketplace. The success of any Marketplace is engagement- making it attractive to participate and contribute.
The Importance of Hierarchy of Business Ecosystems
Why Are WeRecommendingNavigating into this World of Interconnected Ecosystems?
In the ever-changing and fast-paced world of business and innovation, the paradigm is shifting towards collaborative ecosystems. Traditional models are making way for a new approach emphasising openness, adaptability, and shared vision.
This transformative journey is encapsulated in the Hierarchy of Business Ecosystem Needs, a cascading framework comprising four interconnected layers: Innovation Ecosystems, Business Ecosystems, Dynamic Ecosystems, and the Ecosystems of Enterprises.
Introduction to the Hierarchy:
The Hierarchy of Business Ecosystem Needs is a construct of collaborative ecosystems, navigating complexity with agility, openness, and shared vision. Each layer contributes to the orchestration of innovation, business synergy, dynamic resilience, and collaborative prosperity.
The interconnected dynamics and strategic integration across layers create a self-reinforcing cycle of success. As organizations embark on this transformative journey, they move beyond boundaries, adapting to change, fostering resilience, and achieving collective prosperity through collaborative power, providing the catalyst to a different, highly collaborative management paradigm.
Sub–Title: “Prosperity Unleashed Through Collaborative Power”
The Ecosystem of Enterprises- the Apex in the Hierarchy of Business Ecosystems
The Ecosystem of Enterprises Layer- the pinnacle or apex
Ascend to the pinnacle within the Hierarchy of Business Ecosystem Needs where entities dynamically achieve prosperity through collaborative efforts across Enterprises—the Collaborative and Sustaining Prosperity point. The need here is to explore the mechanisms where organizations collaboratively drive value, share prosperity, and unlock opportunities that transcend individual capabilities. This is the final layer of the interconnected Ecosystem thinking and design.
I am introducing the Hierarchy of Business Ecosystem Needs in several posts within this framework. I am outlining the top layer here, the final layer- the Ecosystem of Enterprises. This drives the interconnected Ecosystems in all of what they do.
As I have previously mentioned, the design of this Hierarchy of Business Ecosystems is modular; each Ecosystem can stand alone and offer significant value, but it is part of a more extensive cohesive system where each layer contributes to the overall success of collaborative ecosystems.
The importance of this top tier- the Ecosystem of Enterprises
Leadership needs to drive the profound shift to highly collaborative and co-created Ecosystems, designed and thought through to achieve a collective vision, sets of objectives and ultimate success of (multiple) missions; it does that through this Ecosystem of Enterprises.
