Moving towards the integrated future of Innovation and Business Ecosystems

Heading towards 2025 on Innovation and Business Ecosystems integration thinking

Where I stand today that moves me to the future

Let me provide a really short round up of 2024 from my learning and explaining on innovation ecosystems and specifically integrated business ecosystems. Then I outline some of my plans for 2025 to build out the value of Ecosystems in business.

Ecosystems for business have an absolute need to be integrated, they are heavily interconnected. This post of A New Way to Drive Value Through The Integrated Business Ecosystem Design provides handy visuals depicting the different ecosystems that make up (my) integrated business ecosystem framework.

I have spend time on measuring success, defining the different components, exploring and extending this out. I had a recent post showing some key developments in this thinking with reference posts, moving towards providing a compelling business ecosystem case

I sought out a AI generated view from Google NotebookNL research assistants discussing why Ecosystems are really different to consider, which I found encouraging and good, easy listening.

The work in 2024 will gather even more pace in 2025

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A New Way to Drive Value Through The Integrated Business Ecosystem Design

Ecosystems in the business environment are taking on a growing importance to manage greater complexity and challenges in unique collaborations than the one single organization cannot handle themselves, so limiting their growth and value potential

We need a different framing of Ecosystems, in appreciating the whole as well as its parts. Often, we describe Ecosystems in far too simplistic terms and fail to recognize the interconnected value we need to bring together from multiple Ecosystems and Networks to extract the value potential that is possible in today’s connected world.

In constructing these Ecosystems I have here provided a short explainer of the Integrated Business Ecosystem Frame and then a summary page of each of its parts with specific definitions and key component parts outlined. These are Ecosystems specifically dealing with innovation, start-up and entrepreneurial, business, dynamism, business, enterprise and enterprise to enterprise (E2E)

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How to Design and Resolve Effective Business Ecosystem Governance.

Building Effective Business Governance has multiple challenges.

We must emphasise the importance of ecosystem governance, providing a comprehensive structure for designing a practical framework. The robustness and depth of Governance understanding make or break Business Ecosystems. Building a robust governance framework clarifies that managing business ecosystems is not for the faint-hearted or light-of-pocket in all the aspects that need to be considered.

Managing governance is challenging but essential if we recognize that business ecosystems offer immense potential for innovation, rapid scaling, and adaptability. Otherwise, Ecosystems can become expensive and often disruptive ventures. They need to be managed well.

Early research indicates that less than 15% of business ecosystems are sustainable in the long run, with the primary reason for failure lying in the governance model, according to MIT Sloan in How Business Ecosystems Rise and Often Fall, published in 2019.

We have made significant progress in the past few years due to a growing understanding of Governance needs across all parties and the appreciation of the real differences in thinking, designing, and operating in business ecosystems.

The growing recognition of the real power of ecosystems is in the diversity and knowledge sharing today. Also, the recognition that balancing collective interests, mitigating risks, enforcing compliance, and promoting long-term sustainability from kick-off.

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Dynamic Adaptation and Resilience in Interconnected Business Ecosystems

The Dynamic Ecosystem within the Interconnected Business Ecosystems

Business Ecosystems are the growing force to galvanize change and build a more collaborative culture, where the partners’ diversity enables solutions to be solving more complex and challenging problems we seem to be facing today.

When thinking about and designing business ecosystems, you must recognize that different ecosystems contribute, evolve, and determine their part in a “bigger” scheme of things. Recognizing that innovation, business, dynamic, and enterprise ecosystems through the design to be interconnected has evolved into the Interconnected Business Ecosystem framework.

Below in this post, I have clarified where the Dynamic Ecosystem fits and its significant contribution, influence, and impact on the health, dynamism, and future solution orientation we strive for in any new solutions. The C-level pitch sums it up well.

I have written extensively about “the dynamics within a system,” especially an innovation one, arguing that adaptation and resilience are consequences of practising “dynamics.” I got caught up in the importance of studying and recommending the need to build dynamic capabilities. More recently, I have written about the critically crucial dynamic ecosystem that “sits” in the interconnected business ecosystems of innovation, business, dynamics, and enterprise.

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Interdependence and Feedback Loops are pivotal in successful Interconnected Business Ecosystems

Interdependence and Feedback Loops are pivotal to Interconnected Business Ecosystems

In any interconnected business ecosystem design, two pivotal components work in tandem to ensure the system’s overall health, adaptability, and success. The interdependence and feedback loops are intrinsically linked and mutually reinforcing. This recognition and emphasis on their importance are critical to building a robust business ecosystem.

The combination of interdependence and feedback loops creates a dynamic and self-regulating system. Interdependence highlights the need for coordinated action and shared awareness among ecosystem participants, while feedback loops provide the necessary information and insights to inform that coordinated action.

This post aims to break down the two and combine them in explanations and initial understanding. Examples of measuring them at operational and strategic levels and providing a more comprehensive and systematic approach are not discussed here. That is better at any designing and implementing stage.

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Applying Super Governance to the Interconnected Business Ecosystem.

Applying Super Governance to Interconnected Business Ecosystems

I have been working on further developing and creating a comprehensive framework for the Interconnected Business Ecosystem that addresses various aspects of ecosystem design, management, and governance.

I debated if I needed to add a super governance layer that ensures alignment, stability, and ethical practices across the entire ecosystem.

I have resisted this and have not added a further layer, as much of what is required from governance lies within any layer. I believe that within each of the four layers—Innovation, Business, Dynamic, and Enterprise—you add these suggestions to give them each a “super governance” managing aspect that can be “rolled up” in the final Enterprise layer if needed for any Enterprise Collaboration Board level resolution.

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The Pitching of the Interconnected Business Ecosystem Framework

Building Interconnected Business Ecosystems

I am working to validate and expand on the value proposition of the Interconnected Business Ecosystem Framework and have tried to create, hopefully, a compelling pitch that will bring others on board to advance this initiative. I have published this pitch on both of my primary sites, discussing innovation, business, and ecosystems, as they both provide a combination effect for understanding this framework.

I initially called this “the hierarchy of business ecosystem needs,” which built out an interconnected framework of business ecosystems that give organizations a real alternative to how they operate today and in the future.

I provided a comprehensive series of outline papers as the introduction phase earlier this year, which provided the concepts forming a cohesive outline structure of how organizations should think through the future. Also, I provided an earlier view on my paul4innovating.com posting site of “pitching business ecosystems opens up the possibility of real change.”

We need to really open our thinking towards collaborative ecosystems. This is one of openly collaborating and co-creating in different Ecosystem structures and designs to provide a greater diversity of opinions, knowledge, and resources.

This “pooling or network effect” forms around more complex challenges to tackle, thus giving a more sustaining and hopefully greater value in solutions to the needs of their customers, markets, or areas of need.

I have recognized this needed rebranding- hierarchy has some negative connotations.

I have now entitled this The Interconnected Business Ecosystem Framework as it reflects the essence of what I believe this framework provides

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Business Ecosystems are important today

Interconnected Business Ecosystems

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.

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Valuing Business Ecosystems Driving Design and My Thinking

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.

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A Statement of Ecosystem Intent – the CEO letter often missing

A Statement of Ecosystem Intent – the CEO letter that is often missing but highly essential to have as part of any ecosystem design thinking.

Ecosystems have become a really hot topic. The word “Ecosystem” is getting as much “air time” as the general use of the word “innovation” in business recently.

It generates buzz, it projects the impression you are looking to the future, managing your business in that progressive, outward way, that shareholders and your employees love to hear.

The shift taking place- Ecosystems are entering the lexicon of top management.

It does sound good to talk about “building our ecosystem” in every possible way. You need to ask though, has management actually sat down and defined the type of ecosystem it wants to design, participate in, or become part of? Or does this simply happen, a sort of drifting into, a grand experiment, not connecting all that is truly necessary for such a seismic move, stifling the real progressive sense?

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