Integrated Frameworks of Innovation and Ecosystem Design and Thinking
To reflect this need for today’s complex business dynamics, I have been revising and updating my integrated approaches to ecosystems through the updated positioning of the Composable Innovation Framework and then here in the Interconnected Business Ecosystem Framework. The emphasis on interconnected combines deeper integrated thinking.
The importance of being interconnected is essential in today’s world.
We need to recognize many changes are being undertaken. To reflect this these two frameworks offer a more modern, network-centric view of business operations and strategy.
In today’s complex business landscape, leveraging partner ecosystems offers a competitive edge.
Building an effective partner ecosystem in systematic stages in thinking and design becomes increasingly critical, to build the mindset, skills and understanding of what this means in undertaking to yield the level of return in different routes to growth and value.
Many organizations struggle with this transitioning from individual initiatives of partnering, mostly in partner agreements covering the supply chain, logistics and often in selected sales partners and distributors. These offer a foundation of sorts no doubt and are essential for maintaining the existing business but there is a whole different world of partner ecosystems out there to tap into!
Charting a pathway of collaboration to a successful Ecosystem
It’s not just about where you fit in the ecosystem – it’s about how you can reshape it, and the unique journey you’ll undertake to get there, transforming your ecosystem presence from a set of business relationships into a vibrant, strategic asset that defines your place in the interconnected economy, making it resilient and highly adaptive. The ability to be highly collaborative and adaptive.
Charting Your Unique Path to Collaborative Success
Building out the arguments to make a compelling business change case for Business Ecosystems needs to cover significant areas to address and recognise. Any view needs to offer some compelling reasons to recognize that there is a powerful need to shift to a more modern, network-centric view for business operations and strategy. Compiling this set of opinions takes time to shape into a concise document.
Here, I want to limit the positioning to two parts: today’s need to change our thinking, recognition, and design aspects toward business ecosystems and then provide a future awareness document.
You need to recognise its multiple parts to make any significant change towards ecosystems as a business approach. So, my aim here is to provide a more comprehensive and forward-looking perspective, making the argument more compelling and actionable for C-level executives.
Achieving a new positioning in Ecosystem differentiation
I have been spending a lot of my time working through Business Ecosystems, trying to get a decent “handle” on what matters as the most critical dynamics and, secondly, why ecosystems are rising in importance to support reshaping multiple business landscapes and determine what practices will unlock value and impact.
Staggering as it might seem, 86% of clients perceive ecosystems offered by firms to be very similar and want to know why their time and investment in any Ecosystem will enable them to stand out and be differentiated with all its potential disruption in the risks it can pose.
Ecosystems are complex, and I have been trying to encapsulate a (more) concise positioning statement to amplify what needs to be considered and where I think I can really help. Ecosystems are so important in our designs for the future, and a collaborative approach combining expertise, diversity, and knowledge is needed.
In recent years, the business world has undergone a profound transformation. The traditional view of organizations as rigid hierarchies with clear boundaries and linear processes is rapidly becoming obsolete.
Instead, we’re witnessing the emergence of fluid, interconnected ecosystems where value creation is distributed, collaborative, and dynamic, moving across multiple Ecosystems of collaborators to solve more complex challenges and enhance business value. This shift is not just semantic; it represents a fundamental change in how we understand and operate within the modern business landscape.
My move with the repositioning from “Hierarchy of Business Ecosystems” to “Interconnected Business Ecosystem Framework” reflects this paradigm shift.
Many business organizations have already attracted and worked with various ecosystem partners to solve immediate and longer-term issues.
Those who work within Partner Ecosystems recognize the value and benefits of overcoming many immediate operational issues.
When you view Partner Ecosystems as far more strategic to your business, you require another completely different level of collaborative work and mindset to solve challenges and complex issues that can bring a fresh dimension to your growth ambitions.
copyright SIA Partners, with permission on Partner Ecosystems
I have entered into a collaborative partnership with SIA Partners on Partner Ecosystems. Combining expertise, connections, methodologies, capabilities, and client work in advising, mentoring, and consulting is exciting; in offering some genuinely unique IP methodology in concept designs, research, and industry and institution connections, a compelling service offering is emerging. We believe the diversity within the proven application and combined strengths offer much.
The time to engage to discuss what this might mean to different businesses, institutions, and societies requires radically new thinking. Partner Ecosystems can solve complex issues, make a real difference in enhancing lives, and, in many cases, save lives through collaborative efforts.
Irrespective of providing solutions to the immediate and surface-level issues we are facing today, we encourage and all need to dive deeper into those systemic challenges and position at the forefront of collaborative and co-creation approaches. This requires a progressive mindset, a recognition we must change so you can differentiate your propositions and demonstrate a deep understanding of the complexities involved in tackling systemic business issues.
Are you considering building a greater understanding of where Ecosystem thinking and design can fit within your organization?
The Interconnected Business Ecosystem Framework is a pioneering and holistic approach that redefines how organizations create value, drive innovation, and achieve long-term success in an increasingly complex and dynamic business environment.
“Deploying a design that recognizes the layers of an Innovation Ecosystem that feeds the Business Ecosystem, and these provide the Dynamic Ecosystem to adjust and respond and, when combined, allow the Enterprise Ecosystem to unlock untapped potential driving sustained growth and achieving collective prosperity that thrives on its interdependence and interconnectedness.”
The selling of Business Ecosystems needs facilitation and realization
So often, you get the question, “What are the arguments for selling B2B business ecosystems?”
Then why would enterprises invest in such a significant change to their systems and structures? Where is the value and payback?
It should be recognized that selling B2B business ecosystems to enterprises can be a compelling proposition as it offers several potential benefits and value propositions. Here are some key top level arguments for why enterprises might invest in adopting a B2B business ecosystem approach:
