Innovating in the Age of Ecosystems

Evolutionary Ecosystem Thinking should be adopted by Business

Evolutionary thinking makes Innovation different

When we are conceptualizing organization structures and relationships in Ecosystem thinking and design we often begin by attempting to relate this to Natural Ecosystems. We often miss the connections, perhaps this might help

Traditional business frameworks often get caught in mechanistic metaphors but natural ecosystem perspectives need a fundamentally different mindset. Why?

+Recognizing no business exists in isolation but in growing complex webs of relationships and dependencies

+ We need greater adaptation over rigid planning, we need to think continuous evolution and response change

+ Today we need to recognize we gain increasing value and insights from emergent outcomes, where the dynamic interactions within the system are more impactful that top-down directives

+ We are recognizing system dynamics have cascading effects, often indirect consequences and diversity of networks need to be considered to build resilient systems

So we need to often re-frame through natural ecosystem lens.

Lets call this evolutionary ecosystem thinking

Is the horizon the past or the future in innovation dynamism?

Innovation has entered its death spiral as many have known it.

I mean it, innovation is starved, bleeding from a lack of resources, finances and top leadership resolve. It is fighting nothing more than rearguard defense.

Forget linear processes, forget one company inventions, forget the reliance of all the internal parts of the organization to support you, especially if you are an outlier, separated from the core of the business, sitting in some remote part of the world searching for inspiration, you are operating in a time capsule of old innovation practices.

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.

Dynamism and Knowledge are essential to your future

In today’s business landscape, where change is the only constant, businesses that can adapt quickly and effectively will be the ones that thrive through active dynamism. Dynamic ecosystems provide a framework for businesses to do just that

To make an Innovation or Business Ecosystem dynamic, interconnected, and capable of engaging a diverse group that drives innovation and business tasked with creating real impact and value, any business ecosystem should include the following key elements:

Recognizing the differences in Innovation Ecosystem Design

Recently I have been reading or listening too different understandings of innovation ecosystems. Some fuse and some confuse.

All have some merit but are not defining enough for me, so here is my take.

So to kick things off lets offer a clear definition of what an innovation ecosystem is and why it is important in today’s business environment?

Defining Innovation Ecosystems:

Definition: An innovation ecosystem is a dynamic, interconnected network of diverse actors and resources that collaborate to drive innovation and create value.

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?

The Story of Dynamic Ecosystems- the adaptive core

I am offering a different perspective here, one that explores dynamic ecosystems as a transformative organizational model. Sit back and listen.

I asked Google Notebook LM to look at one of my articles: “A fresh perspective of Dynamic Ecosystems”.

Expanding on the idea of Dynamic Ecosystems as the decision-making and adaptability core of business ecosystems involves positioning them as both the “intelligence layer” and the “adaptive engine” that powers business agility, resilience, and growth. This approach redefines their role from a passive network to a responsive, intelligence-driven hub that continuously senses, learns, and guides the ecosystem.

Let them tell the Dynamic Ecosystem story

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

I closed out my posts in 2023 reflecting on the “golden” threads that need to weave through innovation business ecosystems. So equally I share these four threads here again as they are so important to Business Ecosystem thinking and design going forward.

I raised the ecosystem thinking and design story ““At the heart of this story lies the understanding that innovation is NEVER a solitary endeavor; it thrives really well within ecosystems.

Just imagine these ecosystems as intricate and interconnected sets of networks, bustling with activity, with thinkers and doers, where individuals, organizations, and institutions converged with a shared goal – to innovate and create value“

The value of business ecosystems needs to be highly dynamic. Four threads need to weave through innovation ecosystem designs“

Did I achieve this weaving throughout the year?

Innovating in the Age of Ecosystems

Evolutionary Ecosystem Thinking should be adopted by Business

The Challenging Conditions for today’s Innovation Practice

Forget traditional operating models when dealing in Business Ecosystems

How to build Innovation Ecosystem Dynamism

Defining Innovation Ecosystems and working on the differences

Feeling trapped,break out of the box with innovation ecosystems

Dynamic Ecosystems: The Adaptive Core of Business

Recognizing Dynamics Ecosystems are the core to Innovation change

Lets change the old record and sound on innovation

The four golden threads that weave through ecosystem design