Embracing Innovation Ecosystems for Evolution and Revolution
My definition of innovation ecosystems is that they are dynamic, interconnected networks of diverse actors and resources that come together to collaborate to drive innovation opportunity and create a more compelling value.
They are progressively replacing “just” innovation as this tends to be housed in one organization, to be developed and delivered on the resources and insights they have.
Innovation Ecosystems are richer due to this diversity, different knowledge and market intelligence that a broader group can bring into the creative thinking and market realization.
This interconnected community find ways to bring new ideas to market, built on their shared vision, having a collaborative and supportive environment to use, such as a shared platform, and able to reach out to a variety of resources that become accessible to all participants.
During May and June 2023, I worked through and concluded my thinking on why we needed to change our Innovation approach. A radical change from far to often a linear one, into a new, more up-to-date, and dynamic solution for managing innovation.
This solution recognises that innovation discovery all the way through to implementation is now so often non-linear and that is causing plenty of problems connecting all the understandings fully up in one manageable place
I have called this the Composable Innovation Framework– here is why and what went into this proposal that I feel should be adopted for managing innovation in the future.
As the investigation, validation, and viewpoints were built up over numerous posts I am summarising the series here
We need to shift our innovative thinking from static to dynamic.
Recently, I presented my framework to the GIMI think tank GIMI was initiated by a worldwide group of chief innovation officers, innovation executives, academics and consultants in 2009.
The framework I offered is built upon interconnected ecosystems. Connecting innovation, business, dynamics, and enterprise is crucial for creativity, growth, adaptability and growth.
In the event, I was asked what the difference is and why we should shift from today’s traditional innovation models to this interconnected one where innovation ecosystems are the foundation.
So, I want to explain the importance of shifting our thinking towards designing innovation ecosystems. Organizations must rethink their innovation strategies and approaches and focus on opening up to building these interconnected ecosystems.
Defining and building Interconnected Business Ecosystems
This past week was a highly satisfying one. Besides different advisory, consulting, and mentoring activities, this was a week when I felt I had made some significant advances in my Interconnected Business Ecosystem Framework.
It is nicely taking shape, with many parts fleshed out and described. I completed four critical investigation parts and published them on my ecosystems4innovating.com posting site.
The Interconnected Business Ecosystem framework is pioneering in its approach, which aims to help organizations navigate the complexities of today’s business landscape through this interconnected, collaborative ecosystem approach.
The core is establishing an innovative collaboration foundation to reach dynamic collaborations across a diverse ecosystem of partners that unlocks collective prosperity.
The framework looks to 1) tap into collective intelligence, 2) accelerate innovation by cross-pollination, 3) enhance resilience and agility, 4) deliver superior customer experience, and 5) optimize resource utilization across the parties sharing in this interconnected ecosystem.
Dynamics and Knowledge are essential to your future
Dynamism and knowledge insights are crucial to unlocking and stimulating new ideas or thinking. It is all about actively shaping thoughts or insights to navigate the changing terrain.
We do need to actively navigate the rapidly changing business landscape in multiple ways it is not just about reacting to external forces. It’s about proactively shaping the direction and actively participating in the evolution of your industry, your positioning and your own insights.
In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, the ability to build a strong case, stay informed, and think critically is the key to unlocking success and driving innovation.
In January of this year, I introduced the thinking behind “the Hierarchy of Business Ecosystem needs.” This framework was outlined initially in a series of seven posts on my dedicated ecosystem posting site.
On this posting site here, I provided numerous supporting posts in “given” areas of Business Ecosystems that covered some areas I felt were important explainers. This filled a number of critical gaps in building a more comprehensive understanding of Business Ecosystems in their different parts for providing a “fitting” context.
If you go to the “Explore My Insights and Thinking” tag shown above, you will see there are two files you can download that provide all of these posts in a PDF format.
“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.
I have been looking at different ways to pitch Business Ecosystems recently for some evolving and hopefully sustaining work.
You can “pitch” to clients in several different ways. Some know their problems, while others don’t recognize them until they are prompted or confronted. If you have a tried and tested way to solve problems, you can become a little blocked from considering something that looks on the surface as radically different, but underneath might be the pathway (to salvation) for new sustaining solutions.
Pitching business ecosystems has to gain attention and be seen as a (radically) different way to tackle growing complex and challenging business problems. The problem for many is that it does “confront” them in considering the multiple layers of what this might mean regarding changes in mindset, organization thinking, and design, rethinking trust by opening up to others outside your existing network and adapting to a new way of design and thinking.
I will tackle different approaches over several posts, but first, let’s look at organizational strategies and the distinct advantages Business Ecosystems can have compared to the more traditional ways of tackling challenges today.
Achieving Meaningful Change through Business Ecosystems
Several business organizations have committed to navigating complexity, fostering dynamism and originality in approaching innovation and business ecosystems.
These have been addressing and adapting to these rapidly evolving changes by quickly spotting and seizing the potential of exploring new ways to undergo business.
We all recognise that markets are changing, complexity is growing, and challenges are more formidable to manage without extended help. This requires all businesses to face rapidly changing business environments to design their response rates and abilities to react differently. How radical will this be?
It is the connecting up of opportunities with the ability to design the solution in highly exploratory and exploitative ways of learning that begin to break down complexity and see new ways to evolve. This is where Ecosystems in thinking and design come in.
By reacting and exploring, searching for change and competitive advantage, each company below has explored through technology and partnerships opportunities that build upon their Ecosystem’s unique strengths.
New Business Design- Empower Your Business Ecosystem.
When looking at radically different thinking and design in business, where Ecosystems become central, you need to ask yourself what industries would benefit from such an alternative design and thinking due to the changing complexities and challenges they are facing.
Are these pressures in their known and emerging markets posing future threats for businesses and whole market sectors?
Markets today are radically changing and are more demanding. The growing need to face growing complexity and challenges constantly unsettles the normal.
The value of opening up and embracing Ecosystems in design and thinking is that you can attract diverse expertise and knowledge into fresh partnerships and collaborations that can piece together radically different value propositions and shift competitors’ positioning.
I decided this posting site to be the principal supporting site for building different insights and understandings of Ecosystems. The main framework around the Hierarchy of Business Ecosystems Needs is over on www.ecosystems4innovating.com; in a series of detailed posts on each layer of the Ecosystem construct, take a look at each part in explanations of why each Ecosystem is interconnected and feeds the others.
On this site, I have been exploring issues associated with building Ecosystems, each valuable to read, such as collective learning, resistance, values of interconnected layers, barriers, a blueprint and a base post of “Why Ecosystems” and illustrating where and how ecosystems think and design are emerging.
Scroll down the home page or enter the topic in the search box to find these ready to read on this posting site. They provide a sound basis for considering Ecosystems by working through the views offered.
In this post, I provide different industries’ challenges that lend themselves to Ecosystem thinking and Design.
Paradigm shifts come from collective learning within a Business to build different Ecosystems.
How can we realize the power of ecosystem thinking and design and its growing value to enterprises? This will come through collective learning, exchanging and exploring a diversity of opinions and experiences. Achieving alternative perspectives enables a level of discovery that enables innovation
it is the need to embrace new organizational design that Ecosystem thinking needs to be considered for building a different approach to the new business needs based on the recognition that the way we approach management in markets is going through radical change.
Today, we face fast-changing markets, constant change and growing complexity; customers are opening up to different and diverse experiences, and it is learning and gaining new understanding and knowledge that will give us the more significant potential to expand and build out new value and growth opportunities.
Ecosystem thinking and design require continuous collective learning.We require different conversations.
