Network & Collaborating Effects | Paul4innovating Innovation Views

Pitching Business Ecosystems opens up the possibility of real change.

Designing the Business Ecosystem Approach

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.

Should we step into the realm of Business Ecosystem Collaborations?

Exploring Complexities of Business Ecosystem Collaborations

Why should “we” step into the realm of ecosystem collaborations? What does one organization give away and has to overcome in constraints and organizational barriers that form part of those lingering concerns regarding embracing Business Ecosystems?

The question always starts with “do I not give away more than I have as an individual entity?” What would make this attractive is overcoming many of the unknowns. It is hard to know the cost/return/risks and value when you begin this journey. Do you give away intellectual property or gain more from collaborations?

Still, you have to contain the change and disruption by recognizing these unknowns are offset by the many immeasurable benefits that arise as you explore and exploit the collaborative benefits and scope and scale potentials.

“Would it make my organization a market challenger, provide first mover advantage? How would I contain the step process, and how would I see this taking shape?”

You do need to provide a compelling case that addresses these concerns.

I offer here many distinct aspects and strategic advantages. Collaborations are challenging but exciting and potentially rewarding, but they radically differ in how you conduct business. They are complex.

Business ecosystems give strategic advantages that offer levels of uniqueness and competitive advantage and can fulfil customer needs far more than “stand-alone” solutions.

Business Collaborations are needed more today due to growing complexities and challenges requiring a radically different unlocking method. The validation for such a radical change in operating this requires working through systematically. Let’s offer some of these here.

The building blocks of open innovation lead towards Business Ecosystems.

The building blocks of open innovation building towards Business Ecosystem design.

By incorporating Open Innovation Strategies as the next building block, businesses can create a dynamic and expansive innovation ecosystem beyond internal and partnership and certain collaborative boundaries.

This approach supports a culture of continuous learning, adaptation, and external collaboration, positioning the organization for sustained success in an ever-evolving business landscape that recognizes and learns how to collaborate and co-create, moving towards recognizing the value of Business Ecosystems.

Embracing Open Innovation Strategies as the next building block complements the collaborative nature of Business Ecosystems and broadens the innovation landscape out into a world of new possibilities where collaboration, co-creation and cooperation become realised for building and delivering products, concepts, and services that have new unique value and impact.

New Business Designs can be delivered through a Business Ecosystem Approach.

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.

What are the Barriers when Implementing Business Ecosystem-designed approaches

Implementing and Building Ecosystem Designs

While ecosystem-based approaches offer numerous advantages, there are also challenges and potential barriers that organizations may face.

As I was building out the Hierarchy of Business Ecosystem Needs, you have to consider many of the (current) issues and challenges being faced by advancing Ecosystem thinking and design. The business case adds more value and needs to think more about the impact of ecosystems in highly connected ways.

I believe in building the foundation layer, the Innovation Ecosystem pushes the “grey cells” and gives the best platform for integrating a comprehensive Ecosystem framework in my proposal, which comprises an Innovation Ecosystem, a Business Ecosystem, a Dynamic Ecosystem and the Enterprise Ecosystem.

The question of barriers and issues must be addressed to comprehensively understand the values of synergies, interdependencies and the exponential value created when these Business Ecosystem layers I am proposing in my Hierarchy framework are interconnected. Constructing an interconnected business ecosystem framework is undoubtedly “no walk in the park”; it is hard work.

Emerging Blueprint for Thinking Through the Hierarchy of Business Ecosystem Need

The Hierarchy Of Business Ecosystem Needs- A Blueprint View

Several vital considerations come into play in developing a blueprint to thrive and find solutions that provide growth and fresh impact to a business amidst growing complexity and uncertainty. One that argues for a different business approach, with Ecosystem thinking and design being central.

When I was pulling together my view of the needs and contributions Ecosystems can provide businesses, I recognized an identification of aspects as essential to consider, this blueprint consideration and then addressed what was necessary to provide a comprehensive solution for offering a Hierarchy of Business Ecosystem Needs as a viable alternative to the current way we undertake business.

Let’s explore these considerations to ensure a comprehensive approach to addressing the challenges at hand when building an ecosystem hierarchy for future growth and prosperity.

Being explicit about ecosystems in the context of organizational strategies provides several distinct advantages compared to traditional approaches. We increasingly need to consider ecosystems in our thinking and design to leverage more significant insights, extract knowledge and build on collaborative experiences and diversity of views.

Embracing the power of dynamic ecosystems.

Innovation’s power lies in the ability to adapt, evolve, and collaborate, and our need is to make this as much of a dynamic ecosystem as possible to tackle the growing complexity and challenges we are facing today and in the future.

In recent weeks, I have been deepening my thinking on innovation ecosystems and the dynamics within these that can make them different by giving them this “dynamic focus.”

So, it is time to embrace the power of dynamic ecosystems – where innovation excellence isn’t just a goal; it’s the very fabric of sustained success.

Dynamic ecosystems are not just about collaboration and innovation. They are also about adaptation and resilience. In today’s business landscape, where change is the only constant, businesses that can adapt quickly and effectively will be the ones that thrive. Dynamic ecosystems provide a framework for businesses to do just that.

Dynamic ecosystems are not just about individual businesses; they are about creating value for the entire ecosystem that businesses participate in.

Discover your unique innovator’s Sensory Profile.

I had a most enjoyable and rewarding conversation last week on Innovation and Ecosystem design. It was partly through this conversation with Margot Nijkamp-Diesfeld and Rick Wielens of the Eco System Thinking Institute (ESTI), based in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, that we got into the subject of creating different workshop concepts to stimulate those attending and draw out their greater awareness.

The idea of using all our sensory experiences came up, and I started to think, is there such a thing as having an innovator’s sensory profile? Would they be unique and help to unleash your inner innovator?

Should innovators be more attuned to details, nuances and changes in their environment, potentially allowing them to gather and process information uniquely to generate new insights and make more significant connections?

Over two posts, firstly here, I want to outline what might be in the attributes of an innovator’s sensory profile and in the second post following, the dynamics between sensory awareness and cognitive functions to realize the interconnected nature in seeing the shaping of our worlds in new and potentially radically different ways.

Design Thinking Requires the Human Touch in a World of Technology and GenAI.

Design thinking always requires the Human Touch.

Design Thinking is seen as the essential element that will combine with technology and AI in the future, yet the need for the human touch will still be essential.

As we form more around ecosystem thinking and design, design thinking will be essential as the significant enabler to creative input and provide added dimensions in this combination of human and machine..

There is a fascinating change by embracing Design Thinking principles differently in the future of innovation; organizations can foster a more profound culture of creativity, empathy, collaboration, and user-centricity, one we have often dreamed of in embracing design thinking but so often never achieving. This can lead to a radically different approach to developing innovative solutions, ones that need to consider the interplay between humans, technology, and generative AI.

It’s important to note, though, that while AI can provide valuable insights and technology automation in the design process, human creativity, critical thinking, and empathy remain essential and the core of innovation.

Visualizing the Composable Innovation Enterprise Framework

The design concept of the Composable Innovation Enterprise Framework

After a series of posts introducing and explaining the thinking and design behind the Composable Innovation Enterprise Framework, I thought it would be a good idea to put this into a sequence of visuals that should take you through this to provide a decent understanding of its make-up and logic.

Organizations in today’s business environment need to adapt rapidly and dynamically, have the need to bring the innovation management process into a constant technological advancement, and be more tailored in its design by their own specific needs and not “offered” as a rigid set of solutions. We need to embrace a significant change in the way we “set about” innovation.

If you are interested in reading more in the series I have been posting then here are the links in the order of posting.

The importance here is recognizing the shift in mindset and thinking towards a Building Block approach to build up the Innovation Stacks. Each stack “sits” on a technology platform. Thinking through what this means requires understanding, relating, and putting a clear context of innovation, what you want to achieve, and how to set about this.

Category: Network & Collaborating Effects