Bridges To Knowledge: A Blog by Barry Camson

Discovering the Ecosystem Within: An Approach to Design

The great irony with regard to business ecosystems is that businesses are not organized as ecosystems while at the same time they are ecosystems. All of the components of an ecosystem may already be resident in and about the organization while at the same time not being recognized as such. This post describes the phenomena and then takes a step toward addressing how to intervene to bring the ecosystem into ascendance.

Let's look for some of the attributes of an ecosystem in the contemporary organization. They exist in various stages of development.

Creating Sustainable Value Chains

Taking a value chain approach is particularly helpful when addressing how to build in sustainability as an integral part of a large and complex organization. The overarching goal in such an effort is to make the entire organization as well as its ecosystem of suppliers and customers more sustainable. These approaches differ significantly from previous efforts of "greenwashing" the organization or creating a separate sustainability function divorced from the daily life of the organization. The current recognition reflects the importance of making sustainability part of the daily mission and work of each person in the organization.

This post sets out the steps that can be used to accomplish this.

These steps are derived from two Harvard and Stanford business cases, dealing with Unilever and Walmart respectively. The steps tend to be iterative and will apply differently depending on specific conditions.

 

 

The Polysemous Organization

The organization or political jurisdiction of the Newtonian age and the following Industrial Age was one in which all could be reduced to a singularity.

The Newtonian world-view held that it is possible to arrive at a perfect, objective representation of the world outside us which in turn allows us to accurately predict all phenomena. In this mechanistic paradigm, one could attain simplicity, coherence and completeness. The Newtonian approach had a great influence on the scientific and organizational world for most of the next three hundred years. In this world, one finds predominant the idea of one meaning, one fixed structure of governance, one defined process and one person doing the governing.

It is shocking then to realize that Shakespeare who was writing a century before Newton does not at all subscribe to this singular view of reality. In creating a world where multiple, potential meanings abound, Shakespeare provides a guiding path to our own future.

Managing The Polarities Of Contact In A Network

Longer-term sustainability in a network is supported by managing the polarities of contact in the network. Specifically, I am focusing on the polarities of contracting and expansion. Each represents a different focus that needs to coexist in a larger network for that network to be ultimately effective and sustainable. I view these as akin to breathing which requires both a contracting and expansion phase.

Achieving Our Full Network Potential

"What would our network be like if we could achieve our full potential?"

Questions like these were at the core of a workshop that I recently attended that was given by Beth Tener. The workshop was about asking "strategic questions." A strategic question helps open up the person with whom you are speaking to new possibilities. A strategic question is characterized as being open-ended and positive. It asks the other person to look beyond the "shoulds" in their life to explore how a desired state could be attained. A question might be: "what would it take in order for you to attain what you are looking for?" Asking such a question also helps the questioner to have an experience as a positive, possibility-seeking person.

Value Propositions In Networks

We are learning that networks as a means of conducting business or creating social change cannot be treated like our traditional "bricks and mortar" organizations. This is true for both networks made up of individuals and those composed of member organizations. It is important to understand how networks differ from traditional organizations. This, in turn, leads us to changing the way we respond to networks in our efforts to help develop and improve them. Thinking of networks in terms of their value propositions can be very helpful in working effectively with networks.

Whither The Value Chain - Does It Have A Role In Our Future?

Over the last two decades we have seen a growing sophistication in discussing and using the concept of a value chain. In my own experience, this has consisted of the use of more well-developed approaches for understanding and redesigning linear processes especially the use of socio-tehcnical systems design (STS). We practitioners then experimented with non-linear design recognizing the increasing role of knowledge work. Others worked to perfect the value chain concept talking about what to do with the white spaces in between steps and extending the value chain on a global basis. Throughout all of this, the underlying assumption was that of the almost inviolate value chain even as we saw it as being less and less linear.

The challenge I believe we are facing now is what role does the value chain have in a network of providers. Can you have a value proposition without having a value chain? If so, then how is value produced? How do you account for the transformation of goods and services from raw materials to finished output? Does a value chain provide more room for maneuver than a supply chain?

"What's In A Name?" W. Shakespeare

For the last year, I have been endeavoring to identify the elements of a network, specifically an inter-organizational network. These are the components that networks often have that when pursued lead to important information about a network.

Leadership And Behavior In An Inter-Organizational Network

I have been thinking about leadership in an inter-organizational network. Specifically, I have been thinking about the valued role a leader can play in fostering engagement and in maintaining the boundaries in which engagement can occur. I like to call this "holding the container." Related to this is the role that the member of a network can play both in their role as a potential distributed leader as well as a person who collaborates with others.

Is This A Network?

"Is this a network?" is a question that I find myself continually asking as I encounter each unique grouping of organizations that are linked together in different ways. Naturally, what one concludes in answer to this question depends on what one's definition of a network is. I have reviewed the literature and reflected on my own experience and here is how I would define an inter-organizational network.