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T
ODAY'S ORGANIZATIONS are deeply embedded in complex
ecosystems. Understanding your company's space in its
ecosystem can help you anticipate market challenges and help
your company thrive during change.
Traditional thinking envisions companies as rivals, battling each
other for dominance and profit. Today's organizations operate in a
more complex world. They integrate competition and cooperation
in innovative and unexpected ways and they need each other in order to survive. These complex
relationships are best described as ecosystems.
An ecosystem is a dynamic web of interdependent organizations that rely on each other for success.
The ecosystem can make or break an organization. Yet ecosystem blindness — the inability to
understand and describe a company's ecosystem — pervades organizations. Most leaders fail to
comprehend the complex web of relationships in which their company operates and, as a result, create
fundamentally flawed strategies. Continue reading to learn how to cure ecosystem blindness and
benefit from knowledge of the complex web of relationships surrounding your organization.
An Ecosystem Crashes
In 2006, the Boston Globe Magazine covered a dramatic story of ecosystem failure. The tale focused
on a Rhode Island bookkeeper who embezzled 9 million dollars over the course of six years. Before
she was discovered, a host of businesses popped up to support her extravagant spending. A horse
trainer, thrilled by her new client's appetite for all things equestrian, committed herself full-time to the
embezzler's projects. A horticulturist turned away new customers for three months in order to create
the floral design for a lavish wedding planned by the embezzler.
In time, the embezzler was discovered. She lost her job and landed in jail. However, the ripple effect
from her crime spread across the ecosystem. The horse trainer was forced to close her business due
to lack of clients. The horticulturist was sued for the embezzled money paid to him. The company from
which the bookkeeper had embezzled was forced to lay off staff and close locations. This ecosystem
crashed suddenly, dramatically, and fatally.
Luckily, most organizations don't experience situations so extreme. However, all companies are part
of complex ecosystems that have the capacity to thrive or crash. Understanding your ecosystem — and
curing your ecosystem blindness — will help you and your organization thrive.
Curing Ecosystem Blindness: Your Company's
Place in the Business Ecosystem
M A N AG E M E N T A N D L E A D E R S H I P
