The Ecosystem Economy

4Going Where the Puck Will Be: Choosing Where to Play in the New Ecosystem Economy

In every learning experience, there comes a point when it's time to put theory into action—to take the abstract principles you've absorbed and apply them in the real world. This is the point we've now reached. In Part One of this book, we told the story of how ecosystems are transforming our economy—taking you through their past, present, and future. Now it's time to think about what that future holds for you, the reader—presumably someone who has a stake in the progress of the economy, someone who is interested in growing a business and having a broader positive impact on society. In Part Two, we will consider the implications of the ecosystem economy, and enumerate some steps you can take to give yourself the best possible shot at success.

As we move into a more practical discussion of ecosystems, it's good to remind ourselves of what exactly we mean when we use that word. Ecosystems, you'll recall, are communities of interconnected digital and physical businesses that work across the boundaries between traditional sectors of the economy to provide what customers need. Businesses form ecosystems by partnering with one another—by sharing assets, information, and resources—and ultimately creating value beyond what would have been possible for each of them to achieve individually. Ecosystems, we should remember, are distinct from traditional partnerships among businesses like vendor and customer ...