Uncategorized
The Other Yellowstone Ecosystem
Published
10 years agoon
By Greg Ruff WHITE SPACE STRATEGY
Just as natural resource-based bio-ecosystems operate in a complex natural balance, business ecosystems require deliberate, conscious management and shepherding of their resources to thrive.
How an ecosystem should look
Business Ecosystems, just like natural ecosystems have a specific shape, size and optimum configuration. However, they must evolve to reflect the whole product that customers want to buy.
As discussed in my last column, that whole product consists of everything a customer wants to accomplish during his or her time in the ecosystem.
In natural ecosystems, the climate, flora and fauna, geography and topography of the ecosystem dictates the available resources to provide the specific whole product needed for a species to survive. Deserts give rise to ecosystems that thrive in arid conditions; forests to other types of ecosystems; and tropical climates yet another shape, size and optimum configuration.
In business ecosystems, the shape size and optimum configuration of the ecosystem is determined by the job the customer wants to accomplish, which then defines the whole product needed to successfully accomplish that job.
To support this whole product, the business ecosystem has to evolve to provide all of these whole-product elements in the most easy and convenient way possible.
The Apple iPod ecosystem is a near perfect example of this kind of business ecosystem. It revolutionized the personal entertainment market, beginning with music then evolving to video, the Internet and applications. If we look at that ecosystem and how it evolved, we see an evolution in both the customer jobs and the whole product, as well as Apple’s masterful management of the ecosystem.
For the original iPod, the ecosystem had to include not only the iPod music player, but content provided by the major record labels, the iTunes Application for PC’s and Macs, and add-on products like cases, headphones, and adapters. The original iPod ecosystem looked like this:
As the iPod’s capabilities increased, the ecosystem grew further to include video content providers and finally application developers.
For each customer job, a business ecosystem must evolve to provide the whole product required by the customer. We might diagram the Big Sky Resort ecosystem like this:
It’s our responsibility to see that these ecosystem elements grow and thrive to provide a better, richer ecosystem to provide a superior Yellowstone-Big Sky-Bozeman Business Ecosystem.
Greg Ruff has consulted to Fortune 500 companies and startup businesses on management, market and growth strategies since 1987. He first visited Big Sky in 1993 and recently relocated here. In this column, he writes about how business- and bio-ecosystems can mutually benefit from creative thinking.
Megan Paulson is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Outlaw Partners.
Upcoming Events
march, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
more
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019: 4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
Time
February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
Event Details
My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy
more
Event Details
My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy that tells the story of Toby and Melinda, two lonely people whose lives are forever changed the night they encounter a starving coyote at their apartment building. Over time they grow to expect him, leaving ritual offerings to entice the coyote every night. Toby and Melinda forge a connection over this visitor and share curiosity and concern about his presence in the city. The coyote expands their world–until, one night, their world is shattered. Their lives are pushed suddenly into uncharted territory, sending them on a surreal odyssey that changes their city–and the world–forever.
Directed by LX Miller. Starring Max Schneider and Denise Hergett
Verge Theater is continuing their mission to provide accessible theater to our community. Tickets for My Barking Dog are Pay What You Wish with a suggested price of $35. Audience members are offered the opportunity to select the price point that is comfortable for them when purchasing tickets.
My Barking Dog runs March 15-17, 22-24, 28-30
Performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays begin at 7:00 p.m., with Sunday matinees offered at 3:00 p.m.
Suitable for ages 16 . No animals are harmed in the staging of this production.
Tickets are available online at www.vergetheater.com
Time
15 (Friday) 7:00 pm - 30 (Saturday) 8:30 pm
Location
Verge Theater
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
Event Details
Thursday of the Lord’s Supper Mass St. Joseph Catholic Mission
Event Details
Thursday of the Lord’s Supper Mass
St. Joseph Catholic Mission
Time
(Thursday) 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm