Does Your Business Need an Ecosystem or a Garden?

How many times have you heard the term ‘Ecosystem’? “You need to manage your ecosystem!” The various technical elements that make up your business are all important in their own right. They all deserve your attention. But do they work together? Were the solutions you’re managing selected to fulfill a need, because they work well with your other solutions, or perhaps both? Or has your environment grown organically?

Recently, while attending a technical seminar, the question was posed to me “Ecosystem or Garden?” My first thought was to think, I have no idea what they are talking about. Then the answer hit me… I want a garden!!!

The example we’ll use is your basic backyard pool. If you leave your pool unattended for a long time, lots of interesting things start to happen. All kinds of life pops up; algae, frogs, bugs, etc… This happens naturally over time. This is an ecosystem. And it represents the reality for many organizations. Environments are thrown together over time, growing with no real thought as to how the pieces fit together, or whether or not they even should.

A garden on the other hand is a collection of carefully maintained components, chosen with a specific purpose, working together to make the overall environment work better and more efficiently.

So what do we do? We change our vocabulary. No more ‘ecosystems’. It’s time we start viewing our environments as gardens, and cultivating all the pieces together as part of the bigger picture.

Happy gardening!!!