Understanding the Second Curve Economy
As the Council on Competitiveness
notes, "There are no ‘low tech’ industries—only low technology
companies that fail to incorporate new ideas and methods into their
products and processes. Innovation opportunities are present today in
virtually any industry."
We explain the
difference by referring to a First Curve or Second Curve economy. Our
First Curve economy is dominated by hierarchical organizations focused
on managing costs. In the Second Curve economy, business models focus
on creating networks and value webs.
As Henry Chesbrough notes in his book Open Innovation, the old industrial model of innovation has given way to a new approach based on building networks.
These
developments carry profound implications for regional economies.
Regions that have thick, open networks will be more prosperous. They
will learn faster, spot their opportunities faster, align their
resources faster, and act faster. The disciplines, habits and
practices that I-Open is developing are designed to help regions
compete in the Second Curve economy.
Strengthening Networks in Our Civic Spaces
One
of the core disciplines now involves weaving networks in our "civic
spaces". Economic development takes place in the civic space outside
the four walls of any one organization. One of the key insights of the
second paragraph, becomes an understanding that we need to organize our
civic spaces more effectively.
Many of
the challenges and opportunities we face today require us to innovate
in new and different ways. Yet, most communities have no common
practice to generate or test new ideas. Even worse, in some
communities the practices of civility have deteriorated dramatically.
Working with our colleagues, Valdis Krebs, June Holley and Jack Ricchuitto, we have developed training to teach civic leaders the new skills of weaving open networks in their communities.
People
move in the direction of their conversations. So, for example, when
people come together to discuss common issues, it matters how we frame
the conversation. Some years ago, David Cooperrider at Case Western
Reserve University, develop the practice of appreciative inquiry to
guide large scale change in organizations.
Civic leaders are emerging who adopt a number of different roles:
Champion: A leader who sees an innovation and commits to realizing its potential.
Captain: A leader who guides a team through a complex, multi-stage development process.
Coach:
A leader who demonstrates how new civic skills -- and the practice of
"strategic doing" -- can accelerate collaboration and innovation.
Convenor:
A leader who is able to engage interested parties in an extended
conversation to identify new ideas and convert them into action.
Connector: A
leader who consistently sees new connections in the civic space and who
takes steps to develop stronger networks by "closing triangles".
RSS
Comments
Hide comments
