Innovative ecosystems in regional towns.

You build great towns and villages on innovative ecosystems.

Innovative ecosystems are vital to a town or village’s innovation, economic viability and resilience. Often, the first place entrepreneurs will look at is innovative ecosystems that can support and impact the community’s prosperity. The time for talkfests is over; it’s time for action.

Entrepreneurs create innovative ecosystems and environments for new businesses to start, build, grow, and scale as part of a region’s economic and community development initiatives.

In Australia, innovation ecosystems are on the minds of many due to the devastation caused by droughts. Communities’ consciousness has been raised, but are innovative ecosystems growing in your community? New regional and community development approaches are putting urgency into many aspects of our towns and villages.

What approaches are you taking to innovative ecosystems?

So much of Australia’s prosperity and lifestyle depends on our rural communities. If the governments and the population of our big cities do not support the regional communities in times of drought and flooding rains, they won’t be there to help them when they want and need them.

Improving your ecosystems will grow towns and villages.

Ecosystems are vital for any business, non-profit or community, as even a minor slip-up can mean the difference between scoring record achievements or not much at all.

You want the residents and other people to know and understand the ecosystems in which they operate. It can represent the perfect example of a community going positively ballistic in the marketplace.

Having patience is the hard part.

New innovative ecosystems can take years to develop, and the outcomes can never be guaranteed to have an impact promptly. People’s reactions to being forced to include patience range from simple annoyances and frustration to uncontrollable anger.

Impatience impacts everybody differently. It must be challenged in a positive and meaningful way, addressing the lack of control, the abundance of power, busy lifestyles, lack of attendance, the need for problem-solving and decision-making, and the need for understanding and education.

Because it takes time, patience forces us to be involved without the certainty of the outcomes. Uncertainty in the mix creates anxiety, worry and possibly depression because we are either desperate or impatient when it comes to bringing about improvements.

Innovative ecosystem theories need to be put into action.

The range of theories can span from the possible to the probable to the ridiculous, often leaving people in a state of confusion, frustration, and excessive stress. Of course, the good part about having patience is that it allows many options to come to the fore and be implemented. Not everything can happen simultaneously, so there is ample time for realignments and adjustments.

In growing ecosystems, once a project is underway, you must learn to be patient, as there will be little instant gratification. However, this should not exclude the celebration of small wins along the way to keep enthusiasm and motivation at a high level.

Quotable quotes.

“Sound strategy starts with having the right goal. So I argue that the only goal that can support a sound strategy is superior profitability. If you don’t start with that goal and seek it pretty directly,
you will quickly be led to actions that will undermine strategy. If your goal is anything but profitability – if it’s to be big, or grow fast or to become a technology leader – you’ll hit problems”. Michael Porter

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened up for us”. Helen Keller