BOUNDARYLESS CONVERSATIONS PODCAST — SEASON 4 EP 20

A Situational Update on our Ecosystemic Future — with Lisa Gansky and Bill Fischer

In this season’s final episode, we talk to Bill Fischer and Lisa Gansky about how our old ideas of what’s normal are disappearing. There is a need to bridge the gap between old and emerging systems, encouraging exploration and experimentation to unlock our Ecosystemic Future.

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Podcast notes

Bill Fischer has spent his entire career involved in innovation, from being a practicing development engineer in industry and government; to being an academic researcher, teacher and writer; to being involved in several startups. He is presently a Senior Lecturer at the Sloan School of Management, at MIT, and an Emeritus Professor of Innovation Management at IMD, in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Lisa Gansky is a social provocateur, serial entrepreneur, angel investor, advisor, international keynote speaker and author of the bestselling book, “The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing”. Her work on trust, the sharing economy & innovation has been central in rethinking 21st-century governance, business models & community dynamics.

The challenges organizations are facing in adapting to rapid change show how traditional organizational structures are no longer working. To adapt to the changing landscape, a mix between AI, Web3 technologies and new ways of governance can allow for flexible and modular organizing.

New promises emerge through the overlap between organizations and software that can unlock new ecosystem potential where different players and customers come together, focusing on local relationships and embracing transience for more innovative solutions.

Beyond all, it’s essential to keep up with optionality and dynamism, both keys to the nature of Ecosystemic thinking: co-creation and increasing diversity and variance are going to be key in the markets of the future.

These elements provide the backdrop for this Situational Update on our Ecosystemic Future.

Key highlights

👉 The “not yet” is moving faster than the speed at which organizations can adapt

👉 Un-centralizing for the future: creating Smaller units with more

👉 Challenges ahead: technology, jobs, and rethinking traditional career paths

👉 The old model of “define, refine, and scale” is being disrupted by something that’s more turbulent and community oriented.

👉 The S-curve of technology is getting shorter and the narrative behind it different

👉 Companies need T-shaped individuals to serve hubs of people within ecosystems

👉 Everything is 100% temporal, but our legal systems, our laws, our tax codes, our everything, and our educational systems can’t keep up with that model.

Topics (chapters):

00:00 Dynamic Models and Local Engagement: Nature’s Inspiration for Future Relationships

01:24 Bill Fischer and Lisa Gansky’s introduction

02:58 Adapting Products, Services, and Work in an Uncertain World

14:27 Redefining Careers: From Hierarchy to Portfolio of Projects

23:31 Exploring the Potential of Web3 Governance and Programmable Protocols

39:46 The Path to Coherence: Navigating the Convergence and Variance in Future Markets

51:05 Bill Fischer and Lisa Gansky’s breadcrumbs

To find out more about Lisa’s work

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/instigating
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisagansky
• Website: https://instigating.co

To find out more about Bill’s work

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/bill_fischer
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-fischer-b89b971b
• Website: https://www.fischerideas.com

Other references and mentions:

• Working at a Musk Company: Modularity, Innovation and Cash flow — with Joe Justice: https://boundaryless.io/podcast/joe-justice/

Lisa and Bill’s suggested breadcrumbs (things listeners should check out):

• Exciting times deserve exciting organizations
• Leadership should be a verb, not a noun
• The Manual of Design Fiction https://www.nearfuturelaboratory.com/the-manual-of-design-fiction
• Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard https://suzannesimard.com/finding-the-mother-tree-book/?doing_wp_cron=1688490403.7495710849761962890625

Recorded on April 13th, 2023

Get in touch with Boundaryless:

Find out more about the show and the research at Boundaryless at https://boundaryless.io/resources/podcast

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/boundaryless_
• Website: https://boundaryless.io/contacts
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/boundaryless-pdt-3eo

Music

Music from Liosound / Walter Mobilio. Find his portfolio here: https://blss.io/Podcast-Music