What I love about this work is that the more we explore, the more we learn and start to see...

I have three hunches about Ecosystems and Entrepreneurs, Innovators and Changemakers...

Hunch 1: Ecosystems (natural and human created) call to entrepreneurs, innovators and changemakers.  

Historically, the primary call has been to extract and exploit resulting in so much of the degeneration we see today.  And, the tide seems to be turning.  

These ecosystems are still indeed calling to Entrepreneurs, Innovators and Changemakers but the calling is different...now the calling is rising in strength to halt the degradation, to sustain what we have and to regenerate what we have lost.  Where once the EICs were the leaders to the decline, they now are being called to do what they do and innovate our way forward to change this story with determined action to become TENDERS of our Ecosystems be they part of the human or more than human world.

I believe the United Nations Sustainble Development Goals are issues that relate to these Ecosystems and this is why I think they are so powerful... they even included Goal 17, Partnership for the Goals.  And this is related to Hunch #2.

Hunch 2: Entrepreneurs, Innovators and Changemakers run into each other out there while engaging with the ecosystems.

Historically this has looked like competition.  Own it, control it, use it.  A clear lesson from the concept of competitive advantage was about controlling resources.

Contemporarily, we are seeing something different emerging.  The EICs who are tending are running into each other and working through the puzzle of what this might mean to cooperate and collaborate (this is happening even with those who are still extracting because "common good" resources are limited...see Elinor Ostrom's work.  I will develop this more and share when ready!).  And, this is not easy!  So they are designing and forming different ways ranging from loose associations to formal cooperative agreements.  In doing so, they now have two things to tend...the original ecosystem and the fact that they have created a "common good" association.  I actually believe these are new ecosystems!  These ecosystems are human created to support the humans who are tending to the original ecosystems an need tending themselves, Again, I will elaborate soon on how Elinor Ostrom's amazing work informs all this.

Hunch 3: Through tending to the original ecosystems and the new ecosystem of tenders, there is an impact on the flourishing of the individual EIC.

Meaning. Purpose, Relationships. Engaged in their calling.  This is all part of the ingredient list for flourishing.  AND, the stuff of Hunch 2 is not easy.  What I suspect is that this all can go brilliantly and support the flourishing way of life for the EIC tenders.  OR, it can go the opposite direction and be miserable leading to being beat up an burned out.  So, if we can work through the puzzle of how to do what Hunch 2 is naming, we have a great opportunity to meaningfully raise awareness, deepen understanding and move forward with supporting the efforts of the EIC tenders leading to the simultaneous impact and flourishing way of life.

Which of course, is the mission of The ESP and what I have set out to collaboratively explore...
Arthur