The Value Network
2.6 The Larger ContextEvery organisation is its own CUBE®. This means that we can connect a chain of CUBE® organisations into a value network. This value network spans globally and highlights the importance of effective collaboration with external parties.
The CUBE® stretches beyond a single organisation
By looking at a customer facing service or product, one can start linking the dependencies of all the organisations that are affecting the delivery of that specific service or product.
The value chain that starts to emerge will include all types of organisations from office hardware suppliers, consultant companies, IT suppliers, law firms, facility managers to governments and other organisations contributing and impacting the final product or service.
This value chain starts to highlight the inter-dependency all organisations have to each other, even if they operate in different markets, segments or cultures.
In reality, it is not even a chain but a network.
The theory “six degrees of separation” suggests that any two human beings are socially connected in a maximum of 6 steps (90% probability).
One can conclude that the same principle most likely holds true for any organisation. We have not done the research, but making an assumption that the majority of businesses are connected in six steps (or less?) does not seem far fetched.
This means that all organisations are connected and more or less dependant on each other.
Just take the smart phone as an example. A vast majority of organizations are dependant that if not all, at least a selection of the organisation can be reached through a smart phone and therefore provide that service.
How many companies are involved in the construction, management, support and logistics of providing the smart phone into your hand? How many suppliers are they in turn using? The service carrier? The apps on your phone? How many governments are applying regulations and laws affecting the product and service?
The list of involved organisations grows very quickly.
This means that regardless of the organisation we are engaged in, we are more or less all dependant on each other. And at the core of this value network is effective collaboration.
Effective collaboration is the key to becoming a strong contributor to the value network
The organisations that are able to collaborate and make mutually beneficial business are the ones that will thrive in the long term. Internal and external collaboration is the most important factor for any organisation as it is the single human trait that enables us to turn dreams into reality.
The end of the theory
This concludes the theory part of the CUBE® framework.
The CUBE® frameworks core idea is:
The mutual agreement of the perception of an idea
…with the purpose:
To establish a foundation for organisations to define the best methods for collaboration between all disciplines within and outside the organisation
By going through the details of the different parts that the CUBE® framework defines and then moving into the larger context with the value network we end up where we started:
An organisations success is grounded in effective collaboration, enabled by a mutual language
Next Step
Now it is time to learn more about the Asset…