Scientific Definition
Interdependent network of actors evolving together.
Plain-English Definition
Interdependent network of actors evolving together.
Feynman Explanation
You don't compete with a competitor. You compete with their ecosystem.
Core Principle
Interdependent network of actors evolving together.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Interdependent network of actors evolving together.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Ecosystem strategy beats product strategy at scale.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
You don't compete with a competitor. You compete with their ecosystem.
Examples
- iOS vs. Android. Microsoft vs. open-source.
- Ecosystem strategy beats product strategy at scale.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Map the full ecosystem before naming your competitor.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Map the full ecosystem before naming your competitor.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Map reinforcing (R) and balancing (B) feedback loops between variables to see system behavior.
A system with many interacting parts that learn and adapt.
Many interacting parts producing emergent behavior nobody designed.
The whole has properties that the individual parts do not.
Systems maintain stability by self-regulating around a setpoint.
Outputs of a system are routed back as inputs, amplifying or dampening change.
Stocks are accumulations; flows are rates of change that affect them.
Behavior emerges from structure, not from individuals.
Old systems decline as new ones emerge in parallel; leaders steward both, not just kill the old or chase the new.
Systems that gain from disorder.
Approach motivation — pursuit of rewards and goals.
Avoidance motivation — sensitivity to punishment, uncertainty, and threat.