In his book, The Long Now, Stewart Brand directs attention to the order of civilization. There are six layers, each unique, in accordance with time and responsibility: Nature, Culture, Governance, Infrastructure, Commerce, and Fashion. My interpretation, and application, of this model is this: that every market ecosystem has layers; and within each layer reside the resources, which when connected together, co-create system stability in our day to day lives.

Let’s say you want to develop a market from a natural resource. Take coal, for example. Who do you need in conversation to develop your market’s ecosystem? As a guide, consider a resource centric diagram as a map, and visualize a conversation network, connecting the layers.

Resource Centric Network Diagram

If you’re in business, developing a market, you work primarily at the level of Commerce, represented by a blood red dot in any one of the circles of influence.

Next, of course, you’ll need shoulders to stand on — human resources.

To develop your commercial venture, you’ll need to connect with people who know the logistics of Infrastructure, and the rules of Governance. More blood red dots, circles of influence.

Furthemore, most importantly, to organically remain sustainable, you’ll need producers as well as consumers in your market ecosystem; you’ll want to understand the Culture you’re serving.

And, last but not least, you’ll need marketers, who can Fashion and energize the connections in your market’s ecosystem.

Dots connecting dots, the lifeblood of your market ecosystem, start a conversation. How might you begin? In the right hands, at the right time, a bullhorn is effective. But, before you’ve earned that trust, start with a handshake. A few good connections–the right ones–can perform miracles.