Organisational Evolution

Organisational Learning Organisational Change Organisational Synergy

Solving by evolving

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection has some absolutely critical lessons for organisational change. We, as a species, took millions of years to arrive at our current level of advanced evolution, and we evolved without a predetermined end in mind. In fact, we're still evolving - it's just difficult to see it happen from our current perspective on time.

Here are those critical lessons:

Successful species do not suddenly evolve a huge competitive advantage. This requires a lot of energy and a generous helping of luck and is only a short term advantage as it is quickly copied by other competing species.

Successful species evolve by generating a huge number of design variations and letting the environment choose the most useful or appropriate designs.

Successful species are only marginally more effective at surviving than their nearest competitor, however they are consistent in applying this small advantage so the effects are cumulative over time and generations.

Successful species adapt quickly to environmental changes, so the most successful are those that can adapt within a single generation to those changes.

Successful species are highly specialised in exploiting a particular environmental niche.

Man, as a species, is highly specialised in the areas of learning, communication and adaptation.

Mass extinction affects those species that are reliant on a single environment which changes as a result of climatic or geological change.

Species do not evolve towards a specific goal. They evolve randomly and are selected in or out by other species (predators) or by the environment (food and climate).

As we look at highly specialised species today, we say that they have evolved "to" exploit a particular environmental niche. This is inaccurate and demonstrates the human desire to find meaning and connection in the world. In fact, the environmental niche has chosen the species that occupies it.

So, let's translate that into the language of organisational change:

Don't waste time and money predicting what will work. Try anything and let your market decide for you.

Don't waste time and money trying to jump way ahead of your competitors. They will copy you almost instantly and use your investment to better exploit their own market niche.

Just do the basic things consistently well. As a consequence, doing the basics well also leads to cost and time efficiency - a double bonus!

Decide what you are good at and then just get on with it.

Successful companies are not tied to a particular market or customer. No-one can predict massive global change so successful companies thrive in both good times and bad times. They are naturally adaptable, just like human beings. Fortunately, companies are made up of groups of human beings and so are naturally adaptable, given the opportunity

Business plans are very important for many reasons. Just try not to confuse planning with "A business plan". By all means, write a nice glossy business plan that will impress the bank manager, CEO or shareholder.

Problems are not problems, they are symptoms of success. If your company is operating profitably then it is successful. If we compare this to the evolutionary analogy, if an animal produces more energy than it consumes, it will flourish and breed successfully. If it produces less energy than it needs, it will die. Equilibrium is a natural process and balance is the natural state of any system. If your company is making money then it is in balance. You may find that some parts of the system are compensating for others in ways that are less than perfect. You may find that some streamlining is possible. What is important is that you start from a position of "the company is working well with a few unwanted side effects" rather than "the company has a problem, we must find it and fix it".

Just keep this simple business plan in your mind which, coincidentally, is the model for evolution and all kinds of success:

These guiding principles are embodied in the change engineering methodology we've created called Change Magic. This unique toolkit includes a website, books, CDs, a newsletter and a training course.

© Peter Freeth 2003. All Rights Reserved