Darwin’s laws of Natural Selection (i.e. survival of the fittest) provided biology and the sciences a compelling way to understand how organisms evolve, extinguish, grow tails and lose tails - all as a function of what combination of characteristics and qualities are most adaptive and functional for a given environment.
Less often do we apply these laws to understanding how companies grow, stagnate, or die. The confusion lays in the fact that many organizations that appear to be the “fittest” in their category are in actuality positioned to collapse “Roman-Empire-style.”
If you asked an analyst in 1990 what they thought about Eastman Kodak as an investment, words such as stability, strength, and market dominance would be used as descriptors. Similarly, if in 2007, when BlackBerry handsets were growing at an unprecedented rate, one were to predict the future prospects of Research In Motion (RIMM), it would be handset domination.
The strength of Kodak and RIMM during their limelight is unquestionable. How is it then that Kodak just filed for bankruptcy and the future of BlackBerry becomes rapidly dimmer – one Playbook at a time?
The answer, I believe lays in a deeper understanding of Darwinian principles and how it can be applied to business.
Darwin for business requires that a company not only consider their perceived level of fitness in the present, but also how they are strategically positioned to encounter unknown forces, such as a digital camera or iphone. The ability to recognize market saturation, to predict future demands and needs, and the ability to respond with agility is vital to an individual and organization's ability to achieve sustained outperformance.
To boost your Darwinian Capital, as an individual or organization, you will need:
- Strategic Self-Awareness
- An actionable strategy
- The guts to implement it
In upcoming posts, we look forward to breaking down these areas in more detail with targeted suggestions to increase your competitive advantage.
To learn more how AIIR Consulting can help make you and your organization more fit, please do not hesitate to contact us today at contact@aiirconsulting.com.