Business evolution

What do fish and SMS text messages have in common? What can corporate managers learn from the extinction of dinosaurs? How does the symbiotic relationship between wildebeest and zebras grouping together on the African savannah relate to competing companies?

Most people draw a blank when Frederik Fleischmann of the Berlin-based consultancy EVOCO asks those questions. But he says there are significant parallels between the modern business world and Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

"There are many intelligent principles in nature that we can copy and use in the business world," Fleischmann told Deutsche Welle. Fleischmann, a specialist in "evolutionary management," conceives organizational strategies and business processes based on natural and evolutionary models.

Getting ahead the natural way

Technical innovators have long searched the natural world for ways to improve everyday products and create new ones. The inventor of Velcro, for instance, turned to burrs for inspiration, while the swimwear company Speedo studied the structure of shark skin when designing competitive, full-body swimsuits.

Evolutionary management takes things one step further. The discipline tries to apply natural solutions to the entire system of commerce and economy.

Fleischmann says companies can benefit from models found in nature when it comes to "organization, strategy development, competition, cooperation and innovation."

One company to adopt the new approach is BRAHMS Biomarkers. Its former CEO, Metod Miklus, told Deutsche Welle that evolutionary management has not only helped the company become more successful but also made him personally "more successful and efficient" in his work.

Potential where it isn't expected

Innovation and adaptability play a significant role in the success of companies competing in today's rapidly changing business environment. Evolutionary management assumes that - like nature - all companies have unrealized, hidden potential.

Examples of stunning adaptability can be found in nature, according to Fleischmann. The mudskipper, for instance, is actually a fish. But it lives like an amphibian thanks to powerful fins that allow it to move independently on land. The fins served no special purpose for thousands of years, but became extremely useful after the mudskipper's environment changed.

Placed in a business context, the SMS text message makes a fitting analogy to the mudskipper. Initially, the bare-bones messaging technology was used mostly by programers. Then the service caught on with customers, turning into a telecommunications gold mine.

Adapting in crisis mode

But innovation is only one part of evolutionary management. Troubled companies can also benefit from studying natural models.

After all, says Fleischmann, evolution has given rise to highly resilient life forms capable of surviving in hostile environments. While the highly developed dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago, tiny mammals survived, in part because they consumed fewer resources.

As evolution has progressed, species capable of surviving crises have proven capable of adapting to their environments and coping wth limited resources - vital qualities for today's companies.

According to Frederik Fleischmann, today's automobile industry is behaving as species would in nature. For instance, manufacturers able to adapt to the market environment and use technology to reduce fuell consumption are more likely to succeed.

"They'll exit the economic crisis stronger than they were before," Fleischmann said.

Cooperation also counts

Evolutionary biologists are focusing increasingly on symbiotic relationships, such as combined herds that wildebeest and zebras form on the African savannah.

Similarly, symbiotic economic relationships call for a smart approach to dealing with competition, such as the Star Alliance among several airlines. Lufthansa founded the group during a crisis in the 1990's and strengthened its market position as a result.

Author: Mareike Theisling (gps)
Editor: John Blau