Business – The Way Nature Intended

Good business sense is creative, fun and opportunistic.  Good business sense improves the individual, the organisation and the wider stakeholder community and environment. The daunting challenge of becoming a Firm of the Future can become an exciting opportunity; a path that once found becomes the only right path to follow.

There is indeed a significant gap between Natural Business and our current prevailing business practices, rooted in our scientific and cultural heritage as well as in our human nature which gives us the freedom to break the rules of Nature and learn (or not) accordingly. In that regard, ‘Nature’s Business Principles’ may appear idealistic but is there an alternative?

Bio-mimicry as a school of thought suggests that we can learn to play by the guidelines of Nature, which offer a very rich source of inspiration to challenge our current unsustainable business practices and invent new strategies.  ‘Nature’s Business Principles’ are universal but there is room for specific individual behaviours and indeed we as individuals and business people need to invent our future in a great variety of ways. We ought to accept that we are stepping into the unknown and let go of the need to find an answer or singular goal to achieve. We should rather re-cognise that we are on a journey not towards the optimal organisation or business model, but towards the understanding of business as dynamic, emergent, constantly interacting, adapting and morphing to maintain right-balance and right-relationship in an ever- changing environment.

 

‘The new opportunity is to emulate nature, because in so doing, we bring our actions in alignment with our potential. We begin to get the design right.  And as we get the design right, we create pathways through which new capacities, new innovations, new value can flow.’  – Tachi Kiuchi and Bill Shireman

In these challenging yet pivotal times for business and humanity, we must realize that to become truly sustainable, human and business life has to become scientifically inspired, emotionally connected and spiritually entwined with Nature and Gaia. Nature and business (as with Nature and humanity within it) must be symbiotic and operate in mutualism for there to be anything resembling a successful outcome.  The sooner business realizes the opportunities that come with being attuned with and inspired by Nature, the better for humanity and for all species.

 ‘Gratitude for the bounty of Nature and gratitude for the opportunities coming our way to fulfill our highest potential as human beings by learning to live in abundant harmony with her’  – Victor Lebow

It Starts With Authenticity

The journey towards a Firm of The Future is as much about individual transformation as it is about organisational transformation, each being interconnected with the other.  No man is an island and no organisation can thrive disconnected.  In the same regard, this personal and organisational transformation is about being authentic and true to your values and value; the authentic self and the authentic organisation go hand-in-hand.  Finding our authentic self and organisation is transformative and emergent – life in its beautiful way, is dynamic, continually giving us opportunities to learn and grow.  It is our choice, our perception and state of mind that decides whether we become burdened by fear, anger, guilt and laziness, or whether we take each step with positivity, faith, hope and courage.

This is the same for the high-performing team, the community of stakeholders, the organisation and its wider business ecosystem.  Be the change you wish to see – take ownership and responsibility for how you want to be, act and provide value in the world as best you can.  Only then can real progress towards a Firm of The Future be made; an organisation that seeks not just to limit its negativity on society and the environment but an organisation that gives and in return receives, that provides net-positive value enhancement to all its stakeholders and wider business environment.  This is the future, and it is bright. Natural Business – The way life intended.

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View a short video clip on business inspired by nature here