"The evolution of the brain not only overshot the needs of prehistoric man, it is the only example of evolution providing a species with an organ which it does not know how to use."

Arthur Koestler

Evolution.  Key to Organisational Survival 

Evolution.  The dreaded e-word.  It's time to open the gates.

The world avoids the word like the plague.  Instead organisations use poor and often wholly inadequate and linear synonyms.  Such as:  transform, change, adapt, explore, innovate, create, develop and continuous improvement.

All these words, plus many others, are simply subsets of one scientific and universal reality.  Evolution.  And until organisations grasp this reality they will remain lost in the woods.

And the dogged refusal to use the correct word has gone a long way to causing our abject failure in the world of system transformation and leadership development.

THE MAGIC UNIVERSAL ALGORITHM - BRAIN OF THE UNIVERSE

The evolutionary algorithm is the brain behind 13,8 billion years of life, the universe and everything.  Including you and your organisation.  Here is a simple example of the algorithm at work.

The word 'Google' started as a noun.  Over time people started 'to google information'.  Thus it evolved from a noun to a verb.  Simple.

Thus wherever there is repetition, variation and selection you MUST get evolution. It is a universal law and not an opinion.

And a law that organisations ignore at their peril.

HIERARCHY, THE ENEMY OF EVOLUTION 

The history of our civilisation has been built on the battlefield of totalitarians (teachers, preachers and politicians) and the game changing mavericks.  Totalitarians see the evolution of new ideas and concepts as the major threat to their existence.  

Just look at the current Cop26 where three of the world's major polluters - China, Russia and the US - are either refusing to attend or are attending somewhat limply, a pivotal meeting that may determine our future on this planet.  

And this is why the totalitarians are such a major existential threat.  Rigid hierarchies provide the vehicle for power, protection and corruption.  Evolution is the enemy of all three.  

Evolution flourishes however in systems from the bottom up and never from the top down.

And this is also why organisations are clueless when it comes to driving system evolution.  Their organisational cultures are driven by a totalitarian and hierarchical DNA.

EVOLUTIONARY ACTION FOR ORGANISATIONS 

We now live in a highly evolved world of science and technology, with no thanks to the totalitarian teachers, preachers and politicians, but due largely to the game changing mavericks.  Often ridiculed, isolated, murdered, decapitated and even burned at the stake, it is these brave individuals that have changed the world.

The lesson for organisations is clear.  Let go of all your hierarchical and totalitarian methods and superstitions.  Identify the genuine game changing mavericks in your organisation.  Bring more on board.  Open the gates, take a risk, and let them loose.  Treat them like gold.  They understand evolution at a deep level.

Feed and water them well.  They are the key to your organisation's future.