At a Community Sector event this morning, a comment was made about how the large amount of new charities being registered each year is being matched by the same amount winding down. This made me wonder why some organisations thrive, while others perish. Why do some make large profits, while others scrape by?
I spend a large portion of my time reading about managerial and leadership theory to try and answer those and other questions for myself and for our clients. Each promises to transform the way we think of our businesses and organisations. And as leaders we talk to our peers, copy our competitors, and continually look for the next management fad. Basically, what many of these solutions conclude is that it is the “survival of the fittest” in the business world and community sector. This sentiment was echoed in AIM’s September Leader magazine.
Interestingly, Charles Darwin did not coin that phrase. Herbert Spencer first used the phrase after reading Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species.
What Charles Darwin did say was this:
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, but the one that is most responsive to change”
Throughout history, nature has survived and flourished through times of radical change and disruption such as climate change, extinction of species, and the evolution of new species. It’s done this by creating dynamic networks and collaborations among species and throughout ecosystems. Diversity, flexibility and collaboration have been core to the evolutionary journey of life. Think of fish evolving to walk on land and reptiles evolving to fly. While those are extreme examples, they only serve to illustrate how the ability to adapt, innovate and change has been the driving force behind resilience and regeneration within species and ecosystems.
I don’t think it is fittest that survive. Rather it is those that fit in the most with change.
So what does that theory have to do with our community landscape today? Simply put, we are going through a change in climate and environment and many (if not all) organisations need to evolve to stay relevant.
Nature has been dealing with dynamic change for over 3.8 billion years. Perhaps there we can find some inspiration for operating in a dynamically changing community sector.
- There are many examples of animals that evolved to collaborate. How can we collaborate with others to adapt to the change around us?
- Many plants became flexible about their environment and were able to adapt to a range of climates. How can we be more flexible and adapt to a variety of challenges?
- Some species took a really creative approach in their adaptation. How is your organisation being creative?
- Just as fish evolved legs, do we have to change the core of what we do or how we see ourselves?
We can no longer operate with a business-as-usual mentality. Any organisation unwilling to answer those sometimes tough questions and respond to change may see itself on the extension list.