I first came across biomimicry when Janine Benyus spoke and led a workshop at a forum I attended last year. When I discovered that her book Biomimicry was published back in 1997, I felt ripped off that it was taking so long for this work to filter down to the masses! This has happened to me often before … I get energised by what I thought was a new idea, only to discover someone has been thinking, researching, writing and teaching about it for years, even decades.

Biomimicry is certainly an idea whose time has come. For decades we have developed a growing awareness that our approach to industry and western life is unsustainable. We extract natural, non-renewable resources from the earth’s crust, turn it into stuff that doesn’t break down and decay, and pile it up, bury it, let it escape into the atmosphere or try to hide it. It is a bit like our early attempts at flying … we have strapped some wings to our arms and jumped off the cliff … the cliff being so high that for a hundred years or so we have thought we were flying. We’ve caught sight of the ground beneath us getting closer very rapidly. Gulp. We are now all caught up in humanity’s struggle to come up with plan B. Flapping harder is unfortunately not going to cut it.

Biomimicry will be part of ensuring the long term sustainability of human development. So what is it? Benyus identifies three dimensions: (quoted from the introduction to Biomimicry)

• 1. Nature as model: Biomimicry is a new science that studies nature’s models and then imitates or takes inspiration from these designs and processes to solve human problems. Eg., a solar cell inspired by a leaf.
• 2. Nature as measure: Biomimicry uses an ecological standard to judge the ‘rightness’ of our innovations. After 3.8 billion years of evolution, nature has learned: What works. What is appropriate. What lasts.
• 3. Nature as mentor: Biomimicry is a new way of viewing and valuing nature. It introduces an era based not on what we can extract from the natural world, but on what we can learn from it.

This is not brand new. We are already aware of, or are using countless innovations derived from biomimicry; from Velcro – based on the grappling hooks in seeds to Ian Thorpe’s shark suit – literally inspired by the design of shark skin.

One of the striking things I ‘learned’ was how, from the 100 elements in the periodic table, nature has essentially used just four – carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen – to produce all living things. (With dashes of sulphur and phosphorus.) Think of the of magnificence engineering and design that has been accomplished with these basic elements; look no further than the strength and flexibility of the spider web. Maybe we have been too clever for our own good, inventing a whole bunch of ways of doing things that have made sense in the short term but have ultimately taken us in a direction that is not sustainable.

At last we are beginning to see the wisdom of biomimicry filter into the public conversation. March’s Australian Financial Review Boss Magazine reproduced an article from The Harvard Business Review called The Biosphere Rules – an excellent introduction if you can get your hands on it. Of course, Benyus’ book is the obvious place to start along with other really good titles that are emerging such as McDonough and Braungart’s Cradle to Cradle or my favourite, Paul Hawken’s Natural Capitalism.

A few years ago, Craig Brown, Paul Steele and I went for a long walk along the beach at Ocean Grove towards Barwon Heads. The focus of the conversation (at least the bits I recall) was about the nature of organisations, in particular the emerging unhelpfulness of the distinctions between so-called for-profit organisations (usually referred to as businesses) and so-called not-for-profits (NFPs) usually called NGOs, charities, third sector, community organisations etc.

A couple of years before that, Paul and I had set up an organisation called Catalyst Innovations (CI). Our work in CI ran along two tracks:

1. Working alongside business people as ‘vocational coaches’, stimulating a view of commercial activity that embraced ‘doing good’ as core rather than an optional extra or ‘bolt on activity’ of profit making ventures.
2. Working alongside those in the NFP sector to facilitate greater commercial rigour towards financial sustainability in their organisations.

Our ocean beach conversation spiraled in on the common elements of any organisation – the need for a clear reason for being and the necessity of financial sustainability among others. Overlayed on these common needs was the dual increases in the number of people in business who were sticking up their hands to say they wanted their jobs to be more than a vehicle to get to a pay cheque, and the numbers of people working in the community sector who were realising that commercial discipline and innovative thinking was going to be key to the successful implementation of the vision.

The conversation has moved quickly – as a lot of things are doing these days.

This month’s Ethical Investor magazine is full of suggestions that the lines are being blurred. A couple of weeks ago Mohan and I met with Denis Tracey from Swinburne University. His colleague from the Asia-Pacific Centre for Philanthropy and Social Impact, Dr Michael Liffman has a piece that argues, “The boundaries between for-profit and not-for-profit organisations are blurring as both entrepreneurs, social and otherwise, seek innovate solutions to society’s needs.”

Simon Fjell’s article begins,

“Entrepreneurs are rapidly breaking down the traditional boundaries between business and charity to solve the world’s problems. … This model of change is called ‘social entrepreneurship’. The idea has struck a responsive chord. It is a phrase well suited to our times. It combines the passion of a social mission with an image of business-like discipline, innovation, and determination.”

Among the exponents of this new way of operating is Nic Frances, who I remember as the chief of the Brotherhood here in Melbourne and who is now making his mark as the founder of cool nrg. In his book (which I haven’t read yet) called The End of Charity, he reportedly argues for wholesale change to a system in which we compartmentalize that which we do ‘for love’ and that which we do ‘for money’: charity and business.

What does all mean? It means that the world of work is changing. We are moving into a time where the opportunity for people to integrate their passion to help create a better future for the world does not have to be separated from the need to earn a living. At Ergo we call these new workplaces ‘vocational communities’.

There is still a long way to go though. Despite all I have said and referenced above, most company shareholders are still in it primarily for a financial gain and legislation dictates that company directors make decisions to that end. The equivalent in the NFP world is that organisation’s members are in it primarily to make a difference in the lives of people, and they expect organisational leaders to be motivated by the same.

But things will change, faster than we imagine.

Earlier in life I used to clean supermarket floors to make ends meet. For six years I was up with the birds while most of the population was still snoozing. Every morning was a challenge because I had struck a deal with my employer. The job was typically a two person job; the deal was that if I was able to get the store cleaned on my own I would get twice the dollars. That meant every session was a finely tuned operation, when things went wrong (as they regularly did) problem solving was the order of the day. The added challenge was that this was the season when our kids were young… so a good night’s sleep was never guaranteed.

I was thinking about this again this morning as I left home in the dark. There is something romantic about starting the day early. (I can hear the wails of disbelief…) But there is. I find it immensely satisfying knowing that I have been productive before most people have started their day. I loved turning up to my teaching job having already done a couple of hours work, even though very few people knew.

Of course there is a parallel romance associated with working until the wee hours. I’m not suggesting that mornings are better, and I can’t stand this idea that some people are ‘morning people’ and some people are ‘night people’ – mostly because it is used as an excuse rather than an opportunity.

Maybe the point is about being alive. For me, cheating the regular routines and expectations helps me know I am alive, that I’ve embraced whatever the day has offered and lived it with gusto. Everyone is wired together differently. The circumstances, challenges and opportunities that define our life are infinitely varied. The common element is that we’ve got blood in our veins, air in our lungs and 24 hours in a day.

The routines and systems of life can too easily rob us of life. Our family habits and customs, although not bad in and of themselves can become ruts that give us security but protect us from experiencing the variety, freedom and diversity that is on offer. Our workplaces can be even more restraining… intelligent human beings become cogs in a machine that restricts their ability to be fully themselves and add value to their organisations in the process.

Perhaps today is a day to break some rules – not society’s or someone else’s – our own. Talking about living on the edge, for some time now I have been a fan of TED and am immensely jealous of those who have attended the events over the years. After my recent posts on my trip to the Middle East two people independently pointed me to Pangeaday. (Thanks Pat and Sanjaya) It turns out that the founder of Pangeaday (Jehane Noujaim) has been an award winner at TED. Sometimes the world feels very small.

One of the many things I have learned from my wife and soul mate Maria is an appreciation of minimalism; the beauty of simplicity and the freedoms associated with un-cluttering life. Over the years I have become drawn to those things that are ‘classic’, that have a sense of purity derived from their uncomplicatedness.

I started thinking about this again yesterday on the drive home from the beach. My enjoyment of being on the water with my board is beyond the physical and the rational. There is something pure about catching a wave in idea conditions like there were yesterday. There are some other sports that I think are similarly uncomplicated. Getting a little ball white in a hole … golf; team up and don’t let the ball hit the ground … volleyball. Of course there are multiple layers of complexity and difficultly in the execution, but the idea is simple.

It extends beyond sport. Don’t you love the idea of fresh pasta with a classic sauce, garlic, crushed tomatoes and basil? There is something ‘right’ about blue jeans, a white T-shirt and a pair of Blundstones. Who hasn’t felt the emotion of a live acoustic set with only a guitar and vocals. And the list goes on.

There are a few things that I think help cultivate attractive simplicity.

1. Design
2. Layers of complexity behind the face value
3. Unpretentiousness

How do these ideas applied to business? We are more likely to talk about clarity and focus. We know what it is that we have to do and we go about doing it with unrelenting intentionality. Yet behind that single mindedness there are other dimensions:

• Design – the way we go about it will have a huge impact on the outcome. Do we execute with wisdom, emotional intelligence and holistic acumen, or are we simplistic, careless of others and negligent of the unintended consequences of our activity.
• Clearly, there are competencies and knowledge sets, the mastering of which allow clear and precise execution. (Just ask the weekend golfer whose attempts at the simple task of getting the ‘little white ball in the hole’ are accompanied by large doses of frustration peppered by sufficient seasoning of perfection to make them believe nirvana awaits them at the next tee.) The same in business. The simple tasks associated with our core business have multiple layers behind them. This, however, should not distract us from the clear and simple objectives we set for ourselves.
• The most attractive businesses, I think, do not pretend to be other than they are … there is a sense of integrity about how they present and who they are.

To change the subject completely, let me pass on a couple of things from my recent reading …

• The Hay Group recently completed a study to try to determine what the Boards of the world’s most admired companies (WMACs) do differently. When evaluating CEO performance, most company Boards unsurprisingly focus on financials and strategy implementation. 81% of WMAC Boards on the other hand, had a strong emphasise on the CEO’s performance in building human capital in the company. (Reported in the Company Director, the magazine of the AICD.)
• The annual Eye on Australia Survey confirms that considerable confusion still exists in the community about Green issues. For example, 71% of respondents either ‘agreed’ or ‘don’t know’ with respect to the statement ‘carbon offsets and carbon credits are the same thing’. Read this as an ad for our Business Sustainability Round Table.

Have a good week.