The Evolution Myth

Nothing to see here, creationists. Move on.

I've just taken on what could be my biggest career challenge to date, which is leading a business transformation programme for a billion pound speciality commercial risk carrier. This article is not about what a stunning bloke I am, nor will I be humblebragging about my amazing achievements so far. It's about my favourite failure of logic deployed by people when faced with business change need a quick reason to disengage without sounding like they need a quick reason to disengage.

"What we need, Rod, is evolution and not revolution".

The implied sentiment here is that gradual, almost painless change is infinitely preferable to radical, rapid and unwelcome change. This is especially true if the speaker also believes that change is absolutely necessary, but not where they are. Where they are is just fine.

There's another word for a gradual, almost painless change; entropy.

It is in the nature of human endeavour to resist change. Change eats up resources, upsets the natural order of things and the outcomes can be uncertain. The natural responses are to resist, endure and ignore. Eventually, though, a tipping point is reached and then one of two things happen; either a rapid, energetic and essential change occurs, or extinction. That is the true nature of evolution and the reason we falsely believe that evolution is gradual and purposeful is because of our perception of time.

As with nature, so with business but in human and not geological time. We can remember a world without social media, on line shopping, smart phones, Uber and streaming media because these ubiquitous things have been with us for less than a decade. And look what they've done to our world. It's not called a digital revolution for nothing.

Business change is rarely done proactively. There is normally a force majeure in play recognised at the very least at the top of the business. That force majeure forces the pace. Good business change is comfortable with that fast pace but is planned in a way that produces a proper adaption to the new normal. Good business change is not sentimental or nostalgically anchored. That means the new normal might not be recognisable to the survivors but it will be to customers and competitors.

The difference between evolution and revolution is not pace, it's the predictability of the outcome. Unlike evolution, revolutions usually end in chaos and what first emerges from that chaos is rarely sustainable and usually ideologically blinded.

So, when I get that "what we need, Rod......" line I always agree. And they're always surprised with what happens next.