Life and growth are not the same

Everything that is alive, grows, but not forever. Growth is part of life, but it’s not the whole story. Birth, growth, death, decay, and rebirth… life needs all of these and more.

Most organisms and ecosystems grow and shrink, come alive and go dormant, become more this and then become more that.

Nature is always changing, and rarely in a straight line.

So why do our business growth charts favor straight lines, trending in only one direction: up? Why do we try to force our businesses to do something that doesn’t happen in nature? To achieve infinite ever-accelerating growth?

What if the goal of business was to keep creating, rather than to keep growing?

What if we saw business as a creative force for the greater good?

Nature doesn’t infinitely stockpile a growing reserve of resources. When times are plentiful, it stores up for when times are lean, and when times are lean, it uses those stores. The goal is not an infinitely growing stockpile. The goal is to sustain and adapt for a thriving life through changing circumstances.

What if the goal of business, like the rest of nature, was for life to thrive? What if business were a creative force for the greater good—motivated by enlightened self-interest? What would our business ecosystem look like then?