A few weeks ago at a Committee of Melbourne luncheon with Nicholas Davis, Head of Society and Innovation at the World Economic Forum I learned about the concept of "Whale Fall".
When a whale dies it usually occurs at the surface of the ocean. Sometimes they wash up upon beaches but most very slowly sink. The dark watery resting place for the world’s largest animals then transforms into a food fuelled binge party for other organisms resident on the relatively barren ocean floor. Scientists know that this phase can sustain hungry communities for years (sometimes decades) with diverse and numerous species benefitting from the whale’s death.
What I found remarkable is that the whales’ journey down to the ocean floor can also take many years and that sinking road trip itself sustains an even broader marine ecosystem including sharks, hagfish and ratfish at the surface level and worms and molluscs lower down.
The question was posed: is your organisation or companies that you know experiencing whale fall? Are others within the ecosystem benefitting from your slow descent? Is the cause of death sudden from a harpoon? Or an accident? Or just part of nature’s narrative?
The concept of ‘whale fall’ is interesting as one can readily think of ‘whale organisations’ in business and society that had met their demise due to sharks and ratfish and the encircling transformational currents of digital disruption. Think no further than Kodak, Tower Records, Blockbuster video, Borders or the 9 out of 10 major companies from 1955 that Forbes has identified as no longer “alive” today.
The whale fall narrative is also a great way to reflect that every flourishing innovation ecosystem, like that of the marine community, relies on the sum of its diverse parts; each feeding and sustaining further communities and new life forms, animal or plant. Tesla, Skype, Netflix are examples of new organisational life forms in recent years. Even closer to home are some of Australian “innovations” that have benefitted from the wider ecosystem where some of legacy organisations or traditional ways or working and thinking have made way for these fresh business models –Atlassian, 99Designs, Envato, Vinomofo, Canva and Gooroo.
The whale’s ‘tale’ affirms that there are always lessons to be found in nature that can help us navigate and make sense of non-natural (ie digital) challenges and opportunities and the disruptive times in which we live.
“Disruption from the digital economy has meant a left turn for all of us uprooting and changing how we think, behave, do business and go about our day to day.” Clayton Christensen, HBR
The marine iguanas of the Galapagos Islands are another example in nature that can help us make sense of change around us. They are a wonderful cold-blooded animal who have a specific behaviour called “sky pointing”. After each swim they warm themselves on the rocks and sand, shifting their bodies to limit the sun’s exposure.
In 1995 the islands experienced an extraordinary volcano. The lava flowed into the sea and the water boiled. The iguanas did not understand why it was so hot so they did what had always worked for them – they skypointed and many perished.
How many companies or industries can we identify who skypointed until it was too late? Is the taxi industry an example of skypointing as the uber volcano hit its shores? Or about what Amazon: when it opened its relatively insignificant operations online in 1997 many of us were probably skypointing in our organisations oblivious to any volcanic subtle changes. I know my world had certainly not envisaged the rise of “the little bookshop that could”- in 1997 I was excited about my new Nokia 8410 with slide case phone and 62 minute “talk time”, I was working as a lawyer where facsimile communication meant a good 48 hour turn around for good client communication; I had watched the funeral of Princess Diana on my technically up to date 50 cm television set and was curious that scientists had just cloned a sheep and more curious that they had called her ‘Dolly’. Skypointing in 1997 was just business as usual.
So the fate of the iguanas is a lesson in understanding the environment in which we work and live and being aware of disruption and change so that we know how to respond appropriately. There are many ways we can build our capacity and ability to take advantage of change with one of the most important being to develop a ‘digital mindset’. This is about being trilingual – more than IQ and smarts and knowing facts and future, more than EQ (being able to engage with our clients, our communities and being responsive and aware) but also demonstrating what I have heard called AQ – adaptable quotient – the ability to live with ambiguity and to be comfortable with and adaptable.
Let's conclude out of the water and on land with a phenomenon in nature called Tree or Crown Shyness. Next time you stroll through a forest or tackle the Australian bush where the foliage crowded and dense, look up. Trees grow together upwards but they don’t touch at the top. Why? So as to allow sunlight to penetrate and so the winds don’t destroy the interlocking branches. They compete and collaborate and they know there is value in diversity and numbers. If trees could talk they would say they are focussed on the same vision- survival and growth – and are conscious that all parts are required to play a part in a forest’s sustainability.
This concept bodes well when we think of our own organisations and how they survive and grow. The winds and storms impacting our forest are the forces of the industrial revolution 4.0 and citizens in the urban ecotone and cities and communities are like forests working together with tree shyness to ensure we thrive and survive.
Forbes has stated that 40 percent of today’s Fortune 500 companies will no longer exist in 10 years. Whether because of "whale fall", skypointing or like a tree standing alone without the protection from its “world wide wood” neighbours, it is critical for organisations to work hard to innovate and to collaborate and co- create together.
We can focus on creating innovations that improve business processes, reduce costs, increase profits and create value. Equally we can push boundaries, think big and dream large - limited only, as suggested by Astro Teller “by bravery and creativity”. Whatever limit we place or remove we should never forget the lessons of knowledge and wisdom that can be learned from the forest and woods, the ocean and sea and the natural ecotones that shape us – as they always have.
Meet Jacyl
With over 20 years’ experience delivering innovation, Jacyl Shaw is the Global Director of D-Lab working with multi-sectoral clients from higher education, industry, start-ups, accelerator hubs, government and research agencies, she provides tailored consulting programs, projects and services.
For more information, contact Jacyl at Jacyl.Shaw@ghd.com.