Darewinism - The concept of Business Evolution

Undoubtedly you've heard the expression "Innovate or Die" recently. It has become somewhat of a catch-phrase, tossed about by those who believe that if you fail to do something radical in your business, you will fail your customers and thus fail in business. 

At events and in meetings we have heard people tell us they are looking to really shake the tree and fundamentally change the way they are doing something key within their business. 

But here's the thing for us. Too many people seem to think that evolution has to be big, brash and different. That it needs to be a big departure from the norm. And if that is the case, it makes us fear for another key principle of business - iterative learning. If businesses are making bold, brash changes, how are they documenting and monitoring what is working and what is not? How then are they making change which works time and time again? 

The key is to evolve

The concept of Darwin's Theory of Evolution is that species respond to their external stimulus and either adapt or perish. Those that develop new features or abilities that work within their environment ultimately flourish. The same should happen within a business. Change should be about evolution, not meaningless revolution and innovation. That way, a business can take stock of what is working and what is not without necessarily over-investing (time or financially) and continue to evolve.

The 3 steps of Darewinism

The first thing to do is throughout the mantra "Innovate or Die" and replace it with

Those that dare - Win

Those who don't - Fail

With this in mind, for successful Darewinism to be a part of your business we recommend: 

1. Looking externally to understand the market and what is happening
2. Challenging yourselves internally to understand how you can better rise to the challenges presented externally
3. Being brave and implementing a plan which can be measured and adaptive. 

Ultimately, take the words of Lauren Bacall on board

"Standing still is the fastest way of moving backwards in a rapidly changing world."