Who is Most Likely to Survive
I start this (first) article with a quote from Charles Darwin, whose brilliance was not limited to going to the Galapagos Island to look at tortoises. He was a philosopher and a thinker and his books are well worth reading, including one I loved called On Natural Selection. He said:
“It’s not the strongest of the species, that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
Take a moment to think about that, and then consider how it applies to just about every facet of our lives. Here are some examples:
Have you ever started a business? Or invested in a start-up? Or created a new initiative where you otherwise worked? I bet that if you did, you found that you – or the startup – realized at some point that whatever you were planning wasn’t going to work and you hit a crossroads — and you then had a decision to make. Should you continue to do what you planned or be responsive to change and veer in another direction? Almost all startup businesses confront this, which is the reason savvy investors realize that they are betting more on the guy/gal running the show than the business strategy.
Another example is my law firm, which started out with a plan to be-all-things-to-all-people (i.e. multiple practice areas). But after a time it became obvious that we were a star quality major player in real estate but unknown in everything else. If I had pushed the all-things-to-all-people concept we would probably be out of business. But we responded to change ala Darwin and became The Pure Play in Real Estate and today are thriving. I am sure we will hit other crossroads down the way and our survival will likely depend on how we adapt/respond to changed circumstances.
As a third example, my wife’s martial arts sensei — Arcenio Advincula — broke his back being hurled to the ground in the Marines when he was 26 years old. The doctors told him to forget about martial arts. He is now 85 years old and weighs 135 pounds (he told me), yet if there were (God forbid) an altercation between him and me it would be over in seconds – probably less than one second – and I wouldn’t know what hit me. By the way, I am in great shape and weigh 170 and I am 65 years old.
When we talked about all of this – only a couple of weeks ago – he told me that the reason he was able to continue – and thrive to be one of the greatest in his martial arts craft — was that when his back was shattered – he modified how he approached martial arts. As a small (now much older) man, his art is now centered around making sure the battle ends in an instant, as otherwise it might go badly for him.
A final example is the Marines, which has a code to ‘improvise, adapt and overcome” and they say (in concept) that they would rather go into battle quickly with a good plan than go into battle slowly with a great plan. I cannot claim to be a military expert, but anecdotally it seems like small adaptable military forces have been overcoming larger more stolid ones for hundreds of years. To wit, our Revolutionary War.
I think Sun Tzu’s admonition to be like water is this in concept as well. His theory is that water gives way when pushed and comes in when there is a chance to do so. It is therefore difficult to defeat as it is the opposite of rigid and inflexible but instead supremely adaptable to change.
There are many more examples here and I am hoping these few stimulate your thinking as well.
As a philosopher, I am wondering how I could improve my life – my businesses – my hobbies – my investments — and even my relationships with others –by taking Darwin’s admonition to heart.
You might benefit from the same analysis.
Best regards to everyone.
