EMPLOY DIVERSE COGNITION

Trevor Garrett offers survival tips from Mother Nature

Your history spans billions of years and covers epochs of mind-bending diversity, driven by competition for resources and the will to survive. Over this time, nature has experimented with countless ideas, enabling various life forms to overcome immeasurable challenges. Most ideas failed, but those that succeeded sparked massive success, validated by population explosions and widespread adaptation.

For our early ancestors, success or failure depended not only on genetics but also on rudimentary decisions: walk this way, run, hide, kill that, eat this.

Today, life is far more complex. Decisions are now governed by social norms, personal priorities, corporate goals, public policies, and physical rules. We learn to navigate boundaries and operate within them so that everyone can enjoy productive, progressive lives.

But do these boundaries really allow us to live progressively? Or does the very nature of operating within restrictions conflict with the essence of life and progress?

Nature certainly rebels. She cares nothing for social norms or whether you’ve spent hours perfecting your garden. If a plant can grow between your paving slabs, it will.

To rebel, in this instance, means pushing beyond the norm to progress. Nature’s diversity thrives under pressure because it is these pressures that force through energetic and genetic quirks, leading to the emergence of something new. Nature throws everything she has at a challenge until something works. She does not restrict herself to tried-and-tested methods to move forward.

In other words, we must think beyond traditional approaches to solve problems. Although we cannot rely on nature’s assistance, we can adapt to her approach: by embracing diversity.

It’s common knowledge that diversity in the workplace is crucial for a company’s progress. It enables teams to examine a problem from multiple perspectives before making and implementing decisions.

However, workplace diversity often focuses on race, gender, age, professional backgrounds, and qualifications - important factors, no doubt, and ones that nature would endorse.

Yet nature does not stop there. Nature employs every tool available, whether relevant or not. This is her great secret, exemplified through “adaptive radiation” - the evolutionary discovery of a single species diversifying into many by exploiting available niches, as seen with the Galápagos finches1

Ask the Australians how powerful nature’s approach can be. For decades, they have been locked in a continuous battle against uncontrolled diversity, to prevent the transport of invasive seeds, plants, and animals into their country2

They know well the threat posed to indigenous species by the inclusion of external life forms into their ecosystems3

And how does nature respond?

If a species cannot enter Australia by plane (although many do), it will hitch a ride on ships, blow in on weather thermals, float ashore, or rely on seeds transported in the stomachs of birds4,5,6. Nature’s solutions are endless and unconventional. This is her version of cognitive diversity.

Learn this: nature rebels by thinking differently. The need to make decisions today is as vital as it was thousands of years ago. However, the challenges we face today are infinitely more complex.

Like species in nature, companies come and go, and a company’s survival depends on the breadth of its approaches to problem-solving. A broader scope means better-informed decisions and a greater ability to adapt to ever-changing landscapes.

Diversity brings options, and options bring progress. You must bring as many options to the table as possible when addressing the challenges you face. To fully harness this potential, you need to embrace unconventional approaches to diversity, enriching your cognitive strategy in the process.

Gone are the days when teams of “know-it-alls” ruled progress. Instead, employ “learn-it-alls.” Recognize the value of cognitive diversity and unconventional thinking. This recognition will lead to success for your organization - and, by extension, for your customers.

Rebel.

Intentionally hire people who approach challenges differently and encourage them to enrol in e-learning courses that go beyond their immediate roles. E-learning empowers your team to explore new perspectives and acquire skills they might never have considered, whether cross-discipline, cross-industry, or cross-cultural. These resources enable your team to learn in unconventional ways, equipping them to tackle challenges you could never have anticipated.

When teams diversify their learning, they bring fresh, alternative viewpoints to your challenges - unlocking new paths for innovation.

Evolve into a culture of “learn-it-alls” and embrace the significance of expanded cognitive capacity when making decisions. Like nature, empower your team to bring a substantial number of ideas - some unconventional - to the table. Then step back and watch as informed decisions emerge and evolve into tangible progress.

Give yourself and your team the tools needed to find solutions essential for your company’s growth and survival. How strong is your will to survive? Adapt, evolve, and thrive with diverse cognitionenabled by e-learning.

1. Lack, D. (1947). Darwin’s Finches: An Essay on the General Biological Theory of Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

2. https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/biosecurity-quarantine/ quarantine/importing-western-australia

3. https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/invasive-species

4. Seeds attached to refrigerated shipping containers represent a substantial risk of nonnative plant species introduction and establishment, Rima D. Lucardi et al, Scientific reports. 10, Article number 15017, 2020.

5. How do invasive species travel to and through urban environments? Ashlyn L. Padayachee et.al, Biological Invasions, 19, 2557-3570, 2017

6. Interactions between seed traits and digestive processes determine the germinability of bird-dispersed seeds, Erik Kleyheeg et.al. PLoS Oner. 13(4), 2018

Trevor Garrett, PhD, Knowledge Architect is a skilled knowledge manager with a strong focus on developing and optimizing learning approaches, documentation, and community analytics, leveraging a scientific research background to drive collaboration and operational efficiency.