us solve. There are already some terrific examples of nature inspired systems innovation. The use of slime mold to map transport networks, and swarm intelligence by REGEN Energy to optimize electricity grids are two of my favorites. I believe further that mapping can give us insights into really big spaces, where we may not know what either the exact problem or solution is. I will finish by sharing two examples. The first is innovating how we innovate, and the second is sustainable corporate growth. Innovating How We Innovate Nature has evolved many different approaches to innovation. These are influenced by constraints such as speed and cost of prototyping, and the level of complexity and instability of the environment. So, can we learn from these constraints?
1. Innovation is Sex: If we map the innovation process, we see three big challenges: idea generation, prototyping/execution, and communication. If we then look for equivalents in nature, sexual reproduction covers the first two, and is therefore probably the oldest innovation process on the planet. Sex creates a variety of semi-randomized prototypes, and tests their performance in changing environments. Nature has evolved a variety of different reproductive strategies, and I believe we can learn from them. 2. Are you an Elephant or a Salmon? One way of categorizing reproduction strategies is often referred to as “r” and “K”. Like a salmon spawning, the “r” strategy throws huge numbers of cheap prototypes into the ‘market’. Attrition is high, but the cost of each prototype is low, and selection is made under real market conditions. For “K”, exemplified by the elephant, selection occurs early in the process, at the moment of fertilization, and considerable resources go toward nurturing the resultant “prototype”. There are, of course, many examples that lie in between, and there is no right or wrong approach. However, mapping makes it obvious that many of the variables that make one strategy more effective than the other, such as size, complexity, degree of specialization, and the stability and competitiveness of the environment are common to both reproduction and innovation strategy. We can use this analogy to ask if what we are innovating is more elephantine - large, longlived, complex and expensive to prototype, existing in a relatively stable environment. Or is it more salmonesque – cheap and easy to prototype, and living in a dynamic environ-
Coccomyces dentatus on Oregon Grape Photo: wanderflechten, 2009 | Flickr cc
Zygote Quarterly: zq13 | Volume 2, 2015 | ISSN 1927-8314 | Pg 47 of 142