The Nature of Scaling Up
Tamsin Woolley-Barker, PhD.
ABSTRACT
Unpredictability is a natural product of complexity. Outcomes are inherently uncertain, contingency planning all but futile. The only thing we know for sure isthat change is coming. Unfortunately, most organizations are designed for efficiency, not adaptation. The efficiency model outperforms in a predictable world, but that world no longer exists. Now the structure, not the plan, must be the strategy. Today’s organizations require a paradigm shift, from organization as machine;organization as living thing. It's a matter of survival: living things grow, adapt, learn, heal, and evolve, while machines can only "solve for x"; They may be lean, clean machines, but it's not a recipe for the innovation, flexibility, and resilience we require, and so much of our individual potential is left on the table. “Scaling up” has historically meant standardization––the ability to swap out “parts” in the machine and ensure quality control. Individual diversity and initiative are silenced, customers and employees disengaged as our communities, democracies, economies and ecosystems erode. There is another way, however.
Social insects and other networked societies have evolved time-tested ways of dealing with complexity and volatility, making more from one generation to another. In this presentation, Tamsin shares proven biological strategies for shifting organizations from “well-oiled machines” into adaptable organisms,
“amorphous and organic––constantly twisting, turning, and learning.
BIO
Tamsin is an Evolutionary Biologist, Anthropologist, and Biomimicry Professional.
Her company, TEEM Innovation Group, helps Fortune 500 executives and entrepreneurs transform management-heavy corporate machines into living things that thrive on change. Tamsin’s book TEEMING: How Superorganisms Work to Build Infinite Wealth in a Finite World was a #1 Amazon Bestseller in Organizational Learning, Environmental Economics, Ecology, and Animal
Behavior––testament to the unusual and interdisciplinary nature of her approach.
With 30 years deep expertise in biology, anthropology, and biomimicry, plus 20 years in business––Tamsin literally wrote the book on bio-inspired organizational design and innovation.