What are the Principles of Nature?
The Principles of Nature embody the idea that Nature shows us the key strategies for creating sustainable success in business. Yes, Nature and business! If it seems an odd combination, you may be surprised to find that they have a lot in common. The overall goal shared by Nature and business is the goal of survival, and more than that, for sustainable success. There is one very important difference however, and that is that Nature has much more experience at creating strategies for survival and sustainable success than any business ever has. In fact, millions of years of experience. And, if you look at the beauty and complexity of Nature, I think you will have to admit, Nature has done a pretty amazing job of it!
What is Nature’s Secret?
Consider all the various elements of Nature, such as the animal, mineral, and plant kingdoms. Never mind the forces of Nature that make life itself possible. Think about it…Nature provides just the right number and kind of molecules to make air breathable, enough carbon dioxide for plant life, enough salt water, and drinkable fresh water to sustain fish and animal life, including we humans. Nature also creates a complex food chain, supporting millions of diverse life forms on this planet. What an amazing and sophisticated system.
When you look closely at the mix of strategies and principles needed to accomplish all of this, you find some very important principles that underlie this complexity and sustainability. Here is a list of some of the most relevant principles for business.
- Harmony – Species that survive are those who live in harmony with Nature’s principles. They follow the promptings and signals from Nature. We humans are currently not living in harmony with Nature, hence the survival of our businesses and even our civilization is in question. We consistently ignore and trivialize the promptings and signals from Nature and seek instead to bend Her rules to fit our desires, irrespective of the effects, locally and globally.
- Adaptation – The most successful animals and plants are those with the greatest capacity for adaptability to changes in the environment.The notion of the survival of the “fittest,” implied the survival of the biggest, strongest, and most ruthless. If that were true, then why do we still have cockroaches, but no dinosaurs? The most successful businesses are those that can adapt to the fast paced changes in the business environment, via creativity and flexibility.
- Diversity – Bio-diversity in Nature increases the survival potential of the entire ecosystem. Diversity of thought and behavior in business increases options for adaptability and survival in the “ecosystem” of business.
- Collaboration – The original definition of competition was to “strive for,” from the Latin ‘comptere’ to strive or contend for something, from com – ‘together’ + petere ‘ aim at, seek. To strive together for something is quite different than the current meaning of competition to win at any cost, or to see competitors as “enemies,” as we tend to define the word in modern times. To “strive together for something” sounds more like the common meaning of collaboration than the current understanding of competition. In nature examples of collaboration include bees and flowers (pollination), birds and seeds (food and seed distribution), etc. Healthy competition can be a source of inspiration to make a better product or service, rather than a strategy to eliminate others from providing similar products or services. It is a mandate to be the best you can be. When we see others as competitors for limited resources, (i.e. customers, recognition, money, etc,), every day is a struggle for survival, and we live fearful and stressful lives. That state of consciousness is bad for people and companies! On the contrary, if we see the world as an opportunity to operate in community, we will understand that we are far better off if we work in collaboration with each other. The result is that we live our lives with a sense of common purpose and security, rather than fear and chaos.
- Cause and Effect – This is an intrinsic principle of Nature. It is consistent with Newton’s third law of motion, i.e. “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” It is expressed in various forms in human interactions as the spiritual principles of karma, the law of attraction, and the concept of you reap what you sow. It is also related to the scientific principle of quantum entanglement. Everything you think, or do, has an effect, great or small, consciously or subconsciously. In other words, what you think may be private, but its affect is public!
- Resiliency – This is the capacity to recover from trauma, loss, or other “disasters.” In the case of Nature, the trauma is generally physical (i.e. fire, flood, earthquake, etc.). It is often emotional/financial in the case of people/companies, however the principle is the same. The capacity to “bounce back” from failure, and to find the opportunity or gift in a challenging situation, is a vital key to creating sustainable success.
- Balance – In Nature, a fundamental requirement of survival and sustainable success is a balance of the forces of Nature; earth, wind, fire, and water. In business, a fundamental requirement of survival and sustainable success is the balance of power between the sexes. This is not limited to gender alone. It represents the balance of the male/female qualities and characteristics in each person, symbolized by the capacity for Whole-Brain thinking, i.e., increased communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. See PER-K Research
- Interconnectedness – In Nature, this means the interactions and relations of organisms to one another, and to their physical surroundings. In business, the meaning is very similar. It is the awareness of the interactions of individuals and companies with each other. Especially regarding the effects of those interactions, locally and globally.
- Timing – The timing of Nature is impeccable. Seeds sprout in the Spring, mature into plants in the Summer, then create more seeds in the Fall, which lie dormant during the Winter, then sprout again in the Spring, completing the cycle. As the saying goes, “There is a season and time for every purpose under the heavens.” The same sense of timing is essential to the birthing of a new idea, as well as the creation and distribution of a product or service. Sensitivity to timing is an essential element in creating sustainable success.
- Effective use of Resources – Nature doesn’t waste anything. In the final analysis, everything and everyone is recycled. Quantum physics tells us we are energy in the form of human beings. Energy is never destroyed, it simply changes form. Conserving resources rather than wasting them is an obvious attribute of this principle. In physical terms that means the right use of material and financial resources. In human terms, it means the effective use of human resources, by recognizing that people are more than a cog in a machine called business. And, by recognizing that work is only one part of a person’s life. Our personal lives can dramatically affect our work lives, and vice versa. To support harmony in our personal and professional lives is to support high performance in both arenas, resulting in sustainable success for the individual and the company.
- Growth Management – Nature is wise about growth. For instance, when an area is overrun by one species or another, and the food supply, or other essential resources are depleted, a reduction in the populations of that species occurs, in order to reestablish the natural balance in the environment. It’s Nature’s system of checks and balances. The corollary in business is that more isn’t always better when it adversely affects available resources, financial or material. Uncontrolled growth, or too little growth, can be the ruin of any company. The ability to recognize both, and to act accordingly, is an essential element of good management and sustainable success.
These core principles of Nature provide us with important lessons about sustainable success. While short-term success may sometimes be achieved by ignoring some, or all, of these principles, the long-term downside is indeed costly, both financially and ecologically. We too often substitute short-term gain for long-term disaster. Then we act surprised when disaster strikes!
Even if we see the wisdom in Nature’s principles, as they apply to business, there is one more important factor in putting them into action. Part of that factor is to create an action plan to engage the conscious mind in the process. In addition to engaging the conscious mind, the subconscious mind must be engaged to ensure that these principles become an automatic way of thinking and behaving, now and in the future. This will create a much higher probability of achieving sustainable success. The process that can accomplish the task of internalizing these principles at the subconscious level of the mind is called PER-K®. It is a user-friendly way to rewrite the software of the subconscious mind in order to support the goals of the conscious mind. This powerful combination will go a long way toward making sustainable success a self-fulfilling prophecy, rather than a day-to-day struggle.
This uniquely focused workshop provides participants with the necessary know-how to transform the principles of Nature into personal principles of business.