Evolution and Quality Improvement

How people and organizations adapt and change

Published: Thursday, January 4, 2018 - 13:03

Many people don’t understand how the theory of evolution works. There is this notion that change somehow just occurs naturally over the course of geological time. What some fail to grasp is that change does not simply happen. It occurs because there is some external pressure that forces adaptation through natural selection.

Natural selection was defined by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species (Signet; reprint, anniversary edition, 2003) as, “the principle by which each slight variation (of a trait), if useful, is preserved.” These “slight variations,” aka mutations, are happening continually, but what determines their relative utility is the scope of the pressure or pressures that are operative at the time. As these changes occur in the ecosystem, some, or at least one, of these variations will hopefully lead to an outcome better than that of the current state, and will infer certain evolutionary (i.e., reproductive) advantages to the members of the species that adapt them. In this way, new species are born, forged in a constructive crucible of otherwise destructive change.

The alternative is that species that cannot adapt quickly or effectively enough risk dying out. Many do, in fact, die out and go extinct, but those that adapt to change (sometimes relatively fast change, as per Stephen Jay Gould’s theory of punctuated equilibrium) can rapidly flourish.

W. Edwards Deming never actually wrote, “It is not necessary to change; survival is not mandatory.” He probably said similar things in his seminars, but this exact quote is missing from his canon, which is a pity because it fits in so perfectly with the notion that adaptation and survival are not dictated by a sense of fairness, judged by some benign being with an opinion of justice and goodwill. In the sense that “decisions” are made via natural selection, they are driven by the cold, emotionless logic of relevant benefit. Those changes that work and assist in dealing with new and emerging pressures are “good” and are rewarded; those that don’t help are “bad” and may contribute to mass extinctions.

All of this allows us to better consider the nature of personal and organizational change. But unlike evolution in the natural world, which has no sense or spirit of intentionality, there are rational actors within adaptation... and those actors are you and me. We ourselves determine where, how, and when we seek to evolve, and thereby chart a course to achieve our objectives for growth and improvement.

That aside, there’s much in common between the process of natural selection for biological change and for personal growth and organizational improvement. Consider, for example, the fact that pressure works. Don’t misunderstand—I don’t mean that top-down pressure exerted from management is an effective way of “forcing” workers to improve. Deming (yup, him again) proved in his red bead experiment that a flawed system will produce a flawed output, regardless of how much invective (or praise) is arbitrarily heaped upon those working within the system.

By “pressure,” I mean the organic tension that arises through market forces. If your company is growing, developing new lines of business, hiring more people, and making more money, it’s likely that the pressure to change will be less (or, more likely, it’s because the pressure to stay ahead of the competition is working to keep you successful). On the other hand, if your organization is stagnating, doing the same old thing in the same old way, laying people off, and breaking even or losing money, the pressure to change increases.

This goes for individuals as well. If you’re moving ahead in your career, great... be sure to keep the pressure on by always improving your skills and seeking out new challenges. If your career is stalled, however, don’t make matters worse by avoiding the pressure to change. This is the time when you most need to tune into the slight variations in your habits that can offer significant long-term advantages for you... even if many (or most) of those “mutations” don’t work out.

Now let’s return to punctuated equilibrium. If natural selection is the combustion engine that drives evolution, punctuated equilibrium is its warp-drive successor that moves the process along in the fastest, most efficiently possible way. Gould’s theory, originally posited in his (along with Niles Eldredge’s) 1972 essay, “Punctuated Equilibria: An Alternative to Phyletic Gradualism,” states that rare and rapid events are the primary drivers of evolutionary change. Now when I say, “rapid,” understand that this means “rapid” on a geological scale, like 50,000 or so years. In the fossil record, that’s a blink of an eye.

Punctuated equilibrium means that sudden, massive, and extraordinarily challenging events like the start (or end) of an ice age, an asteroid or comet impact, or the eruption of a supervolcano, can create the conditions in which the quick onset of change sweeps clean the established order.

Some 66 million years ago, an asteroid measuring approximately 10 km in diameter struck what is now the Yucatan. This impact, referred to by scientists as the K-T extinction event, quickly eliminated approximately 80 percent of all the species walking on, flying above, or swimming beneath the surface of the earth, doing particular damage to the largest animals with the highest energy needs. Dinosaurs, in other words. Smaller, more nimble creatures, needing less energy, willing to survive on insects and roots, and able to burrow underground, did better. Among these were a group of warm-blooded creatures similar to rats, most of whom gave birth to live young. Mammals, in other words... which led, eventually, to us.

The lesson here is that change often comes at you fast and hard, and that big challenges mean equally big opportunities. When a figurative meteor strikes your industry, the behemoths have the most to lose. These changes could be things like automation, changing customer habits or preferences, significantly different pricing or distribution models, or just about any type of major disruption or dislocation. If your organization is the T. Rex of an industry that’s just been essentially nuked from orbit, you need to immediately assess what’s changed and how your operational structure can help you dominate the new business model. You likely have an advantage in market share and cash on hand, so take advantage of them. Just don’t be tied to the old “we’ve always done it this way” type of thinking. That’s where those tiny little mammals scurrying around at your feet will beat you every time. You need to act like one of those mammals.

If, on the other hand, your company is the small mammal in this scenario, use your nimbleness to take advantage of the new realities on the ground. Try different things. Fail forward. Learn. Punctuated equilibrium can be your friend, because you have less to risk in a rapidly changing world.

The same goes for you as an individual. When everything turns upside down, what you know matters less than how quickly you can come to know something new. Try different things. Fail forward. Learn. Remember that the struggle for survival is the surest way to grow, and change, and improve. If you’re afraid to take bold leaps, try tiny steps. Any movement to confront and overcome your established limitations and adapt to new realities is positive for your career, not to mention your life. Organizations that can harness the energy of those individuals will garner positive benefits as well.

The pressures that drive evolutionary change aren’t easy to handle for organizations or individuals. In a sense, it may seem more comfortable to cling to your organization during these moments of crisis, but such comfort is an illusion. Remember the analogy of the dinosaur and the rat. There may be safety in numbers in certain circumstances, but with size often comes risk. Overcoming a reliance on “we’ve/I’ve always done it this way” gives yourself and your company the best possible chance to pass your professional DNA along to the next generation.

About The Author

Mike Richman

Mike Richman is the principal at Richman Business Media Consulting.