ContentsThe adaptable company Think:Act 31 PAGE 4 Change is the new normal. Companies must rise to the adaptability challenge. 2 PAGE 6 Hurdles are par for the course. Companies must learn to jump or, better still, avoid them entirely. 3 PAGE 9 A framework for adaptability. Purpose, process, people. PAGE 12 Excursus: Three lessons from nature. PAGE 14 Conclusion: From singular transformation to adaptability-5OJS 一/-5AAOUA/UA1 e=uuo3- :UOWJSn-=3ootries to impose an overarching central structure on local interactions. Too much structure or too many rules can stifle flexibility. Culture, not structure, is the glue that binds the adaptable company together.W. L. Gore & Associates, the company behind Gore-Tex fabrics, is a good example of getting culture right. As we discuss in our Think:Act Magazine Rethinking growth, a major factor in the success of Gore is the relationship between its employees (or associates, as the company calls them). This relationship is nurtured via a flat organizational structure. Everybody is accessible to everybody else when it comes to pursuing innovation, and employees are given time to build their networks, choose which projects they work on and even choose who leads them.As Gore shows, adaptive organizations generally do not operate according to their organizational structure. They operate in flexible, cross-functional teams, staffed on demand. Compared to classical vertical organizations, the lines of communication and the distances between different individuals and skills are much shorter. Building an organization - or perhaps, more accurately, a network - that continues to perform yet is fundamentally adaptable is increasingly becoming a design challenge. British anthropologist Robin Dunbar argues that the optimal size for such networks is around 150 people, as we discuss in Rethinking growth: The sociology of business shows that the size of the business unit can affect success. In units smaller than 150, more friendships are formed. Above 150, the sense of common purpose weakens.We believe that the discourse on the adaptable company is just beginning. Real change and the necessary paradigm shift is yet to come. In Manage the present - own the future, Bibop Gresta, Chairman of US research company Hyperloop Transportation Technology, talks about how a revolutionary new model is driving innovation within his organization. He foresees a time when the traditional system of hiring, ftring and nine-to-ftve will be something we see as anachronistic. Instead, he says, people will lend their time and brainpower to projects that trigger their passions. They won*t be employees; they will be more like partners. The company currently has 420 groups divided between 42 countries, forming the core of the companys R&D activities. An artificial intelligence platform keeps track of all the conversations as the work develops, alongside a giant project management system that the company has developed in-house. The various methodologies create a unique environment that can be completely administered online. Its not particularly complicated, says Gresta, and it works well.Three lessons from nature.SURVIVAL OF THE FITTESTThe theory of evolution offers a powerful lesson for business. However, as award-winning science writer and BBC radio host Kate Arney explains in our Think:Act Magazine Change. Survive. Thrive., it is often misunderstood. Rather than fighting to be the strongest companies need to focus on what makes them unique instead. Just as genetic differences drive evolution in the natural world, its the inherited variations and random mutations that become fuel for adaptation in a rapidly shifting business landscape, she writes. If everybody looks the same, thats fine in a constant environment as theres no pressure to change. But shake things up and a lack of diversity can become chticol.”Now that change is a given, the takeaway from Darwin that companies need is that they should embrace their unique characteristics and exploit emerging niches, Arney says. Actively mapping out the distinctive traits within your organization could reveal key insights about the best direction in which to pivot in changing circumstances. Evolution is exploitative by positively selecting for characteristics that provide a competitive advantage. Its also ruthless in getting rid of unnecessary traits. When it comes to the purpose question for companies, its not about being the fittest or growing at all costs: Its about celebrating your uniqueness and adapting to thrive.Questioning the growth at all costs obsession is particularly important during the current coronavirus crisis. Many businesses are being forced to reconsider their ideal size and think about how they can partner up more effectively in the value network. In the past, only companies that were growing were seen as attractive. The lesson from natural science is that this