The Business (and Ethical) Case for Anti-Fragile Organizations
Watch the video recording segment below from a taster webinar we ran for the Oxfordshire Greentech SME Network to get a better sense of what it takes to build an Antifragile Organization.
We are at a turning point in the history of capitalism; the future will, inevitably, be defined by how we act today. In this time of social and ecological crisis, our dominant economic relations are at risk of imploding from within. There is an antagonistic divide between what companies need to do to accumulate profit and what they need to do to ensure their future (social and ecological) sustainability.
The facts are not hard to see. In 2018 over 80% of the global wealth created was accrued by the richest 1%. According to Forbes, “Climate change will damage economies, devastate populations, increase resource scarcity and dramatically impact the cost of doing business.” As an add on effect, a lack of consumer trust—no doubt linked to these social and ecological externalities—costs global companies $2.5 trillion per year alone.
Climate change will damage economies, devastate populations, increase resource scarcity and dramatically impact the cost of doing business.
While these are readily acknowledged in the mainstream business press, mainstream accounts often fail to articulate the organizational-level consequences of this situation; these influencers fail to recognize the ways trends manifest “on the ground,” and consider what it would take to address them. They have the tendency to overlook the link between the observed ecological issues of our time and the social crises we have come to know so well. This failure to think holistically, and in a coherent way, is detrimental.
Lively Worlds' approach to strategy & innovation consulting attempts to break this impasse of mainstream thought, helping organizations build antifragile capability.
This approach, inspired by regenerative design, is deeply rooted in interdisciplinary academic literature on social and ecological crisis while developing hands-on, tactical solutions for organizations facing these crises on a daily basis. Antifragile thinking weaves together organizational self-interest, moral and ethical responsibility, and long-term strategizing and transformation.
Our Antifragile Ventures work is rooted in a unique four-part Antifragile Diagnostic Framework. We use this framework to conduct systematic evaluations of our client organizations — on the basis of“social and environmental viability,” “economic viability,” “organizational alignment,” and “ecosystem alignment.” In the process, we develop precise metrics on a range of specific sub-categories of organizational concern, drawing on under-utilized research methodologies employed within the critical social sciences. From there, we work alongside organizations to co-create solutions tailor-made to transform the fragilities that affect their ability to align with regeneration.
This work is not for the faint of heart. Unlike many social and environmental consultancies, we aim to transform organizational structures and trajectories with our work.
Together, we can instantiate a transformational approach that considers socio-ecological impacts and ensures not only the success of individual organizations, but also the collective future of our world.
If you are up for it, we would love for you to join our journey.