“The Lord will guide you continually … and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.” – Isaiah 58:11
“Whether it be the sweeping eagle in his flight, or the open apple-blossom, the toiling work-horse, the blithe swan, the branching oak, the winding stream at its base, the drifting clouds and over all the coursing sun form ever follows function, and this is the law… Sullivan, Louis H. (1896). “The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered”. Lippincott’s Magazine (March 1896): 403-409.
Implied in the above examples, all from Nature, is the fact that nature adapts its form to its function. The eagle’s large wings, large beak, sensitive eyes and strong talons enable it to function effectively as a bird of prey. An open apple-blossom facilitates fertilization towards a bountiful harvest. The muscular build of a toiling work horse makes it ideal for the hauling of heavy loads, plowing fields and other tasks that require pulling ability. The blithe swan exemplifies a happy and care-free existence where the focus is on the beauty, elegance, grace, divinity and splendour of their reflection in the water. A mature branching oak tree provides shelter for hundreds of moths, birds, and bugs.
The history of the evolution of the species on earth may reveal a consistency with the postulate that form ever follows function.
What is happening in the world of business?
Under the corporate governance business system, the organizational chart helps to organize the workplace. The trend is now towards a virtual organization whose members are geographically apart yet they leverage technology to stay connected.
Under the investment finance business system, there is a need for capital and working capital finance and there is an emerging innovative movement to widen the base from which this financing may come in the form of crowdfunding – www.crowdfundinghacks.com/different-types-of-crowdfunding.
Under the marketing business system, a vital role of any company is to identify and source or produce potentially successful and innovative products for a given marketplace and then promote them by differentiating them from similar products. The new trend is social media marketing, a form of Internet marketing that utilizes social networking websites as a marketing tool, which helps increase brand exposure and broaden customer reach.
Under the operations business system, the function is to apply scientific and other knowledge to produce profitable products for the betterment of mankind. The form is introducing innovative ideas through original and creative thinking.
Under the human resource development business system we need to encourage a mind-set of abundance among our human resources and then introduce the practice of positive affirmations of passion, persistence and patience to attract abundance in their holistic health (spiritual energy, physical, emotional relationships, mental, financial and business), leading to happiness.
Let us value the time spent with nature and on our spiritual blanket in quiet with God. Let us observe her vibrant colors and glorious scents and let us observe her secrets, governed by His guidance, and map them appropriately into the way we conduct our day-to-day business lives.
(Dr. Basil Springer GCM is Change-Engine Consultant, Caribbean Business Enterprise Trust Inc. – CBET. His email address is basilgf57@gmail.com and his columns may be found at www.cbetmodel.org and www.nothingbeatsbusiness.com.)