Trees “remember” that they were shaken in the past.

Plants grown outdoors grow thicker and sturdier than those in greenhouses, even in the same amount of light. They face strong winds, heavy snow and other natural and man-made accidents.

In the example of a Larch tree, it even re-designs itself if it was attacked by caterpillars.

In the year after an assault, the tree remembers its experience and produces leaves that are shorter and stouter than usual. Their new design does not photosynthesize as efficiently as the original thinner & longer one, but it’s better at repelling pests. In the following years, the caterpillars, later becoming moths, will no longer find it a tasty environment and leave, and the tree will revert to normal foliage.

And then there’s the Aspen tree.

At first appearance, the aspen doesn’t look tough.

With its ghostly smooth and greenish-white trunks, long flat stalks that turns melancholic yellow in the autumn. It seems the furthest example from resilience a tree could be. Yet it flourishes where other trees, seemingly stronger and more equipped for resilience, perish.

Those unassuming cloning machines are one of nature’s most resourceful trees. Apart from their ability to bounce back after fire, they reproduce by asexual cloning. They generate copies of themselves and shoot up suckers through their lateral roots. This vast established root system proves itself effective in case of a forest fire. If the fire occurs in winter when the ground is frozen, or in spring when it is still wet, the roots survive and they can reproduce a grove of aspens within months.   

In Emulating nature, we need to up our game if we are to think in such agile and creative manner. Faced with challenges, we need to learn methods of self-renewal as well as self-restructuring, as well as find ways to connect our systems with that of the environment we belong to. We need to need to seem strong and powerful, we just need to trust our design that it will persist in face of disturbances.

(This is a short passage from a chapter I’m writing, in an edited book, about biomimicry.

Hang in there Cornelia, it’s coming 😉)

We promise ourselves goals each year. And we reiterate many of them every month. Sometimes a weekly reminder pops up on our phones.

Yet we don’t complete them.

We feel disappointment. Ashamed sometimes. Mostly sad.

It might not be the sense of losing our goal accomplishment that wears us out, maybe it is the promise that we make each time, and each time we break.

So let’s not make promises we can’t keep. Let’s conduct experiments.

For the remainder of this week, pick an item from the list of things you’ve wanted to complete this year.

One thing only.

First, break it down so little that you have the first step sorted into getting things ready, or setting the space, or following up on with someone. This could be a habit to start, an action to close a project, or a relationship you wish to reconnect with. Just one thing. Write it down.

Next, create an anchor. This is a physical item that sits or stands or hangs in front of you. It doesn’t have to make sense to anyone but you. It’s meant to be in front you where you see, smell or sense it daily.

Finally, for the next three days, make an effort to either start or continue this one little step towards the goal at the beginning or end of your day (the middle is always lost to chaos).  Promise yourself, that when the weekend comes, you remove the anchor and no sense of shame will remain if you’ve not completed the task.

This is an experiment, not a goal in itself.

See if it works. Let me know. I’m curious.

Randah

What if you could go back to being your 15-year-old self again?

What lessons, life experiences, and ambitions did you have that you can learn from?

Going back in time is used for nostalgic reasons or reflective actions. Mostly when we miss our old life (or are worried of it coming back to bite us) or when we want to send an emotion or advice that we’ve made it and that we didn’t need to be so hard on ourselves.  It’s rarely used to seek advice from.

But what if you’re looking back for the sole purpose of learning what to do next? What if your older wisdom knows exactly how to face a similar challenge to the one you’re facing now, albite it looks different on the surface?

This is what the immortal jellyfish does when faced with a stressful environment or physical damage. It reverses its life cycle back to an infant stage, settles at the bottom of the sea, and re-grows cells into a new polyp structure. It survives and lives a new life.

What can we do to be more like that jellyfish? Think of all the unique things your younger self knew that you no longer do (intuition power anyone?)

Excited to share with you the Biomimicry workshop. Next cohort starts October 15. Join with friends to grow your ecosystem and learn from nature, rather than about nature.      

I was recently asked the question: What is the main cost in maintaining an organizational learning environment and what is the greatest benefit?

I believe “time” might be the greatest cost in maintaining a learning culture. The time we take to understand our systems, our customers, our audience, our employees, and the time to find ways to better serve them and better work together.

The benefits are priceless.

If we don’t have a learning environment then we’re going to fall into the same problems on a regular basis and find ourselves firefighting most of the time. We may even be very successful in business but the tasks that we create become mundane, which affects the motivation of our people.

If we don’t have a learning environment, then people will not bother learning new ways to make things better. If they are constantly trying to finish off tasks and get things done and there’s no “time” to reflect and experiment with new methods, then we’re not learning as an organization and we will easily be outlived by our competitors. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”, said Peter Drucker, and learning is one main ingredient in this culture.

Who sees the human face correctly:

the photographer,

the mirror,

or the painter?

~ Pablo Picasso

We look into the mirror and assume what we see is exactly what it is. We sometimes forget that the mirror shows us the opposite of ourselves. If we touch our right ear, our mirror person touches its left. We no longer remember this detail since it’s part of our daily habits.  

Evidently, we spend most of our time in familiar places that no longer wow us. We take our surroundings for granted and we stop paying attention.

In his book “The art of noticing”, Rob Walker emphasizes that making a habit of noticing, helps cultivate an original perspective and distinct point of view. It helps practice our curiosity and embrace the thrill of discovering things on our own, and subsequently enjoy learning and growing. Also known as “joyous exploration”.

To do that, set your intention to notice something new everyday.

Stop signs.

Plants or weeds on the road and in between cracks.

Unique colors you notice on your daily walks

Stray traffic cones.

Cell phone towers or security cameras.

Your partner, children or friend’s smile in the morning.

There’s no aim other than the practice of paying attention to what you see. Your mind will start pulling in new source of inspiration for you to lean on in moments of desperate need for creativity.

Stay curious,

Randah

Eid Mubarak. I hope you’re enjoying moments of peace and mindful connections.  

For some, this is a moment of connecting with ourselves, with family and loved ones. A moment to reflect on days of fasting and not forgetting those who continue to fast because they don’t have food readily available at sun set. A moment to connect with humanity.

Take the time to visualize your blessings and imagine a moment without one of them. Take the time to change your routine to create more magical moments. As Lou Barlow said, “Look for magic in the daily routine.” This might be a good time to design your daily routines as we go into the second quarter of this promising year.

I wish you happy and magical moments sprinkled throughout your day, every day.

God bless,

Randah Taher

p.s. This month I’m collaborating with MindCamp Connect to offer a highly interactive program on using Biomimicry as an innovation method. If you have the time and interest to learn from a 3.8 billion years of expertise, join me. If you can’t afford the $30 fee, let me know and I’ll try to arrange it for you. See you on the other side.