Nature has several examples of antifragility. The main reason is Nature has had plenty of time, eons to be exact, to change and adapt. Call it evolution if you want but Nature has made small, incremental changes over time to exhibit Antifragile characteristics.
Here are some examples:
Physarum polycephalum (slime mold)
Physarum polycephalum is unicellular and lacks a nervous system but is capable of finding the shortest path to two nutrients even when challenged with a maze. If presented with multiple food sources, it can create an efficient network to reach these food sources. Physarum polycephalum uses a signaling molecule and feedback loops to control fluid flow to move via tubes. Like most complex organisms, we don’t have all the answers to the mysteries of Physarum polycephalum.
- Lesson for Project Management: Great teams don’t rely on a project manager to provide top-down command and control. For instance, a high performing team doesn’t need to wait on a project manager or executive team (i.e. central nervous system) to review, approve, and provide guidance for action. Tight feedback loops and frequent communication can give teams flexibility and speed to executive projects especially when presented with obstacles.
Eunice aphroditois (bristile worm or bobbit worm)
The bobbit worm is the real life but smaller version of the underground monster portrayed in the 1990’s movie Tremors. Bobbit worms live at the bottom of warm ocean waters and are known to hide under the sand and ambush their prey by detecting vibrations with their antennae. They can grow up to 10 feet long but can also fit into tight spaces and elude detection. What’s amazing to me is their ability to regenerate body parts like the head or tail as part of asexual reproduction or after an attack. Bobbit worms also eat many things so their diet is diverse.
- Lesson for Project Management: Team members should be able to recognize opportunities and threats and react quickly. Also, cross training team members allows projects to move forward with minimal disruption if a team member is reassigned or resigns.
Malaria
Malaria has been more in the news lately due to cases in the United States. It is caused by a single cell parasite that the transmitted via mosquito bites. Malaria has been difficult to eradicate since different mosquitos can infect people and the parasite can remain dormant for several months before symptoms appear. Like viruses and bacteria, the malaria causing parasites have become resistant to most antimalarial drugs.
Another layer of antifragility lies with the mosquitos themselves. Mosquitoes are adaptable and some species have the ability to generate glycerol which acts like an antifreeze so that their cells are not damaged by freezing temperatures. People have a few strategies to reduce malaria transmission and include using insect repellants, mosquito nets in homes, and draining or treating water near homes to combat mosquito larvae.
- Lesson for Project Management: Develop a deep bench in your R&D or Product Development departments to give you the option to move people around to fight business fires or add resources to take advantage of business opportunities. Some companies utilize Red Teaming techniques to purposely stress organizations to improve decision making and highlight weaknesses (i.e. expose critical components used by electrical power plants to extreme cold or hot temperatures to see what fails, then adapt quickly to eliminate that threat).
Read Antifragile by Nassim Taleb for a deeper dive about antifragility.
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