Following up on an idea from Robert Branche in ‘Les Radeaux de Feu’ (only available in French), living organisms have organized themselves in the face of the inevitable increase in unpredictability of the world by increasingly developing internal stability.
This is the case very visibly in mammals: they are clearly the dominant species, they have resisted to many cataclysms, and they are at the same time the animals that maintain the most stable internal environment with a constant internal temperature, glucose levels etc. This is called homeostasis.
Robert Branche takes this observation in the realm of organizations, and concludes that homeostasis is a necessary condition to thrive in an ever more unpredictable world: internal stability is necessary to properly manage external changes. It is important to maintain that internal stability and not let oneself be too much driven by external conditions.
This comes with a warning however – according to Robert, “the existence of internal order and rules must not reduce uncertainty, but make its development and acceptance easier“. The organization should not disconnect itself from reality for the sake of maintaining its internal stability.
Still I find this idea very valid that the most successful organisms and organizations thrive in an evermore unpredictable world by maintaining internal stability, which gives them the capability to respond instead of just reacting. How stable is your organization internally in the face of external changes?
