Surviving in a turbulent environment

An anonymous Chinese quotation aptly describes the state of mind of many of us today. About 1,000 years ago, it was said, “When a big fish is pulled from the water, it flops about wildly to find its way back in. The fish never asks where the next flip or flop will take it; it senses only that its present position is intolerable and something else must be tried.” In the face of our current turbulent environment, many businesses are flipping and flopping about because they do not understand what is causing the turbulence. By borrowing concepts from two of the physical sciences, geology and biology, I believe we can begin to understand the forces that are driving this environmental turbulence.