What We Learned in the Rainforest: Business Lessons from Nature

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Summary: a fundamentally different view of business
Review: As a business strategy consultant focused on the power of mindset in relationship to developing and executing complex and innovative plans, I am struck by how the authors have successfully viewed key business case studies through a totally different lens. If they are right, and it appears that they are, there is a 'better' view of reality from which to organize human activities - and if businesses want to continue to be competitive in the new globalized and highly technologized landscape they should take heed of the simple lessons found here. This book should be of interest for CEO's, policy makers and students of the environment alike. I intend to share it with my clients. Bravo!

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Summary: Great primer on sustainable business principles
Review: Bill Shireman and Tachi Kiuchi's book is an accessible, well written treatise on the economic and social power of applying natural principles to business. Unlike other books on industrial ecology, which can be heady and boring, Shireman and Kiuchi have broken down the natural cycles of the Rainforest into easily understandable principles and then provide brief case studies illustrating the application of those principles in a business setting. The book is a great primer on corporate sustainability.

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Summary: This Book Draws Attention
Review: I have never had anyone ask me about a business book that I was reading until I laid this one down on an airplane seat next to me. I have had 2 or 3 people ask me about the title, etc. It is entrancing and compelling! I personally found the subject to be thought provoking and timely, and it ought to be of staggering significance to companies that really care about their destiny and those of stakeholders in these very complex times.

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Summary: Practical Manual for Both Visionaries and Practitioners
Review: The authors take an engaging and critical look at the not-always-easy lessons that nature can teach us as we seek to survive and thrive in a competitive world. "What We Learned..." is compelling and challenging from the first page and very successfully bridges the gap between some of the more esoteric studies of ecology's relationship to business and the very practical business toolguides at the other end of the spectrum of the manager's toolbox. Find yourself a tree and invest in a great read. Then get back to your office and start doing something about it.

Rating:
Summary: Practical Manual for Both Visionaries and Practitioners
Review: The authors take an engaging and critical look at the not-always-easy lessons that nature can teach us as we seek to survive and thrive in a competitive world. "What We Learned..." is compelling and challenging from the first page and very successfully bridges the gap between some of the more esoteric studies of ecology's relationship to business and the very practical business toolguides at the other end of the spectrum of the manager's toolbox. Find yourself a tree and invest in a great read. Then get back to your office and start doing something about it.

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Summary: I learned a lot from the Rainforest
Review: The parallels in the authors' experiences with contemporary business issues are very compelling. This book offers a fresh perspective on some difficult issues, and can give managers a new way to think about their company's relationship to our world.

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Summary: Waste Neither Money Nor Time...
Review: This title of this book is an alluring theme but the book is, upon reading, virtually worthless. The analogy between a natural ecosystem and an economic system is clear enough and certainly not an earthshaking discovery - the rhythms, cycles, feedback mechanisms, etc., of any dynamic system are obvious similarities. But try to draw too much parallel between a natural system and a man-made system will inevitably lead to meaningless conclusions.

The author proposes a theory and then cites real-world examples that conform to that theory, sometimes rather forcibly. One example: In a section on information, the author said that the Indian auto industry was protected by high tariffs and that it led to its stagnation and decline. The author claimed that it was because the industry "failed to encourage the use of information." Anyone with the slightest knowledge of free market knows that lack of competition was the real cause. Does the rainforest add anything?

At another point, the author pondered on how the eye was (or was not) the result of evolution, and after postulating that incremental evolution was not possible for certain very complex biological structures (such as the eye), he cites the new notions of "intelligent design" and "downward causation". High sounding names, but how do they come about now?? Well, intelligent design must be because evolution is not...As to downward causation, it is, as illustrated by the rainforest, a series of adaptation. Wow, I thought that was evolution.

There was also a lengthy tirade denouncing the Wintel platform's dominance "threatening the infospace." This was taken right out of the annals of the cyberspace sour grapes.

Finally, although the author tries to appear apolitical and centrist, his liberal bias was all too clear - from his dismissive comments about Dick Cheney to his proposal of (government?) setting rules on how software must be created to be modular, with open interface, etc., etc. Whew!

This book was recommended by a number of big name business people, whose businesses got a fair bit of free PR from this book. My recommendation: waste neither money nor time on this book. Do enjoy the rainforest, but learn your business skills by studying the free market instead.

Rating:
Summary: Waste Neither Money Nor Time...
Review: This title of this book is an alluring theme but the book is, upon reading, virtually worthless. The analogy between a natural ecosystem and an economic system is clear enough and certainly not an earthshaking discovery - the rhythms, cycles, feedback mechanisms, etc., of any dynamic system are obvious similarities. But try to draw too much parallel between a natural system and a man-made system will inevitably lead to meaningless conclusions.

The author proposes a theory and then cites real-world examples that conform to that theory, sometimes rather forcibly. One example: In a section on information, the author said that the Indian auto industry was protected by high tariffs and that it led to its stagnation and decline. The author claimed that it was because the industry "failed to encourage the use of information." Anyone with the slightest knowledge of free market knows that lack of competition was the real cause. Does the rainforest add anything?

At another point, the author pondered on how the eye was (or was not) the result of evolution, and after postulating that incremental evolution was not possible for certain very complex biological structures (such as the eye), he cites the new notions of "intelligent design" and "downward causation". High sounding names, but how do they come about now?? Well, intelligent design must be because evolution is not...As to downward causation, it is, as illustrated by the rainforest, a series of adaptation. Wow, I thought that was evolution.

There was also a lengthy tirade denouncing the Wintel platform's dominance "threatening the infospace." This was taken right out of the annals of the cyberspace sour grapes.

Finally, although the author tries to appear apolitical and centrist, his liberal bias was all too clear - from his dismissive comments about Dick Cheney to his proposal of (government?) setting rules on how software must be created to be modular, with open interface, etc., etc. Whew!

This book was recommended by a number of big name business people, whose businesses got a fair bit of free PR from this book. My recommendation: waste neither money nor time on this book. Do enjoy the rainforest, but learn your business skills by studying the free market instead.

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Summary: Rainforest? These Guys Leave No Rainforest Behind!
Review: Well, as soon as our species can survive on information rather than calories, this book MIGHT be of some use.

In the meantime, I find it a questionable, if not pathetic, apologia for megalomaniacal outfits like Coca Cola. Coke is a leader among the pack of those who apparently share a neverending pseudo-quest to combine illusory humanitarianism ("Coca-Cola does a great service because it encourages people to take in more and more liquids") with an unquenchable thirst for global market dominance ("until, eventually, the number one beverage on Earth will be soft-drinks-our soft drinks").

Can we contemplate the notion that 'unlimited growth' and 'sustainability' just might be mutually exclusive? Look up Ecological Economics, my friends. I beg you.

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Summary: Bionomics Part 2
Review: What we Learned in the Rainforest is a brilliant presentation of both the theory and practice of sustainable development. Its the best portrait yet of the power that comes from harnessing the energy of complex systems to grow profits and preserve our environment. Bill Shireman once again demonstrates his ability to rise above the dead end debate between jobs and environmental protection and with his co-author proves there is a third, better way. For those who loved Bionomics in the 90s, this book will provide new ammunition and ideas to carry the cause forward in the new millennium.