Two years ago, an old tree at the top of our garden lost a battle with one of the increasingly powerful winter storms we are having. We cleared away the debris and decided to leave it to see if it would recover, as it has been part of this ground far longer than we have. Watching it adapt has been a real lesson, and all the signs are it has life in it for many years yet.
As we face our societal versions of winter storms bringing down institutions and conventions about our ears, our tree seems like a good teacher.
It's not trying to get back to what it was; it's becoming something new. The new tree will not look like the one that came down.
Its resilience lies in its root system, not the structure it had created.
It is an old tree connected to the ancient woodland around it; it is not alone.
It is adapting daily, does not have a plan, and hasn't hired a single consultant.
That is a long way from how business has become accustomed to working.
We build structures around something that works and…
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