Exaptation and Antifragility: Leveraging Innovation for the Future of Organizations
What is Exaptation?
Exaptation refers to the phenomenon where a feature, initially developed for a specific purpose, is repurposed for a different, often unexpected function. Introduced in 1982 by Stephen Jay Gould and Elisabeth Vrba, this concept has expanded beyond evolutionary biology into technology, society, and organizational contexts, offering a powerful lens for understanding innovation.
Examples include:
The Evolution of Exaptation and Modern Applications
Over the decades, exaptation has evolved into a paradigm for understanding how innovation emerges:
This evolution aligns closely with antifragility, a concept describing systems that grow stronger when exposed to volatility and change. Together, exaptation and antifragility highlight how organizations can transform uncertainty into opportunities for innovation.
Exaptation and Antifragility: A Strategic Connection
Antifragility, as defined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, represents the capacity to thrive under stress and disruption. Exaptation can be seen as an operational mechanism for antifragility, allowing organizations to repurpose existing resources in innovative ways.
Integrating Exaptation and Antifragility in Organizations
Organizations can adopt strategies to cultivate these capabilities:
The Role of ISO 56002
The ISO 56002 standard provides a structured framework for integrating exaptation and antifragility into organizational processes. While the term "antifragility" is not explicitly mentioned, the standard supports its principles in practice.
Key elements of ISO 56002:
Practical Example: An energy company, applying ISO 56002 principles, could reinterpret photovoltaic systems designed for temperate climates to optimize them for desert environments, maximizing existing assets and creating new market opportunities.
Sustainability, Resilience, and Disruption
Integrating exaptation and antifragility into innovation management delivers tangible benefits:
Conclusion
Exaptation and antifragility are complementary concepts that provide essential tools for navigating a world of increasing complexity and uncertainty. By leveraging the ISO 56002 framework, organizations can embed these practices into their innovation management systems, turning uncertainty into opportunity, generating sustainable value, and thriving in the long term.
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Exaptation e Antifragilità: Leve per l’Innovazione nel Futuro delle Organizzazioni
Che cos’è l’Exaptation?
L’exaptation descrive il fenomeno per cui una caratteristica, sviluppata per uno scopo specifico, viene cooptata e utilizzata per un altro fine, spesso in modo inaspettato. Introdotto nel 1982 da Stephen Jay Gould ed Elisabeth Vrba, il termine ha ampliato la sua applicazione dalla biologia evolutiva ai contesti tecnologici, sociali e organizzativi, diventando una chiave interpretativa dell’innovazione.
In biologia, esempi come le piume degli uccelli—evolutesi per il controllo termico e poi adattate al volo—dimostrano il potenziale trasformativo dell’exaptation. Analogamente, nell’innovazione tecnologica, prodotti come il Post-it di 3M o la stampa di Gutenberg mostrano come risorse progettate per uno scopo possano essere reinterpretate, generando valore in contesti imprevisti.
Evoluzione del concetto e applicazioni moderne
L’exaptation è passata dall’essere una metafora biologica a un paradigma per comprendere l’innovazione:
Questa evoluzione si collega al concetto di antifragilità, una qualità che consente ai sistemi di prosperare in condizioni di volatilità e cambiamento. Entrambi i concetti condividono la capacità di trasformare incertezze e disordini in opportunità.
Exaptation e Antifragilità: un legame strategico
L’antifragilità, come delineata da Nassim Nicholas Taleb, si manifesta nella capacità di crescere e migliorare di fronte a shock e disordini. L’exaptation può essere considerata un meccanismo operativo dell’antifragilità, poiché consente alle organizzazioni di sfruttare risorse esistenti in modi innovativi.
Come integrare Exaptation e Antifragilità nelle organizzazioni
Le organizzazioni possono adottare strategie per coltivare entrambe le capacità:
Il ruolo della norma ISO 56002
La norma ISO 56002, che fornisce linee guida per la gestione dell’innovazione, rappresenta un quadro strutturato per integrare exaptation e antifragilità nei processi aziendali. Sebbene il termine “antifragilità” non sia esplicitamente menzionato, i principi della norma ne supportano la realizzazione pratica.
Elementi chiave della ISO 56002:
Esempio applicativo: Un’azienda energetica, seguendo i principi della ISO 56002, può reinterpretare impianti fotovoltaici progettati per climi temperati per utilizzarli in contesti desertici, massimizzando l’efficacia degli asset e generando nuovi mercati.
Sostenibilità, resilienza e disruption
Integrare exaptation e antifragilità nella gestione dell’innovazione genera benefici tangibili:
Conclusione
L’exaptation e l’antifragilità sono due concetti complementari che offrono strumenti essenziali per affrontare un mondo sempre più complesso e incerto. Grazie alla ISO 56002, le organizzazioni possono integrare queste pratiche nei loro sistemi di gestione dell’innovazione, trasformando l’incertezza in opportunità, generando valore sostenibile e prosperando nel lungo termine.
Business Process Transformation(BPT) Coach, Author and Cognitive Neuroscientist. Post-Doc-Neuroscience @ MIT
3 settimaneOliviero Casale Rick Fernandez Alvaro Reynoso To Alvaro's point, if we are to innovate we should strategically plan for a "POSITIVE inflection point" which is to a point on a graph where the concavity of a function changes from downward to upward, form the calculus perspective, we should plan for that point in the innovation curve in which the second derivative of the function changes from negative to positive at that point; essentially, it's an inflection point where the curve starts curving upwards after previously curving downwards..
Business Process Transformation(BPT) Coach, Author and Cognitive Neuroscientist. Post-Doc-Neuroscience @ MIT
3 settimaneOliviero Casale Rick Fernandez Alvaro Reynoso Innovation through exaptation creates a pervasive phenomenon by repurposing existing ideas, structures, or systems in novel ways to address entirely new challenges or opportunities. Exaptation, a concept borrowed from evolutionary biology, highlights how traits originally evolved for one purpose can be adapted for another, often leading to groundbreaking innovations. This phenomenon fosters creativity by encouraging us to look beyond conventional uses, tapping into the hidden potential of resources or processes already at our disposal. The Velcro is a good example, inspired by burrs clinging to fabric, to the repurposing of social media algorithms for disease tracking, exaptation illustrates the transformative power of reframing and reimagining. It demonstrates that progress doesn’t always require starting from scratch but can emerge from seeing existing elements through a fresh lens, enabling pervasive and impactful change across industries and societies. To Rick Fernandez point about exploitation, Originally, Schumpeter coined the term of ‘recombination’ as the creation process that leads to new combinations and, in turn, to creative destructions in the economy (Schumpeter, 1939).
Director PCAinnovation - Presidente GT TC279 ISO 56000 - Chairman Advisory Group (CAG) ISO56000 - Director IMSP Global - Premio Nacional a la Innovación 2020 - Director del InnovaHub de la Agroindustria Azucarera
3 settimaneAccording to the latest BSG benchmark, the main problem of innovation management is strategic clarity, in such a way that "anticipating inflexion points" is fundamental, rather than focusing on ideas or chaos. ..
Chairman US Innovation Management Systems TAG, President 20-20 Innovation, Director Innovation Management Systems Professionals, President Advent Group, Inc., IMS Lead Auditor, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, PE, CPM
3 settimaneOliviero Casale how about exploitation? That has some connection to this, right?