Business — A Philanthropy Approach
By: Leemor Chandally
Tags: Systems Thinking, Mycelium, Business, Philanthropy

I’ve been thinking about the idea of business. What is ‘business’? What do we mean when we say that word? And why does such an entity exist? The aim is usually to provide value in the form of a product or service that others are willing to pay for, and the company strives towards growth by means of generating more and more wealth. It’s a revenue-maximizing entity, as evidenced by success metrics of units sold, dollars earned in revenue, number of new employees hired. In more rare yet growing cases in which businesses understand that an organization is only as successful or strong as its culture is, success is also measured by ‘employee satisfaction’ or ‘employee happiness’.

What are the values underlying companies, and how do they get integrated (or not) into the way the company does business? The current model generally doesn’t have much soul. There’s unchecked growth for the sake of growth. As the inimitable Donella Meadows, one of the pioneers of systems thinking, said:

“Growth is one of the stupidest purposes ever invented by any culture. We’ve got to have an enough. We should always ask: ‘growth of what, and why, and for whom, and who pays the cost, and how long can it last, and what’s the cost to the planet, and how much is enough?’”

What if we looked to nature and took lessons from mycelium and their role in the forest, or ants working together as super-organisms? We quickly learn how much more prosperity and thriving is possible when we act in service to the whole. Let’s look at mycelium. Underneath the surface of a forest floor, hidden in the soil is a vast network made up of millions of miles of thin threads called mycelium. This network is known as the “Wood Wide Web” because of the way is acts like an internet network; only instead of moving electronic information around, they transport nutrients, water and chemicals to keep the trees alive and communicating with one other. They can even send warning signals. If, for example, a tree is attacked by an insect, it sends out a chemical signal that the mycelium then passes along to other nearby trees that in turn reinforce their chemical defenses, which makes it easier for them to fight off an attack when it comes.

In return, the mycelium receives sugars from the trees that get produced as a result of photosynthesis. There are synergies and mutual benefits provided by each, and a tree that produces excess sugars could redistribute it among nearby trees that are in need of more. Most of the mycelium spread throughout a forest are mycorrhizal fungi, which are fungi that live in a mutualistic partnership with trees and other plants.

The Wood Wide Web therefore shows us the value of sharing resources, efficient ways to move them, and the importance of forming close partnerships. These aspects are what make a forest so strong, self-sufficient and life-giving. There’s a constant balancing taking place.

It’s time for a new way of doing business, a new model that focuses on philanthropy not merely as a way of giving charity to the needy, but in the sense of optimizing benefits for the whole in the name of prosperity. We could be like mycelium and trees, and share and distribute resources throughout the network as needed. Why is it that philanthropy implies we have to be wealthy in order to participate?

What if we all started with philanthropy, rather than wait until we have material wealth to feel ready to do so? Who and what are we choosing to invest our time and energy in right now? With a philanthropy approach there’s a wider systems view, an understanding of our inherent interdependence and the vast potential we have to design a world that we could all get excited about living in and being part of. There’s a sense of ‘enough’, and a celebration of our interdependence, not just our acceptance of it. There’s inherently a long-term investment, beyond just our selfish desires, toward building for our children’s generation. If we could hold to the highest value of service to the whole and focus on optimizing benefits to the world, then individual benefit would naturally be achieved.