Organizations as Organisms

One of the most difficult aspects of currently serving in the military here in California is the requirement to help provide military honors. We have a large number of veterans and retirees who are aging, and unfortunately, passing away. It is very sobering to realize that the person being laid to rest once stood where we stood and did the very things we are doing. They served their Country and went forth thinking that they were immortal; only to eventually succumb to age. All living things go through a life cycle. The span of time involved in the cycle can vary from mere hours in small organizations, to many centuries for large trees. When applied to businesses and organizations, the life cycle concept provides very interesting correlations and insight into the ebb and flow of organizational performance

It must have been very similar to Sir Isaac Newton sitting under the tree and being hit on the head with an apple for someone to initially come up with the concept of organizational life cycles as most people do not generally associate life cycles with non-living things. The more I thought about it and read about the concept, however, the more it made sense. The model really helped me to think through the growth and maturity aspect of an organization by relating it to the life cycle of humans, specifically, how an organization, whether it is a company, a new division of a company or a small team is born, grows and develops. In this sense, I found that 5 stages of the life cycle model was the best association for me. I associated the five stages with the major stages of our own lives: birth, youth, adult, middle age and death.

There is remarkable similarity in the life cycle concept of organizations between a young child and a fledgling company. Both are trying to find their place in the big, wide world; are taking in all sorts of sensory inputs, and are trying new things out to see if they work. They gain confidence with each success and build upon it to become mature, capable and contributing entities. The “adults” know their place in the greater scheme of things and, while they are willing to tweak things here and there, aren’t as adventurous or willing to take as many risks because they have responsibilities and employees or kids to take care of.

I found the concept of mature organizations and their survival instincts very insightful and somewhat humorous as I related it to people or companies that I know. Just as people age, stagnate and outlive their usefulness, so to do organizations that refuse to change. They deceive themselves into thinking they still “have it”, just like the man with the mid-life crisis in the sports car, or the overly made up mother in the too tight dress. They have passed their prime and either need to go gracefully away, or realign themselves to a more appropriate place in society, or a more appropriate niche in the marketplace instead of seeking a bailout to prolong