Biomimicry is an emerging transdisciplinary genre — a living systems-inspired approach to innovations. The Biomimicry Framework and Practice offer theory and application for innovating form, process, or system with nature as a model, mentor, and measure. The framework is composed of three essential elements: a) a practice of (re)connecting with nature, b) the Biomimicry Thinking Design Process for emulating strategies various organisms use for surviving and thriving, and c) the Biomimicry ethos which has a strict sustainability mandate embedded and is wrapped around 26 life principles (deep patterns in nature) that need to be met in order for a design to be considered a biomimetic innovation. At the core of the practice is the belief that life always creates conditions for life, and that human systems must be designed to do the same if we are to continue to thrive as a species on this planet.
In this paper, both the framework and the practice are introduced in order to draw attention to the interrelationship of system thinking, design thinking, and biology in this innovation approach. Secondly, this paper will be focused on potential application for leadership development. While Biomimics have mastered the design process when it comes to mimicking forms (product design) and processes (technology-driven innovation), and even complex business systems, what might perhaps come online now is the application of Biomimicry to the evolution of self & community. What does it mean to create conditions for life in one’s own life and to co-create these conditions with one’s local community so that co-evolution is the result? What models in nature exist from which people can learn? What are, for instance, the secrets of the precious interrelationships in ecosystems, such as the collective intelligence of coral reefs or mangroves, that cause these systems to co-evolve from the bottom up and thrive through self-organization? What is the delicate balance between the ecosystem relationships that keeps the system optimized? How might we expose and apply these secrets to the human world, in particular, to the development of self in community with others?
Keywords: Biomimicry, living systems, innovation, system thinking, design thinking, nature’s genius, ecosystem intelligence, co-evolution, collective intelligence.
To learn more about the Biomimicry Framework, the four-phased Biomimicry Thinking Design Process, and the creative engagement methodologies used for innovation, please visit: http://www.reginarowland.com/bio-innovation/ and thumb through the subpages on scoping, discovering, creating, and evaluating.
