Everyone knows oxygen is essential for most life forms, but few realize that our dependence on it is a relic of a long-ago biological apocalypse. Oxygen is a zealous and highly reactive gas, interacting with many different molecules, stripping electrons, and damaging DNA. Your cells produce free radicals as a byproduct of cellular respiration, and there are many indications that oxygen is a significant factor in aging. The only reason the oxygenated atmosphere doesn’t wreak absolute carnage on your body is a series of mechanisms that function round the clock to mitigate the damage. The duality of oxygen, life bringer and life destroyer, is called the Oxygen Paradox, and it has immense implications for your business.

Business and evolutionary science, after all, are two different fields that have a distinct tendency to rhyme.

Take a concept from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland.” Alice runs alongside the Red Queen only to find that she can only stay in the same spot no matter how fast she runs. This is known as the Red Queen Effect in evolutionary biology, where organisms must constantly adapt to changing circumstances and relationships to maintain their position within the ecosystem.

This evolutionary arms race is also modeled in the business world, with businesses changing their approach, tactics, and structure to maintain equilibrium in a dynamic market. As the saying goes, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying,” an expression that could just as easily apply to biology.

But more pertinent to our times is the phenomenon of extinction. Organisms and businesses well adapted to running the Queen’s race, even apex predators (think the Tyrannosaurus Rex or Blockbuster Video), often are incapable of surviving in the new order.

When the earth was young, there was barely any oxygen in the atmosphere. Gases were inert, and life thrived within that dispensation. But the spread of a new type of bacteria, Cyanobacteria, which produced toxic oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis, began to oxygenate the atmosphere. No one knows how much life on the planet was wiped out as the levels of this poisonous gas began to rise, but any lifeform unable to cope with the presence of so much toxin in the atmosphere perished. Practically all life today is a descendant of an organism that learned to tolerate oxygen.

A new paradigm shift for businesses is already upon us. Something new is in the air: automation, in particular AI.

Is technology toxic to business? If nothing is done, it’s a killer. In the industrial revolution, small weavers and textile industries were wiped out when industrialization allowed cheap textiles to be produced on a mass scale. Radio is still viable, but only where its influence is not impinged upon by television. ECommerce has ushered in a retail apocalypse; the American Mall is struggling to survive. Like most species, most business models that have existed in the past are extinct, and AI is poised to take its toll. Unless, of course, a business adapts.

While the omnipresence of AI is imminent, it’s still possible to get out in front of it by embracing the cutting edge today. Like an organism switching its metabolism to oxygen, digitizing and automating what can be done now can leave you prepared.

A business with an optimized CRM and good data infrastructure will be leaner and faster. With less overhead for administrative costs and more automated processes, businesses will have higher profits and cash reserves to take risks, experiment, and innovate. Company dashboards can help you see problems as they occur and pivot as needed.

More importantly, however, is your mindset. It’s not enough to just breathe oxygen (or adopt technology). You need to be able to tolerate it on an ongoing basis. Living with oxygen and adapting your business requires a holistic approach. Talking with experts, learning what can be done, and developing an eye for what can be possible with modern technology is vital for building automation into your business as an ongoing process. The effects of AI are hard to predict, but one thing isn’t: if you are still using Excel spreadsheets in 2023, it’s time to catch up.

2.5 billion years on, with a lethal concentration of 21% oxygen in the air, life is more complex and diverse than ever. Despite the existential challenge posed to life by oxygenation, life thrives. Decades from now, when AI is commonplace, will you be doing something else, or will your business be a survivor? Reach out to Pfreeman@condotty.com for a free consultation, and we can begin to teach you how to breathe easy in a technologically saturated atmosphere.