Books: “What On Earth Evolved?”
Greetings. When it comes to the pecking order of species large and small, we humans like to think that we're pretty hot stuff. The Top Dogs, the Big Kahunas, the real Kings of the Jungle, the most civilized and important creatures on earth. And why not? After all, aren't we the ones who invented the light bulb, crazy glue, disco music, the Lazy Boy chair, the Ab Tronic abdominal exerciser, the Pop-Up Hot Dog Cooker, and a whole host of other technological breakthroughs.
But what if we're not No. 1, as Christopher Lloyd suggests in his fascinating new book "What on Earth Evolved?" It's really a tribute to the 150 anniversary of Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" but a whole lot more. Lloyd, a historian at Cambridge University, has taken on the relatively simple task of determining the 100 most important species to ever exist on earth. And he does this using five criteria to sort out each one's place:
- First, what was their impact on evolution.
- Second, what was their impact on human history.
- Third, what was their impact on the environment.
- Fourth, how pervasive are they.
- And Fifth, how long did they actually survive.
As humans or homo sapiens we do pretty well on most criteria with the exception of longevity. We simply haven't been around long enough relative to many other species. And that's what places us 6th–several spots down from, you guessed it, earthworms. The species that has had the greatest impact on the world! If you're curious about the Top 10, here they are:
- Earthworms
- Algae
- Cyanobacteria
- Rhizobia
- Lactobacillus
- Homo Sapiens (That would be us!)
- Stony Corals
- Yeast
- Influenza
- Penicillium
To learn more about the pivotal role of earthworms and all the other species you'll have to really dig into this unusual book. But Lloyd's journey through time will be well worth the effort. You might even find reason to be proud sharing the stage with so many seemingly lower life forms. And you'll also get to hang with cows (No. 17), ants (No. 25), honey bees (No.33), bamboo (No. 40), dogs (No. 42), cats (No. 46), coffee (No. 85), camels (No. 87), and hamsters (No. 90).
Now here's your challenge. Try to think about your company or organization and how it stacks up in line with Lloyd's five criteria. What's been your impact on the industry and customers you serve? How pervasive are you–in a good sense? And how long are you likely to be around?
We win in business and in life by making a difference and changing with the times. And by preparing the soil for a whole new generation of genius and innovation.
Cheers!
