This is a group for people who are especially interested in business from an evolutionary perspective. It is action oriented, which means that members are sufficiently motivated to invest their time and effort to projects of our own design. No special expertise is required. We are a mixed-aged, mixed-discipline, and mixed-skill group combining our talents to help each other learn and collectively accelerate cultural evolution in workplace environments.
When you join the Business Action Group, you will become part of the TVOL1000, a group that promotes an evolutionary worldview for all topic areas (see below for more). As part of the Business Action Group, you will be admitted to a Slack site (soon to become available) where online interactions take place. You will be invited to complete a profile that informs other members about your background and what you hope to gain by joining the group. You will be able to view the profiles of others and to join ongoing projects and discussion threads.
The group is currently organized into a central committee that meets regularly and communicates with the larger group. As projects are formulated, each will have its own leadership and structure. More generally, we intend the social organization of our group to be informed by evolutionary theory. If we can’t function well as a group, then we have no business advising other groups!
Current and emerging projects include the following:
- Creating content for TVOL and other media outlets.
- Starting a podcast.
- Creating online learning opportunities.
- Planning symposia and workshops for annual society meetings.
- Reforming the business school curriculum.
- Collaborative research projects.
- Creating opportunities to consult with businesses.
Here are some examples of content creation that have currently been proposed.
Women as leaders in the workplace
In the aftermath of the notorious Google Memo, gender in the workplace has become engulfed in the culture wars. However, what does the research actually say about gender differences, and does evolutionary psychology challenge our notions of gender equality and fairness?
Diversity and inclusion
Diversity and inclusion has become a top priority for business leaders. However, what exactly do we mean by these terms, and how effective and reliable are initiatives such as bias training and measuring implicit bias?
Non-hierarchical organisational structures
With the growing prominence of the tech industry and the rise of start-ups, fundamental questions of how to manage groups are raised. Is the appeal of non-hierarchical organisation and dispersed leadership just a fad, or does this reflect something deeper about human nature and social organization that is neglected in the traditional corporation?
You can join the TVOL1000 Business Action Group by taking two easy steps:
- Join the TVOL1000 (if you are not already a member).
- Complete a profile for yourself below.
More about the Evolution Institute and the TVOL1000. The Evolution Institute, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, is a Think-Say-Do tank informed by modern evolutionary science. It conducts basic scientific research (Think), communicates to the general public and expert policy audiences (Say), and implements evolution-informed practices in real-world settings (Do). This View of Life (TVOL) is the EI’s online magazine and part of its “Science to Narrative Chain” communication strategy, which notes that scientific research must be connected to narratives that reach mass audiences by a chain of material providing intermediate depth, so that anyone can learn more no matter where they start out on the chain. The TVOL1000 is a group that supports TVOL and other projects of its own design that promote an evolutionary worldview (“This View of Life”). TVOL1000 members provide financial support within their means (we suggest an average donation of $10/mo). In return, the TVOL1000 provides opportunities for engagement, such as the Business Action Group. More generally, the TVOL1000 can be regarded as a self-supporting social movement that promotes an evolutionary rather than a political worldview. The larger it becomes, the greater its capacity to guide cultural evolution to positive outcomes at all scales, from individuals and small groups to the planet.
Hey, we want to get to know you! Join the TVOL Business Action Group and join our team of entrepreneurs, innovators, and researchers in transforming the business world through an evolutionary perspective.
