Learning by Training Business in crisis

LEARNING BY TRAINING

By Arend van Campen

INFORMATION IS PHYSICAL

Last month I wrote about a ‘New Normal’ which now has become our surreal existence. How can we do business in a world where people’s behaviour in politics, business and society have become even more unpredictable? Consumerism is halting, because who can enjoy shopping wearing a facemask and having to follow the yellow lines as if entering a prison rather than a mall? People will be driving more because they don’t like to take a train or a bus, especially during a hot summer day, when breathing becomes difficult through chemically laced cloth.

When I started to write this column I named it Learning by Training so, reflecting on the current Covid-19 crisis, what have we learned? Sure, we noticed that countries where health insurance is either unaffordable or not available suffered dearly, but that politicians, who refuse to lose face, are leading us towards psychological stress, foretelling more suffering. Our ‘usual’ way to do business won’t return as fast as we hoped, and probably not at all. The lockdowns and once temporary restrictions are becoming laws. Such regulations will not be erased easily once they are installed and accepted.

Therefore, I created a think tank which I named ‘Sustenance4all’. We apply sciences such as physics, systems theory, complexity theory and cybernetics to design sustainable organisations, businesses and products. A complete new vision is needed to adapt and transform our current unsustainable commercial models into sustainable ones.

You may ask: “But how can that be done, my service or products are path-dependent?” That is a great question, because when you already admit that your business model is dependent on the now obsolete economic model of perpetual growth, we can sit down and reshape it. “But I just invested by heavy borrowing into a new storage terminal or distribution centre!” Another important question. Research is then needed to find a new purpose for your company. This could be the storage or transport of sustainable products related to green energy or foodstuffs and focusing on localisation, not internationalisation any longer. How?

All you need is information. Our task as a learning affiliate of the Energy Institute and research centre for sustainable design is to help you with information. It is information which forms the fabric of reality and when you have explored that phenomenal insight, the fear of losing your business will be replaced by courage and confidence. It is a law of physics that information is used to create order and structure in the universe. Thus, information can be used by you to create a sustainable future in any form or shape.

We can teach you how. The Coronavirus demonstrated us how to do that. When you see the virus as a messenger bringing information in the form of ‘bad’ news, a first reaction will be to ignore it, perhaps downplay its effects because you can’t believe that such a thing is happening. But this scientific fact and reality can’t be escaped from: information is physical.

A research paper, Information is Physical, can be downloaded at www.sustenance4all.com/realimiteit.html.

This is the latest in a series of articles by Arend van Campen, founder of TankTerminalTraining. More information on the company’s activities can be found at www.tankterminaltraining.com. Those interested in responding personally can contact him directly at arendvc@tankterminaltraining.com.