studying nature, learning to mimic its 3.8 billion years of tried and true strategies for cool new inventions and ways of thinking. This process of mimicking nature’s genius is called “biomimicry.”
As Dr. Woolley-Barker explained to me, biomimics have figured out a basic rule of thumb concerning natural systems: nature supports systems that create conditions conducive to the flourishing of life.
It’s as simple as that. Every cool adaptation in nature, be it flying squirrels or plants that eat bugs, has a role to play in our ecosystem. No trait exists in a vacuum. Every way of life creates opportunities (and problems) for the creatures around it. In fact, you can think of an organism’s features less as “features” and more as nodes of interaction.
Of course, there are also animals that use what biologists call “cheater strategies.” These species are commonly referred to as “parasites” and appear to take from their environment without giving back. But you know what? Parasites don’t last long in large numbers. They have a high moment of glory, an explosion or a sprint, but over time, they (and their prey) must coadapt to a more harmonious equilibrium in order to survive. Think about it: if a parasite wipes out its free ride, it can kiss that way of life goodbye. Nature strikes a balance.
When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it—always.
MOHANDAS K. GANDHI
Our inquiry into parasites mixed with Gandhi makes for an appropriate cocktail to sip on during this early stage of our charisma exploration. The bitters provoke the question “Can charisma be used for hurt?” Why, yes, it can. The Charisma Code teaches you how to spark alive your charisma power. It does not, however, tell you what to do with the stuff once you’re aglow. That part is up to you. So let’s ask now, “What would you like to use your charisma power for?” As you consider the many ways, count on this: if charisma, like all of nature, is used to support the flourishing of life, it will last longer and ultimately outlive the charisma that’s used to take from life.
The most successful species are those in which individuals work together and gift their abundance to one another. When we study these special creatures’ survival strategies we find that, to them, gifting is synonymous with life.
So as members of this planetary party, we need each other. By the same logic, the world needs us. This is true of all species, but what about humans in particular? Oh boy, you guys and gals, it’s about to get good!
THE SUPERORGANISM
You know ants? Of course you do. Well, the planetary biomass of ants is about the same as humans. That means if you rounded up all the ants that are alive right now, they would weigh about as much as all living human beings, and scientists estimate the worldwide population of termites may be twenty-seven times higher than that. What do termites and ants have in common? Along with a few other insects, they are extraordinary collaborators. The members of their colonies are so entwined, science has coined a term for them: “superorganisms.”
A superorganism is a group of creatures so unified in purpose that they function as one.aa Each individual plays a role in helping the superorganism function. For example, bees have a queen, the only one who gets to reproduce, while the soldiers and workers create a living situation favorable for the brood. Voilà! All these guys working together result in a superorganism called the hive. The hive wouldn’t function if everybody did the exact same job. Imagine a thousand queens! Instead each individual acts out his or her innate gift. Thus, the hive thrives.
The term “superorganism” is most often used to describe a social unit of eusocial animals, in which division of labor is highly specialized and individuals are not able to survive by themselves for extended periods of time. Eusociality is considered the most complex social structure in the animal kingdom, defined by the following characteristics: cooperative brood care (including brood care of offspring from other individuals), overlapping generations within a colony of adults, and a division of labor into reproductive and nonreproductive groups.
Guess who else is part of a superorganism? I’ll give you a hint:
Our hunting-gathering groups acted as one great forager, scouring its range for a variety of food types, a viable niche even in the midst of professional carnivorous competitors like lions.
ANDREW WHITEN
Aw, yeah, you’re sitting in one of their bodies. We humans are a superorganism too! This occurs very rarely outside insect colonies. Though Dr. Woolley-Barker suspects a few others (like some dolphins, including orcas), the only other mammal that we know for sure lives in a superorganism society is the naked mole rat. Once a year, the naked queen gives birth to as many as twenty-eight babies. She’s the only one who gets to breed. The queen nurses her furless cuties for the first month, after which the other colony members feed them feces until they are old enough to forage for their own food. More than just feeding the babies these scrumptious feasts, these colony members collaborate to make sure the queen’s kiddos are well groomed, accounted for, and kept warm. Naked mole rats are the longest living rodent (on average, thirty-one years) and do not get cancer. So basically, humans belong to a select group of incredible species that have evolved specifically to join forces with one another as a means of survival. Whoa.
Once you know this, it’s kind of obvious. First of all, how in the world could humans’ naked, furless, clawless bodies compete with the many furry, fangy, claw-clad beasts of the wild? I mean really, compared to a lion or jaguar, the human is a wimpy little ol’ thing. I can hear you ask, “But what about fish? Don’t fish cluster together in schools as a means of survival? Why aren’t you calling that silver-bodied, singular direction a superorganism?” I’m glad I heard you ask about the fish, as this marks an important distinction: schools of fish are not superorganisms, because their roles are all interchangeable. A superorganism species requires its members to each contribute his or her unique, specialized gift, or shall we say, a superorganism species requires its members to each contribute his or her special spice to the stew.
Conclusion: Our species’ overwhelming success means there are other survival strategies at work. The fact that we’re a superorganism species is one of the biggies. We see modern examples of our superorganism finesse in team sports, government, and putting on a play. Also, every corporation exists because of its ability to work as a superorganism. Seeing a company act as one body through its aligned purpose and vision is nothing short of thrilling. The corporate environment is one of my primary venues for teaching the principles in The Charisma Code. One of the strongest factors I use to predict a company’s long-term success or demise is whether or not its employees work as a collaborative superorganism, a necessary skill for an organization whose name, “corporation,” can be defined as “a group of people acting as one body.”
The way we take care of one another also shows our superorganism nature. Did you know that dolphins are the only species with menopausal females besides us? This is biologically significant. In nature, life forms die quickly once they are no longer reproductive. But in the case of humans and certain types of dolphins, nature considers the grandmas valuable enough to stick around. The reason? When we’re done making babies, we still support conditions conducive to life. We provide care for our babies’ babies (dolphin grandmothers even lactate!), care for other members of our community, and the gift of wisdom from a life well lived. Superorganism in effect! When we’re not blinded by our obsession with youth and fertility, biology shows us that elders are a necessary part of a functioning human superorganism. If this were not true, the females would die after menopause.
If you live in a fast-paced, advertisement-encrusted, dog-eat-dog kind of reality, it may be hard to see humanity’s superorganism potential, but I promise you that under less stressful conditions, this life-conducive practice is thriving. Here’s an example: I was sixteen, on a bus in Kenya, watching a man with his baby in one arm and groceries in the other. It was obviously hard to hold his bag and his priceless, cooing cargo. Riding on a standing-room-only bus, he had nowhere to put down his groceries. To my amazement,