Autophagy
Companies without autophagy don't die from one decision; they die from accumulation.
During a 24-hour fast, liver cells recycle 50-60% of their protein content. Imagine a company recycling half its assets annually. That's autophagy.
Autophagy is cellular cleanup - when nutrients are scarce, cells transform from construction sites into recycling centers. Double-membrane bubbles called autophagosomes prowl the cell's interior, engulfing damaged components: misfolded proteins, broken organelles, accumulated waste. They fuse with lysosomes, which break down the components into reusable building blocks.
The molecular trigger: nutrient sensors detect energy scarcity, AMPK (activated by low ATP) phosphorylates ULK1, initiating autophagosome formation. During a 24-hour fast, liver cells recycle 50-60% of their protein content. Caloric restriction activates autophagy, clearing 40% more amyloid plaques in mouse brains.
Mice with broken autophagy (ATG5 knockout) don't benefit from caloric restriction at all - autophagy isn't optional for longevity, it's required. Rapamycin, which mimics caloric restriction by suppressing mTOR and activating autophagy, extends mouse lifespan 10-15% even when started late in life.
Business Application of Autophagy
Companies accumulate junk too: technical debt, legacy products costing more to maintain than they generate, bureaucratic processes that exist because 'we've always done it.' Autophagy is ruthless elimination of waste - zero-based budgeting, justifying every expense annually, cutting anything that doesn't create value. Companies without autophagy don't die from one decision; they die from accumulation.
Autophagy Appears in 2 Chapters
Autophagy transforms cells from construction sites to recycling centers during nutrient scarcity, clearing 40% more amyloid plaques under caloric restriction.
Autophagy in caloric restriction →Organizational autophagy - shedding vulnerable units before extinction - parallels cellular cleanup that redirects resources to essential functions during stress.
Autophagy in organizational survival →