Cultural Transmission
Build institutional memory systems that preserve knowledge of past cycles across leadership transitions.
Cultural knowledge is fuzzy. 'Accessible to many' isn't precise specification. It requires interpretation. Kamprad could authoritatively interpret. Without him, interpretations diverge.
Some species transcend individual experience by transmitting information across generations through culture. Elephant matriarchs (oldest females) remember locations of water sources and migration routes across 50-70 years. During droughts, matriarchs lead herds to distant waterholes they remember from droughts decades earlier. Studies in Amboseli National Park found that elephant families with matriarchs older than 55 years survived droughts significantly better than families with young matriarchs (<35 years). Cultural transmission is faster than evolution and more flexible but requires long lifespan, social structure, and learning capacity.
Business Application of Cultural Transmission
Build institutional memory systems that preserve knowledge of past cycles across leadership transitions. Document cycle histories, embed cycle awareness in onboarding, and maintain 'elders' in advisory roles who experienced previous cycles.
Cultural Transmission Appears in 2 Chapters
Elephant matriarchs older than 55 remember water sources from droughts decades earlier, giving their families survival advantages during rare climate events.
Cultural memory of climate cycles →Orca hunting techniques are culturally transmitted - pods in different regions use radically different methods specific to local prey and environment.
Cultural transmission in orca pods →