Ecosystem Multifunctionality
If you care about a single metric (quarterly revenue), you can specialize.
No single strategy excels at everything. Portfolios do.
Ecosystems provide many functions simultaneously (productivity, nutrient retention, carbon storage, pollination, pest control, water filtration), and different species contribute to different functions. A system that's diverse performs multiple functions better than a simple system, even if simple systems can match diverse systems on any single function. You can engineer a monoculture to maximize productivity or a different monoculture to maximize nutrient retention, but you can't engineer a single monoculture to maximize both. Experiments at the Biodiversity Exploratories in Germany showed plots with 16+ species maintained high levels of 12+ functions simultaneously; no low-diversity plot achieved high multifunctionality.
Business Application of Ecosystem Multifunctionality
If you care about a single metric (quarterly revenue), you can specialize. But if you care about multiple outcomes - revenue, resilience, innovation, talent retention, reputation - you need diversity. LVMH's portfolio simultaneously achieves premium brand perception, innovation, accessible luxury entry, ultra-high-end credibility, cash flow generation, and market intelligence. No single brand delivers all these functions; the diverse portfolio does.