Punctuated Equilibrium
Most selection pressure is gradual (Red Queen's race).
Without both variation and speed, punctuated pressure kills.
Most selection pressure is gradual: margins compress slowly, competitors improve incrementally, customer needs shift over months. But punctuated pressure - COVID, Suez Canal opening, Great Oxygenation Event - demands different responses. Gradual adaptation won't work.
Business Application of Punctuated Equilibrium
Most selection pressure is gradual (Red Queen's race). But punctuated pressure transforms landscapes overnight, demanding pre-existing variation that matches the new environment or r-selection speed to iterate fast. Organizations survive punctuated pressure either by already having variation ready (Chipotle's digital infrastructure) or by iterating fast enough (Airbnb pivoting during COVID). Without both variation and speed, punctuated pressure kills.
Punctuated Equilibrium Appears in 2 Chapters
Contrasts gradual selection pressure (Red Queen's race) with punctuated pressure that transforms fitness landscapes overnight, showing why survival requires both pre-existing variation and r-selection iteration speed.
See how punctuated pressure demands variation + speed →Examines the Great Oxygenation Event and COVID-19 as punctuated equilibrium events, showing why gradual adaptation fails when landscapes flip overnight and only variation or iteration speed saves you.
Explore punctuated equilibrium in business disruption →