Brain Coral

Brain coral colonies are clonal organisms comparable to aspen groves - thousands of genetically identical polyps building a shared calcium carbonate structure. Individual polyps are tiny; the colony they build can be meters across and centuries old. What looks like a single rock is actually a city of clones, each contributing to shared infrastructure.

The colony's strength comes from division of labor within genetic identity. All polyps are clones, but they can differentiate for different functions - some focused on feeding, others on reproduction, still others on defense. The single genome expresses multiple phenotypes depending on position and need. Unity of identity enables diversity of function.

Brain coral colonies face the challenge of coordinating across thousands of polyps. Signals must propagate across the colony; resources must be shared; reproduction must be synchronized. The colony functions as an organism, but it's an organism made of potentially independent units that must maintain coordination. The whole is more than the sum of parts only when coordination works.

The business insight is that clonal organizations can differentiate internally while maintaining genetic unity. Brain coral polyps are identical but functionally diverse. Companies can have consistent culture (genetic identity) while different units specialize (phenotypic diversity). The key is coordination mechanisms that enable differentiation without fragmentation.