Nature of Business

Giles Hutchins is a management consultant with over 15 years of business and IT transformation experience, formerly with KPMG and now with Atos International. His passion is exploring ways of applying nature's inspiration to sustainable business transformation. Drawing on a range of theories and practices, he applies them to the challenges businesses face today, providing practical insight and guidance to help organisations redesign for resilience in these volatile times.

"Many would argue that a book discussing business and nature is something of an oxymoron, yet it's to nature that Hutchins turns for insight on how the world of business can survive and even thrive in modern times... Hutchins has a succinct tone with which he shares a strong understanding of why we need to look to Gaia's inherent wisdom to flourish... Astute quotes from Albert Einstein to Peter Owen-Jones are peppered throughout the book, offering illuminative explanations of abstract philosophical and spiritual systems of thought on why exactly we need to create real change in our world." -- Monica Perdoni, Positive News online "I recently had the pleasure of coming across Giles Hutchins' excellent book, The Nature of Business.The bookaccomplishes three important tasks. It is, first and foremost, a well-thought out synthesis of a broad swath of thinking on sustainable business practices. It goes beyond this, however, by presenting a diverse array of case studies and examples of cutting-edge businesses that are successfully implementing "nature's business principles" to become more robust, resilient, and responsive in the face of increasing volatility." -- Dr. Tamsin Woolley-Barker, CSRwire Talkback - The Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire. "Giles Hutchins has set out with a bold agenda. His intention is nothing less than to change the language of business. He has gone about it in a new way. There is a style and a rigour to this book that will make this an important contribution. Giles Hutchins has written with a style, structure and format that will make it accessible to business readers. He has written a manifesto, a business book and a work book. It is divided into modules. Each module ends with helpful and provocative questions to enable the reader to explore the themes for themselves and to challenge the way they work in their business situation". -- Chris Nichols, theecologist.org "A must-read for everyone involved in the business of the future ... and aren't we all?" Mick Bremans, Chairman, Ecover "A timely, paradigm-shifting book, reframing how business can thrive in the challenging times ahead whilst being a force for good. ...This is a brave book and a must-read for those seeking to make positive change happen in business and beyond." Hunter Lovins, presiden of Natural Capitalism Solutions and co-author of Natural Capitalism "This book is the most positive, inspiring and practical guide I have seen. It offers a comprehensive approach to changing organisations, especially wealth-creating businesses, drawing on the most beautiful and elegant ideas from nature and a subtle appreciation of human nature." Jonathan Gosling, Professor of Leadership Studies, Exeter University Business School "Business faces enormous disruptive challenges in the next decade. For businesses to thrive in face of these pressures they must first protect nature, then learn from it and finally immerse themselves seamlessly with natural systems. Giles has found an elegant, engaging way of helping businesses to ask how they will do this." Mike Barry, Head of Sustainable Business, Marks & Spencer "Simply the best new book on business and management in many years!" Hazel Henderson, President of Ethical Markets Media and author of Building A Win-Win World "I have been working in the arena of sustainable change for many years and I find that The Nature of Business is a refreshing practical manual for how we can all challenge and adjust our thinking and take some profound actions to make a difference." Dr Alan Knight OBE, Chairman & Sustainability Director for Business in the Community and Global Asso

• PrefaceIntroductionTransformational times call for transformational changeNature as teacherFirm of the future Sustainability and the firm of the future Human nature and nurture Catalysts for transformation Techniques for transformation Inspiration for transformation ConclusionsNotesFurther readingIndex