What Work Can Learn from Nature
Einstein Had It Right
“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better”
We’ve spent the last century designing work like we design machines — linear, extractive, and optimized for output at all costs. But what if our systems of work looked more like nature? What if the environments we build for people followed the same principles that help forests, ecosystems, and soils thrive?
I’m not sure that there was ever a moment I "realized" work systems were broken — I just never understood them in the first place. As a kid, I remember watching my dad leave in his stiff suit before I even left for school and come home just before dinner. On a good day. He missed the occasional birthday and ball games, not out of neglect, but because that’s what work demanded. We had weekends, but not all of them. He was often gone for weeks at a time. It never sat right with me.
I avoided the “real world” for a long time. I went to college, took a year longer than usual, and then did another year more. Eventually, I tried to play the game — sell my time to buy freedom later — but that trade rarely delivers in the time you want it to. I’ve always questioned the system. And now, I’m committed to redesigning it. To build a future where making a good living doesn’t cost you a good life.
The Problem with Monoculture Work
In agriculture, monocropping — growing a single crop on the same land repeatedly — leads to soil degradation, pest dependence, and long-term collapse. It might be efficient in the short term, but it’s deeply unsustainable.
Our modern work environments operate the same way. They:
Reward uniformity over diversity
Value hours logged more than creative output
Treat people like inputs in a machine, not like living systems
During COVID, my team was pushed to run one experiment per week under tight restrictions — just to keep a number up. The result? Burnout. Feedback loops were broken. It wasn’t even about learning anymore — it was about throughput.
I remember saying, "We’re not machines, we’re people." That culture — valuing process over feedback, speed over understanding didn't change fast enough for me to stay.
Regenerative Farming: A Model for Resilient Work
Regenerative agriculture takes the opposite approach:
It restores soil health through crop rotation, animal integration, and natural compost cycles
It works with natural systems, not against them
It produces stronger yields and more resilient ecosystems over time all while repairing our climate change problem
Imagine if work was designed like that:
Diverse skills = crop rotation
Collaboration = pollination
Rest and reflection = composting cycles
Regenerative systems don’t strip away the past — they build on it. Each cycle enriches the soil. It’s a positive feedback loop.
To me, that’s what real work should be: learn, do, reflect, adapt, repeat. We need work that gives back to the spirit — not just extracts from it. When an employee comes to you and says “I’m bored, and need something new, here’s what I’m thinking…” help them out and find the resources needed to make that happen or come to some conclusion together, don’t tell them to go back to what they were doing. If it fills their spirit and boosts motivation, it will be good for the company in the long run.
Just like no two ecosystems are the same, no two people are. Work should be individualized. That’s why we need tools that adapt to the individual — systems built to match our natural cycles of energy, motivation, and growth — ones that also provide insight into how the individual works best back to the employer, so that they have impetus to continue in a direction that’s good for the individual and the company.
Nature’s Systems Are Adaptive, Not Rigid
In biomimicry and permaculture, systems:
Are decentralized and self-healing
Value diversity and interdependence
Use feedback loops and closed cycles
A mycelium network doesn’t need a boss. Forests don’t clock in at 9 and out at 5. And yet — they thrive.
One of the most energizing teams I’ve worked on was one where everyone knew every part of the process. It didn’t matter who was assigned what — anyone could jump in. That kind of skill diversity gave us resilience and momentum. It felt alive and most importantly, we got our work done faster and ended feeling energized vs depleted.
That’s what nature does best. And we’d do well to listen.
The LIFE Framework: Built from Living Systems
This isn’t just philosophy — it’s the foundation of what I’m building.
LIFE is a platform designed to:
Help individuals track and align work, well-being, and learning
Use feedback loops to adapt workflows based on energy and focus
Reinforce autonomy and flow, instead of rigid time blocks
This started as something I needed for myself. I’ve journaled, tracked, experimented, and reflected for years trying to understand how I work best.
Through this, I realized that most systems — even in startups — focus on the product, not the people. But the product is the people. If your people aren’t thriving, your work won’t either.
That’s what LIFE is about. Helping individuals build awareness around how they operate best — and giving them the autonomy and insight to thrive inside and outside of work.
A Final Reflection
We’ve been designing systems as if we were machines. But we’re not. We’re soil, we’re seeds, we’re water and cycles and sun.
When we design like nature, we don’t just restore the planet. We restore ourselves.
I’m committed to redesigning the systems that shape our lives. I refuse to work in ways that strip meaning and time from our lives. I believe we can build something better — faster — when we align with what nature already knows.
Let’s build regenerative systems. For work. For people. For life.
Lastly, if you don’t know what regenerative farming is watch this brief intro and if you want to know more watch “Kiss the Ground” and “Common Ground,” or just google it and do your own research. It’s arguably the best thing we can do to begin restoring the planet and reversing climate change.
