Crystallization - Beauty Built On Imperfection

Things are never right. That's what ultimately creates order and beauty with a system. The story of crystallization is a remarkably accurate metaphor for how that happens in a natural system that an Active Investor can readily apply to understanding social systems such as their business.

The orderliness of a crystal begins with the random movements found in liquids. Crystals are created when molecules of a substance, normally solid at room temperature, are dissolved in a solution. These molecules will sometimes be attracted to each other for short periods, only to become attracted away by other molecules over time. Everything remains chaotic and fluid until a "seed", a point of imperfection, is introduced into the solution. The seed has a slightly higher attraction to nearby molecules, so they are drawn to it. If this initial attraction is strong enough, the group grows until its size is such that the group becomes consistently more attractive to other molecules than the surrounding solution. This is the "critical size" and when reached the protocrystal is now "in business" and continues to grow.

All of this is similar to a business during its start-up phase. For a business, the solution is not a liquid, it's the answer to a market need. A good business solution can be replicated and the company providing it begins to experience some repetition of sales. Orders will be slow and random at first; but they will grow with greater consistency over time.

This is not the end of the story. There is another step in the crystallization process. The protocrystal continues to grow ; but eventually it gets to a point it can no longer remain "dissolved" and it falls out of solution. Now the original imperfection appears to have been transformed into the beauty, order, and attractiveness of a visible crystal. The visible crystal continues to grow, gaining more molecules from the solution, until it reaches an equilibrium with its environment.

A growing business will face a second step as well. Meeting more market needs will begin to overwhelm the founding staff and another decision, as difficult as the one to initially start, has to be made. An investment must be made in building internal systems and structures if continued growth is to be nurtured. This is hard for the financially struggling team who have sacrificed for the sake of building their solutions; but out of the internal systems and structures come the power to sustain long term growth.

It's now a different business, one that is building lasting values.  Those values will allow it to reach far beyond its initial products and services that brought it to life. A visible legacy drops out of solution.

Image credit: wlodi