In Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto, published by Harvard Business Press (2009), Werbach identifies and then discusses what he characterizes as “Nature’s Simple Rules” as a basis of strategy and execution. They are:

1. Diversity across generations to support long-term species survival.

2. Adapt and specialize to the changing environment with precise navigation and adjustment to changes of climate, food, and predators.

3. Celebrate transparency by knowing where and what are dangerous as well as where and what are not.

4. Plan and execute systematically, not compartmentally, by devising solutions that optimize the entire system rather than individuals.

5. Form groups and protect the young by developing strengths and resources that are sufficient to the threats.

6. Integrate metrics as Nature does by obtaining the right information, applying it in the right situation at the right time.

7. Improve each cycle because evolutions can be harsh “but it’s a strategy for long-term survival.”

8. Right-size regularly, rather than downsize occasionally, because “organisms adjust to be as small or large as necessary.”

9. Foster longevity, not just immediate gratification, because Nature “does not support unlimited growth or inefficient use of resources, but it does foster longevity.”

And then one of Werbach’s most valuable insights:

10. Waste nothing, recycle everything, and borrow little. “One organism’s waste is another’s food. Some of the greatest opportunities in the twenty-first century will be turning waste (inefficiency, underutilization, energy waste) into profit.”