Mycorrhizae (my-core-eye-zee) are fundamental to life on Earth and represent one of the most amazing symbiotic and social relationships in nature. The perfect metaphor for how we like to work with businesses.
Mycorrhiza are tiny microscopic filaments of fungus attached to tree and plant roots, without which most trees and plants would not survive.
THE ROOT SYSTEM FOR CHANGE IN BUSINESS
A vast underground network potentially stretching across continents, Mycorrhizae are a plant’s utility system. And their internet. They extend from roots to provide water and essential nutrients, even mining rock – extracting minerals and bringing them into the plant’s food cycle.
They also act as an early warning system. Chemical signals from Mycorrhizae triggered when the host is under attack stimulate defensive responses in nearby plants, even stimulating a release of chemicals by the host plant which can attract natural predators of the pest assailing it. The plants, in return, provide the Mycorrhizae with the carbohydrates they need for growth.
When I first heard about Mycorrhizae I was blown away. Being small, closely associated with the host but independent – finding ways to feed, inform and protect, by themselves and by using a wider network of associated organisms – Mycorrhizae allow a much larger organism to thrive while gaining sustenance from the relationship. It's the perfect metaphor for how we like to work with people and business (albeit hard to spell and say initially).
A high concept and a huge thing to live up to, we are founded on the belief that small things can make a big difference.
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