About

Why “Pepper Moth.”

Not a metaphor picked for looks — the reason the business is built the way it is.

The Story

The peppered moth is one of the most famous examples of rapid evolutionary adaptation to the Industrial Age.

Originally, the white-bodied peppered moth was the predominant form. The dark-bodied moth was virtually unknown before 1811. Light-bodied moths blended into the lighter lichens and tree bark, while darker ones were easily spotted and eaten by birds.

But during the Industrial Revolution, trees in industrial areas blackened with soot from coal-burning factories, which also killed the lichen. Camouflage flipped: the lighter moths became conspicuous, the darker ones disappeared into the soot. By the end of the 19th century, 98% of peppered moths were dark-bodied.

The Peppered Moth's survival was down to adapting fast enough, within a human lifetime, to survive a change in its environment it didn't choose and couldn't control.

GAVIN russell

"I've watched this pattern for thirty years, from two vantage points that rarely overlap. Competitive team sport, and corporate operations inside organisations scaling from startup to global scale, including Skype through its acquisition by Microsoft. Teams built from average ability who worked for each other consistently beat teams of individual talent who didn't."

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