The Selfish Gene

Read the Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins- I finished it three days ago.

I’ll admit- I was unsure of this book before I read it, both in how it could be useful to read as well as the fact that I disagree with much of Dawkins recent philosophy, particularly on theism.

I was pleasantly surprised however.  It was insightful, and had some truly deep conclusions.

The biggest take away for my own life is that incentives matter.  For genes it can be a fairly short term- one lifetime of an animal, however long or short that can be.

He takes about memes as well – in a book written well before the internet existed, I might add.  Wikipedia agrees that Dawkins is the creator of the term.   And a Meme will perpetuate itself whether or not it is good for the people or the culture of the society.

It means that in any company, it is vital to make sure that the incentives are such that whatever you encourage for your employees MUST be beneficial for the company.  Any time you incentivize any behavior that is not in alignment with the benefits of your company, you will see how your company will suffer.