These are two terms that have immense importance in business. Let's talk about adaption first.
Adaption is a change or the process of change by which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment. There are many organisms who have made small changes over time that have allowed them to live a better life. The same thing has happened for all the businesses out there. There is not one business that exists that hasn't had to change and adapt to better meet it's customers needs. A good example of a company that is making a conscious effort to change on the fly is Walmart. Walmart knows Amazon is dominating the online space, but they aren't rolling over and giving up. There are also examples of businesses that have failed to adapt and meet there customers need. A good example would be Block Buster in the early 2000s. They were blind to the changing market and allowed Netflix to take over.
Natural selection is the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. The theory of its action was first fully expounded by Charles Darwin and is now believed to be the main process that brings about evolution. How can we apply this concept of natural selection to the real world. Well, if you take a business and compare it to an organism. In the wild, the organism reproduces resulting in offspring. In the business world the business makes money. Amazon is making the most money right now because they are the best adapted business. It probably won't always be that way, since everything is in flux, Walmart is working hard to catchup and find a way to knock Amazon of their pedestal. That's one thing that is fascinating in the wild and the business world is everything it changing and adapting. Right now amazon is king of the wild but it might not be that way in the future. Understanding Adaption and Natural Selection will not only help your business do better, but it will help you avoid more pitfalls along the way.