The Intelligent Design of Business Evolution

On an ordinary day in 1974, it was boredom that changed the world as we know it.

Anthropologist Donald C. Johanson had been laboring for weeks with his team in a region of Ethiopia, on the hunt for evidence of ancient man. As he sat in his tent that afternoon, working furiously to finish the always-maddening stack of paperwork, a bored colleague suggested going for a hike in the area. While under pressure to complete his task, something deep inside Johanson urged him to leave it behind and take a break.

As the sun lowered in the sky, Johanson veered off on a path he knew by heart; the difference was this time, he let his mind wander. Suddenly, something caught his eye... a fossil half buried in the same ground they'd surveyed dozens of times. As Johansen and his colleague brushed away at the ground, they began to unearth not just one fossil, but nearly 50... they had discovered the remains of what came to be known as Lucy, believed to be the earliest known human ancestor, born approximately 3.2 million years ago.

Too often, in business, we're looking for great innovation to emerge from new and uncharted territory when the answer is often hidden in the very same place we've been standing on all along. When was the last time you took a look at the ground below for answers to pressing challenges? What treasures await you just by reviewing past history of your company or by being open to the wealth of information your employees and customers are dying to share with you?

Just think.. it could change the world as you know it.