Uncaged

It occurred to me that business is like a railroad.

At some point, a huge investment in money, time and innovation was made to blast the mountains, lay the rails, build the stations, and buy the locomotives.  This was hard work, daring work, risky work.  It required boldness and action and force of will.

But then the work shifted.

What was once about the creator and his vision....became about the creation

And the creation is essentially a fixed machine that runs on defined physics.

And the laws of physics become the cage.

No matter how efficient we make the locomotive… it still can’t fly.

No matter how fast it runs, it still can’t leave the rail.

Most of us toil for mature businesses in mature categories
We spend most of our hours loading coal into the locomotive

It’s a full time job keeping the wheels turning and running on time.

It’s honest work, it’s hard work.

We chase cheaper coal, look for more powerful coal, coal that burns cleaner.
But we don’t really get paid for all the effort,
because at the end of the day… it’s still train travel
It's a battle for share, a battle of inches.

And occasionally when we dare to build a new engine… 
...perhaps even an innovative engine… the rails still define us.

What’s the point here?

Innovation inside the cage has limited upside.  It’s coal.

Innovation outside the cage requires the courage of a creator.

Boldness, daring, drive, vision, delayed gratification.

What type of innovation are you pursuing?