Innovation is the Path to Immortality

If you could be a world champion athlete; a rock star or a Nobel Prize winner – which would you choose?

This is the question the late, great John R. Caldon once posed to me over a lunch some 10-years ago.

I chose Nobel Prize winner. John smiled knowingly and asked why.

“Don’t get me wrong, John”, I replied, “I think it would be great to achieve something special in business, sports or entertainment. But let’s face it, it will soon be forgotten. But discovering the double helix structure of DNA, now that’s a form of immortality.”

John nodded approvingly but added: “The key Adam is innovation. Steve Jobs will be remembered for the next 100 years or so because of the iPhone. We are called to innovate, whatever our line of work.”

We should all aim to leave our little patch of grass a little greener than how we found it.

Innovation is a form of immortality. Here’s a question to ponder in the new year: Is your business innovating enough?