Opinion

Dare to think out of the box

By John Gathright

There was a loud shout of "Cheers!" followed by mass gulping and then the buzz of excited conversation. The air was electric with the energy that was flowing from each table of young "international business persons." It marked the opening of an evening for young Japanese and foreign companies to source venture capital and court prospective partners.

Being neither a young business person nor a venture capitalist I was free to mingle and eavesdrop on hundreds of urgent conversations and zealous sales pitches. It was a joy to see young people fired up with such passion.

But my peace was broken with a sudden request that I give a substitute speech in five minutes. What could I possibly talk about?

As I searched my mind the idea for a topic erupted inside me. It was like a bolt of lightning! I knew it would work.

I am not a business expert but I do know a lot about lightning (you have to when you live in a treehouse) so I decided to talk about lightning.

In the Middle Ages, it was believed that the ringing of church bells could ward off lightning. This was proved false by a young scholar who observed that over three decades, church towers in his area were struck over 386 times and over 100 bell ringers were killed by lightning. He dared to challenge popular opinion and question the beliefs of the day. He also saved many bell ringers. I guess you could say he dared to "think out of the box."

Another myth, which even persists today, is that lightning never strikes twice. Well, it does, and often finds certain times and certain areas very appealing. In the United States, living in some states like Florida, Texas and North Carolina would greatly increase your chances of being struck by lightning.

Lightning can also be predicted and, with the right tools and preparation such as lightning rods and kite strings (as Benjamin Franklin showed us), it can be attracted for a purpose.

So how is this all relevant to business? For business, don't we stress thinking out of the box, preparing, and being at the right place at the right time to increase our chances of success? Then the opposite is also true. Companies increase their chance of failure by carelessly being in the wrong place at the wrong time and totally unprepared.

We also know that lightning chooses victims who place themselves in vulnerable places such as ballparks, open spaces and even under trees. Close to 20 percent of deaths from lightning happen to people who seek shelter under trees during a lightning storm. In troubled financial times, be careful about where you take shelter and which businesses and partners you embrace.

Since 1954 until the present, over 10,000 people have died of lightning because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. How many businesses have also been struck and gone under since then?

I personally enjoy risks and thrive on challenges. I live in a treehouse and climb the world's largest trees for a living, and I encourage you to take educated and calculated risks. Risks won't kill you.

Shukan ST: Nov. 21, 2003

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