Unlocking Our Own Cells

Greetings.  If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I spend a lot of time thinking about the importance of casting a wider net in our search for ideas, inspiration, and possibilities.  Ideas, inspiration, and possibilities that can drive meaningful innovation and enhance our ability to deliver even greater value to the customers we choose to serve.

But what if the answers to some of our most important challenges are lurking right under our noses?   What if casting a narrower net holds the key to creating real breakthroughs?  In fact, that's exactly what Shinya Yamanaka, his colleagues at the University of Kyoto in Japan, and scores of scientists around the globe are hoping to prove in their effort to find a cure for ailments like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and Type 1 Diabetes.  Their remarkable work with "induced pluripotent stem cells" or "iPSCs" suggests that it might be possible to rejuvenate our own mature body cells and use them to fight the illness that afflicts us.  In essence reprogramming them to an embryolike state, but without all of the politics that surround the use of embryonic stem cells so that the patients–i.e., customers of medicine–become the source of their own cure with the help of a little outside genius.  If you'd like to learn more about this important research check out Konrad Hochedlinger's fascinating article in the latest issue of Scientific American.

And while you're think about the possibility of living even longer, it might be fun to recall the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon (1474 – 1521) who stirred the human imagination with his quest to discover the "Fountain of Youth."  Almost 500 years ago he conjectured that there was a special spring located in what is now the state of Florida that held the power to stop the hands of time.  Oddly enough, Florida remains a place where many people still go to prolong life or at least wear colorful Bermuda shorts and avoid harsh winter weather.

We win in science, business, and life when we cast many nets in our search for new solutions.  Maybe it's time to look closer to home for your next great idea.  It could be hiding in the very DNA of your own company or customers.

Cheers!