No matter where you are, there are sporting events that prove that history and longevity don't always guarantee success in a championship game. Underdogs often pull off amazing wins and luck has often very little to do with it. Both teams have skilled players, but often the difference lies with some creative thinking and a large amount of heart and spirit. Take the US College football Fiesta Bowl last night where the Boise State Broncos pulled off an incredible win over the Oklahoma Sooners. After looking like they were about to blow a narrow lead with a turnover, they came back with some amazingly innovative plays to tie again with 7 seconds and then win in overtime. However great the creative play-making was, this isn't what allowed them to take home the win, it was the heart, drive and commitment that allowed them to triumph over the heavily favored competition.
In your company it is important to be innovative, but you also need heart. Trying to build an innovative organization is hard enough - building heart and spirit on a team is even more challenging since there is no guaranteed way to create it, and often you don't know its there until you are faced with a challenge that could make or break you.
Take a lesson from sports and think about building heart as well as creative thinking in your organization.
