Innovation as a Way of Life: Keep on Creating!

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Concorde represented the dreams and imagination of a nation but most importantly, it was innovation and excellence that symbolized the jet.

History tells us that the survival of man has been possible only through innovation and constant evolution. Humans discovered various uses of the things around them and made possible the present that we live in. Our capacity to imagine and strive for wonderful technological innovations is boundless. Just this month, the news featured robots that had 80% human functionalities, including veins to pump blood. On the other hand, Mars can be our future home as our satellites travel beyond the edge of the Solar System.

In this exciting scientific age, I would like to remind you of one of the greatest inventions which shortened distances and brought continents closer: the supersonic Concorde jet.

A Legend, the Concorde

On 24 October 2003, the legendary jet took its last flight across the Atlantic Ocean and landed in London. When it took its maiden flight in 1969, the Concorde broke the sound barriers and proved that the boundaries of science and our imaginations could be pushed. It traveled at supersonic speed; faster than the speed of sound, at Mach 1.7 (Mach 1 is the speed of sound, or 1,235 km/h).

For 27 years, Concorde traveled across the vast Atlantic and held an impeccably clean record. Until the year 2000, when the first and only Concorde flight crashed, it was considered as the safest airlines. That accident was to prove the beginning of Concorde’s end. A year later, in 2001, the attack on the World Trade Center also adversely affected the jet. In 2003, Concorde was officially retired.

Lessons to Learn from a Legend

Concorde is still an icon in people’s minds. It is a symbol of their hopes and dreams fulfilled. Most importantly, it could cross an ocean in under 3.5 hours! Flights which travel at almost five times the speed of sound are being developed. These hypersonic airlines are set to be the future of modern air travel, reaching top speed of 3,400 mph. But the Concorde is an eternal symbol.

Concorde is a great lesson in innovation. It is the result of the hard work and innovative engineering of thousands of people across the globe. Though it was Britain’s dream, many of its parts were developed by firms and engineers who were not necessarily part of the original company. In a way, Concorde was the joint effort of some of the best minds in history. It not only needed immense knowledge of aerodynamics but also metallurgy, management, hospitality, politics, and negotiation tactics.

We face the same situations in everyday workplace as well. Teams consist of dreamers and doers. How they all come together and create products and services that people are happy with differentiates innovative organizations from run-of-the-mill ones. Ideas have to be discussed, developed, created, and constantly reinvented. Humans may have taken thousands of years to develop from the wheel to supersonic jets, but our mythological tales are full of flying creatures and vessels. It is important to remember that the power of our imagination is boundless and everything is possible as long as you work for it, together with your team.