MODERN BUSINESS
Why innovation must be
purpose-driven: Lessons
from the Australian outback
By Gaia and Andrew Grant
B
ack in 1985, when hairstyles
were boofy and TV was
serious business, a television
camera zoomed in on a veteran
Australian journalist as he stood in
the middle of the brutally hot North
Australian desert.
On one side of him stood a team of
highly trained SAS soldiers (an elite
military special operations force)
in full combat gear. On the other
side was a group of traditionally
dressed Australian Aboriginals. The
challenge was for the two teams
24 ModernBusiness
September 2016
to race against each other to a
set destination. This early reality
TV show was set to span several
episodes.
When the race began, the SAS
were quickly off and running. But
on the other side, the Indigenous
Australians started ambling along
calmly, apparently unconcerned by
any pressure to win.
Only a short time into the race,
however, the Aboriginal group found
a watering hole (a billabong) they
liked and decided to stop right
there. Why? Because they had
reached a good position and had
no incentive to go further. They
simply could not see the purpose
of a race for the sake of a race. The
competition was over before it had
started.
When you think about it, the
outcome of this race in the desert
has profound implications for the
ways we think about progress
and innovation. In contemporary
business, many face harsh