High up in the Andes of Arequipa Peru, near a simple trickle marked with a white cross, is a melting snowflake. If that snowflake melts and drips to the West, it ends up in the Pacific Ocean. If it drips to the East, it begins a 4000 mile journey to the Atlantic, known as the Amazon River.
It’s an amazing thought that a melting snowflake on the cliff of a mountain called Nevado Mismi eventually becomes the world’s largest river. As the water joins with other waters is steadily grows to become a force. Until, at last, 219,000 Cubic Meters per second rush into the Atlantic ocean on the eastern coast of Brazil.
As leaders, we should remember that each little spark of an idea has the potential to become a transformational force in our organizations. We must constantly scan the horizon, asking; “What other ideas can I bring together with this one to create something bigger, something almost uncontrollable.” Truly transformational leaders possess the innate ability to see the bigger picture and assimilate data while on the journey. Just like the amazon, as you combine, connect, and let thoughts incubate, the sum of those thoughts become greater than their parts.
The next time you have that small, lateral thought, STOP! Throw it out to your team or your direct reports. See if the streams of thought come together as something larger, and continue to let it grow, turning your Trickle into a Force.
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