Famous Explorers Innovate

In 1492 Columbus sailed off the map and assumed he had discovered a western route to the East. He named the inhabitants Indians as he was sure that he had reached the Indies. Actually he had landed at Watling Island in the Bahamas and discovered the Americas. It made him one of the most famous explorers of our times.

Columbus was a great navigator. Unfortunately though his estimates on the distance he needed to travel were wrong. He estimated the distance from the Canary Islands to Japan to be about 3,000 Italian miles (3,700 km or 2,300 statute miles), while in fact it was 19,600 km (12,200 miles).

Columbus left Palos de la Frontera (Spain) on August 3, 1492 with three ships: the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa María, carrying provisions for a year. Columbus deliberately misinformed his crew about the distances they sailed, to give them the impression of being closer to home than they actually were. After several weeks, having sailed off the map for some time, the fleet's crew began to panic. The men were terrified of never making it back home. Columbus faced a revolt only days before reaching the shore of what he believed were 'The Indies'.

Unfortunately for Columbus he did not discover a new sea route to China. Nor did he find gold on the island of Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and Dominican Republic). Nevertheless, returning to Castile (Spain), Queen Isabella gave Columbus all the royal titles he had demanded. Columbus persisted in his pursuit of finding a passage to the Indies by sailing west. He made four journeys; sparking Spanish colonization in the west. Meanwhile, it had become clear to everyone except Columbus himself that it wasn't the Indies that had been discovered, but a 'New World'. So, what were the conditions that gave Columbus the courage to sail off the map?

1. Columbus came from Genoa with unclear roots and was somewhat of an outsider. He was a passionate sailor who had nothing to lose.

2. Potential profits were a strong motive. His trip was an investment and not an exploration journey. Columbus had an agreement with the monarch that if he succeeded, he would get a share of the profits from his discovery.

3. The road to the East was cut off to European traders after the fall of Constantinople to the Turks. If you wanted to seek your fortune you had to find a new route.

4. New techniques of navigation, better knowledge of the Atlantic Ocean currents and the development of the caravel made it possible to sail much closer to the wind.

5. A new era of Renaissance, which originated in Florence, encouraged new ideas.

So, if you find that small steps within your organization are not working anymore, what will it take to sail off your own map successfully?

1. Urgency. There must be urgency otherwise any innovation will be considered playtime. People are only prepared to go outside