I spent the first three days this week working on a new venture. It fits well underneath the umbrella of our company and has a definite plan to add value over the next 2 years. However, beyond that time frame, I do not yet know. It could go several ways. It could continue in the same pursuit, just with other aspects of HSI or projects not yet determined to be feasible. It could shift slightly to perform the same function but for new products instead of existing products. There is a possibility it expands to 2-3x the number of employees and includes specialized manufacturing. There is a possibility it could take on a purer R&D perspective. The fact that I cannot yet predict this outcome is exciting. It allows my mind to explore these possibilities. I can dream a little bit, then watch for which of these possible realities may come to fruition.

But where it really gets exciting and possibly scary (for some) is that it is bringing a whole new network of connections that as of last week did not exist. Some of these are simply leads at this point, names, titles, email addresses and phone numbers. Behind those leads are a potentially unlimited number of possibilities for networking, product opportunities, new technologies, ideas and talent. This is the frontier. Undeveloped mental space to be explored and built into something grand. Many people looked at the West and saw trees, deserts, rivers and mountains full of danger. The visionaries saw cities, railroads, gold mines and potential. We sit at a similar threshold, not of the physical, but of ideas, concepts and technologies to synthesize into a more brilliant future.

In reality knowing a direction and destination are absolutely critical for the realization of a preferred future. That must ultimately be determined from this ocean of possibility. Yet some of those destinations become final and finite. Others have a fuzzy back end, opportunities that build into opportunities that build into opportunities. These are the best and most interesting. If we pursue only those ideas that have clear destinations our growth will be limited. Pursuit of ideas that grow us to the next elevation, allowing us to see new possibilities, will unlock unlimited growth.