Govindarajan Vijay - How stella saved the farm: a tale about making innovation happen

The airline announced the final boarding call and Stella gave Alejandro one last hug. She leaned into his strong body and nuzzled his long neck. Finally, she turned and walked toward the gate. How had this happened? Stella had hoped to fall in love someday, but she hardly expected it to happen so soon.

Stella had high aspirations, and she didnt regard getting swept off her feet as an aspiration at all. Only a few months earlier, she had graduated from school with the firm expectation that she would change the world. Of course, she wasnt sure exactly how she would change the world, but she was eager to get goingworking for her familys substantial farming operation, gaining real-world experience, and building skills for the future.

Stellas mother, hardly a Type A like Stella, had offered some parental advice. You have the rest of your life to work, she told her daughter. And works not all its cracked up to be. See the world first. Enjoy yourself.

So Stella had postponed her career plans. She had purchased a backpack, a discount airline ticket, and a guidebook, Peru on Ten Dollars Per Day. She was prepared to rough it, with one exception. There was no way she would let go of her BlackBerry.

She started her trip in the mountains, hiking the Inca Trail. She made friends with other backpackers from around the world, intoxicated by their unusual backgrounds, interests, and perspectives. One day, she made the difficult ascent to Machu Picchu, the famous Inca ruin. A thick mist had settled over the summit. Stella took a break, resting on a rock.

Thats when Alejandro appeared through the fog.

Care for a cherry Life Saver? he offered.

Stella looked upway upto make eye contact. Alejandro was tall. He was handsome. Like the country of Peru itself, he seemed so, so exotic.

Sure. Have a seat, she invited.

For the next few months, they traveled togetherStella discovering a foreign world, Alejandro exploring his own country, each learning about the other. They photographed strange birds in the Amazon. They sunned themselves on beaches. They braved the catacombs beneath a centuries-old monastery in Lima.

Stella couldnt deny her physical attraction to Alejandro. She admired his rugged, fit form. Yet he also conveyed an air of luxuriousness, even softness. Stella found the combination irresistible.

Now, after her whirlwind romance, Stella walked onto the plane in deep thought. Leaving Alejandro was not her only source of anxiety. She checked her BlackBerry again. More bad news from Deirdre, her mentor at Windsor Farm. The economics of the farming operation were steadily deteriorating. Deirdre was under extraordinary pressure.

It was time, Stella knew, to head home and try to help. She squirmed in her seat, unable to get comfortable. Airplane seats just werent designed for bodies like hers.

You see, Stella was a sheep.

Alejandro was an alpaca.

And this, indeed, is a fable.

(The title of the book says she does, doesnt necessarily make it so!)

Chapter 1