24 Why NASA Rocket Boosters Are Still Shaped by Roman War Chariots

Why is it that ninety-seven percent of chief executives list innovation as a top priority, yet half of employees report having no time, clear plan, or knowledge of who is responsible for innovation in their organization?

In this keynote, Jeremy Gutsche explores how historical path dependency, neurological wiring, and corporate success quietly prevent individuals and teams from adapting to a fast-moving world.

• Our choices are heavily constrained by past decisions, illustrated by how high-speed train tracks and rocket booster designs still trace back to the width of ancient Roman war chariots. • Repeated actions build myelin along neural pathways, making familiar routines up to one hundred times faster to execute while building resistance to alternative methods. • Business success naturally turns agile hunters into protective farmers who default to saying no to safeguard established routines. • Prioritizing high-optionality choices opens up significant future possibilities, even when immediate financial returns are low. • Organizations can actively spark disruptive thinking through structured habits, such as issuing written permission slips to fail, holding project funerals, and forcing team collisions.

Watch the video to learn how breaking away from these structural and neurological traps can help you recognize subtle, game-changing opportunities.

Which past decision or comfortable routine is currently preventing you from exploring a new direction