The secret recipe for all successful ventures is three parts innovation, two parts resourcefulness, and at least one part sheer trust and will. The lessons learned from successful corporate ventures, inspiring civic endeavors, and superstar public schools are the subject of countless books and movies in our never-ending fascination with what works. Though we may debate the attributes of success, most of us know it when we see it. There is something about hard-won victories that is so alluring that we find it difficult to avoid staring at them and wondering how they did it. In truth, the greatest of great ventures have always found success in transformative places that exist somewhere beyond corporate structures, business plans, and spreadsheets. In one form or another, such…
