We begin with a modern parable, “a story that never actually happened” but that’s still true in some profound way.

Here’s the story.

A businessman from a metropolitan area received a registered letter informing him that an entrepreneurial group in another city had decided to honor him with their prestigious “Innovator of the Year” award. He was delighted. On the day of the presentation he allowed himself plenty of time to drive the Interstate, from one community to the other. But at the last minute, his phone rang and he ended up ‘putting out a fire,’ as they say in the corporate world, handling an unexpected production emergency at his local factory.

Once on the road, running late, he told his GPS device, “Show me a shortcut that will get me to my destination faster than the normal rou…