Commentary: Revolutionary transportation innovations moved humankind forward

NOTE: This article is a summary of a recent five-part series reviewing books about key innovations in transportation. The commentaries extracted lessons that could lead to better innovation in sea freight. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not of FreightWaves or its affiliates.

Silicon Valley. Steve Jobs. Google. These are a place, name and company that one associates with innovation today. It is indisputable that they have had a major impact on the lives we live and our world. But tech innovation is not alone or even atop the list of significant innovations that impact our daily lives. It is easy to argue that the five transportation innovations reviewed in my recent FreightWaves series have more impact on our daily lives than any recent tech innovation.

The commentaries used books about transport-related inventions (chronometer and airplane), achievements (Panama Canal and transcontinental railroad) and new industries (container shipping) to capture the excitement and challenge of solving previously unsolvable problems. Each story was filled with larger-than-life characters attacking physical and intellectual obstacles until they finally yielded. Unexpected breakthroughs and unparalleled persistence eventually led to successes that continue to benefit us today.

Think about modern life. The container ship, plane and train transport virtually everything in our homes and offices. Without their existence, life would revert to one that none would recognize or wish to endure. Each of these innovations moved humankind forward in remarkable ways.

At first glance, every story seems unrelated to each other and without much value to today’s R&D practitioners. But the series made clear there is much to learn from successes of the past. In each book, the protagonists had to evaluate their unique situation and devise a plan of action. Sometimes it took multiple attempts. It is no different today. Every corporate and project leader is responsible for assessing a situation and selecting an optimal course of action. There is much uncertainty and time is of the essence. The commentaries demonstrate that mining the past in search of process and project wisdom can deliver useful lessons.