John Deere made an observation. He was born in Vermont, trained as a blacksmith and found work in Grand Detour, Illinois.

Farmers in the Midwest had a challenge. The thick, sticky soil slowed down their plows. The soil would stick to the blades, requiring farmers to stop often to clean the blades. Deere came up with an innovation that changed farming. He created a plow made from steel. The soil rolled off the steel blades instead of sticking to them. This adjustment not only saved farmers time, but it increased their productivity as well.

People can get stuck doing things the same way. You have heard the non-visionary types say “but we’ve always done it this way.” It’s the visionaries who change the world. You might have noticed that they are the ones who get ridiculed, too. That’s okay. Other people can’t see what the visionaries see.

Today, the John Deere company is a worldwide company that manufactures tractors, combines, harvesters, construction equipment and more. The company has over 70,000 employees. A simple blacksmith with an idea created a legacy that changed the world of farming. Not bad…