After a year of using my new Apple keyboard, I had to work on a standard Windows keyboard the other day. I was surprised at how clunky and slow it seemed relative to my Mac version. When I first got the Mac keyboard, it felt foreign and unnatural. However, now that I have adapted, I have learned that Apple’s reinvention of the “keyboard” makes it a faster, more efficient entry device. Their engineering changes reduce wasted motion, reduce the surface force needed to effect an entry and allow your fingers to glide more smoothly across the keyboard. I now type faster than ever. Who would have thought so much evolution was possible in the humble keyboard.

Apple. Google. These are companies that are fundamentally rethinking many of the technology platforms we grew up with. And in so doing, they create business opportunity and economic evolution. But, every company needs to do the same thing in its own business if it wants to remain competitive.

When I worked for IBM, the internal motto was “Think”. I think that remains a good starting point. But today, I would challenge that a more effective motto for all companies would be “Think. And Rethink.”