Dennis finished telling the story as the three CEOs listened attentively to every word he said. He then went to his truck for more coffee and snacks as well as some paper and pens.

Henry, Bob and Nancy sat at the picnic table, observing the two beavers busy building their dam and completely ignoring their keen visitors, who had just heard a beaver story.

“Dennis, I must say it was a powerful and very moving story,” Bob said.

“This was the best damn story I've ever heard!” Henry shouted and shook his head. “And I don't say that easily— now I believe in the power of getting answers from Yellowstone Park.”

“Amazing insights,” Nancy said as she leaned back, smiled and gave a thumbs-up gesture. “Totally enjoyed it.”

Dennis smiled and thanked them.

The sun had risen higher. Across the creek, a moose was grazing. Farther down, buffalos congregated, idly moving in circles. A hump moved lazily in the tall grass— probably a grizzly bear, feeding on berries. Birds were chirping loudly. Breeze touched the flowers as an eagle dived and chased a crow. A coyote howled somewhere in the distance.

Dennis poured coffee for his guests, saying, “Now I would request each one of you to think about the story and tell me how it applies to your business.”

“Let me take a shot,” Henry said. “The beavers were living in the industrial and information revolution— as we were. Then the environmental dynamics changed, and they had to acquire capabilities of the cognitive era. For example, in our case we are now developing autonomous cars. We are good at making cars, and we've been making them for decades, but now we must add the cognitive dimension. The Beaver Leader's statement, ‘We were good at building dams, and now we must be good at building bots that build good dams,’ resonated with me a lot. We can't depend on the technology firms to do that for us— since they are becoming our competitors. We are on our own. That means we must excel at both electromechanical and cognitive dimensions.”