The Grackle and the Quail

Nature offers so many metaphors for innovative service. I was doing a keynote in Scottsdale and elected to go a couple of days early and stay at The Boulders in Carefree. Armed with my cell phone and laptop, I sat on the patio next to a gorgeous lawn and duck pond. I witnessed the territorial contest between the Grackle and the quail.

The Grackle is a large black bird that enjoys sitting in trees and being obnoxiously noisy. Their dissonant cry can be heard a block away. Grackles look like a c...