Capstone - a finishing stone of a structure; the crowning achievement, point, element or event

Cornerstone - the chief foundation on which something is constructed or developed.

Have you ever walked down the street in a large city and marveled at the tall buildings? Whenever I get the chance to walk in New York City, I can’t help but keep looking up.  Walking by the Empire State Building I’ve craned my neck and stretched as far back as I could with the hope of seeing the top.  As I have traveled, no matter where I’ve gone, the same desire to look up struck me when at Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty and Big Ben. 

In business ventures when goals are set, that same desire to look up guides what we aim for. We set our goals high so we have something to look up to.  We see the heights available, what we would like to achieve and the goals that others have reached, and we naturally look up envisioning our own future success.  

But in order to reach that goal, that high point we set for ourselves, what must happen first? 

When I think of reaching a high point, striving for a goal, I think of the pharaohs and Pyramids of Egypt.  These pharaohs' desire was to place a capstone as high as possible in the air and to have it remain there for as long as possible. They used the pyramids to get the capstone high and to hold it there.  These pyramids where the tallest man-made structures for over 4,000 years, dwarfing modern notables such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Big Ben and reaching half the height of the Eiffel Tower.  This was quiet an achievement, but what made it possible for the pyramid to reach such a height?

Imagine the ancient pharaoh consulting with the royal architects and engineers, explaining his desire to have his capstone set high in the sky for all time.  The discussion centrally focused on the goal of reaching farther into the sky then anyone before.  Now also imagine the pharaoh's surprise, when after describing his desire to reach a high point in the sky, the builders began by digging a great big hole in the ground? 

For a pyramid to look like a pyramid, each of the four triangular-shaped sides must slope up and towards each other at the same angle so that they meet at a point at the top. The builders constructed the pyramid layer by layer, starting at the bottom. They had to check their work often, for even a fractional error at the bottom, could grow into a very large mishap by the time the workers reached the top.

Even though the pharaoh’s goal was to reach as high as possible, the builders had to create a strong foundation.  In order to reach the highest heights, to stay focused on reaching that goal, the builders carefully placed the corner stones and took frequent measurements as they built each layer to ensure their progress stayed on track.  Without the corner stones, carefully placed layers of massive stones and taking frequent measurements, slight deviations at the bottom layers would have been disastrous the higher up they went.  Inattention to the foundational layers of the structure would result in an ancient enginieering disaster with instability, tilting, and an angular mess from poorly set cornerstones and weak, miss-aligned foundations.  In order for there to be a top to look up to, you’ve got to build from the ground up.

What did the builders give their attention to that may have been outside the scope of the pharaoh’s vision?  Which part captured everyone’s attention and inspired people to reach for the same goal?  Was it the capstone or the cornerstones that needed attention first?  How do we act when we go about trying to reach our goals – are we pharaohs or builders?

It is easy to focus on the vision, the results or the goal, and lose sight of the important foundational stuff.  What do we miss when we only focus on the outcome and forget about what needs to be built to get there?