The Breakthrough Manifesto

Welcome to Breakthrough

We believe in breakthrough. Not so much the random unicorn kind that might meander across your path (though we're all for that). But even more so the hard‐earned variety that comes when you open your mind, dig deep, and lean in. The type that requires you to embrace and to rise above your humanness.

But what is breakthrough, really?

Breakthrough is what enables people to create better versions of themselves and the world around them. It is the array of energizing injection points on the timeline of progress and the catalyst of step change transformations. Breakthrough is a way of thinking that opens eyes to new possibilities and a way of acting that converts that potential into impact.

History is replete with stories, perhaps exaggerated, about sudden moments of inspired breakthrough. Newton's insight into gravity after an apple fell on his head. Einstein's dream of a falling man inspiring the theory of relativity. Archimedes's naked run through the streets shouting “Eureka” after he made the connection between mass and water displacement while in his tub.

These scientific discoveries are certainly one type of breakthrough. But what about the stories of challenges overcome in defiance of the standard? For instance, the design school team who took on the challenge of infant survival rates in low resource environments by building a baby warmer that costs less than 1% that of a traditional incubator.¹ Or any of the “miracle” athletic wins, when records ...