Last week, I shared my favorite phrase to ponder as I reflect and plan on the year ahead, in business and in life – “At this phase of my life…” (or, “At this stage in our development…”).

It’s a reminder that all planning should start with understanding the intersection of who we are today and what our present context is. Only then can we properly discern what we should do in light of that.

Today is about words. More specifically, one word.

$10.6 BILLION. That's the estimate for total Halloween spending this year. It would be an all-time high, up from last year's previous record.

Have you ever been to a Spirit Halloween store? I’ve always been fascinated by the business model. They pop up seemingly overnight every August in abandoned retail spaces and defunct department stores and are gone just as quickly once Halloween comes and goes.

Before I share what happened five centuries ago, and the lessons I think we can learn from it, let me first say something.

I believe that Innovation is Ancient.