Physicists should add the Edison Ratio to their list of fundamental, universal constants. Edison’s formulation for genius — 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration — is as invariant as the speed of light in a vacuum.

Purveyors of business panaceas appear to have reached a different conclusion. Whatever else happens in the corporation, they appear to be saying, it’s what happens in the executive suite that matters. Setting the right direction, whether through strategy, scenario-based planning, enterprise architecture, or Ouija board, is, in their view, what drives success. This perspective explains, perhaps, the ongoing rise in executive compensation and continuing decline in what regular employees receive.