The Romans were a very ingenious culture: they incorporated engineering into all facets of their culture.  The roads they built allowed their enemies to quickly move from one road of their empire to another.  Our interstate highway system was built for the same reason.  Their highway system also increased commerce throughout their empire, providing two-fold benefits for their construction. The Romans invented aqueducts to move water, concrete to strengthen building construction, and indoor plumbing, but still their empire fell.

The steam engine was first discovered and documented by the Romans, but Caesar was required to bless all ideas before they could receive any credibility or funding.  Caesar never approved the steam engine, and therefore it was shelved for another millennium and a half.  Innovation must be allowed to grow in an organization, or that organization will lose its competitive edge.

-Todd R. Groff, 2003 (Introduction to Knowledge Management - KM in Business, Todd R. Groff & Thomas P. Jones)