PBS will air “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” its highly anticipated six-episode series starting on September 27.

Once again, renowned filmmaker Ken Burns has teamed with PBS to tell a compelling American story wrapped in powerful images. The “Best Idea” story is about the “people from every conceivable background – rich and poor; famous and unknown; soldiers and scientists; natives and newcomers; idealists, artists, and entrepreneurs; people who were willing to devote themselves to saving some precious portion of the land they loved.”

Written and co-directed by award-winning author Dayton Duncan, “Best Idea” is the product of six years of filming in some of “nature’s most spectacular locales,” including Yellowstone, Acadia, the Grand Canyon, the Everglades and Yosemite.

I was fortunate enough to see a special preview of the series in a private viewing at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York last month. It is a stunning piece, capturing the full majesty of our country’s most sacred natural treasures. Yet, the lasting impression of the series will be as much about the vision and leadership of the people behind the creation of the parks system, as it is about the dramatic images themselves.

Historian and novelist, Wallace Stegner (1909-1993) called the National Parks “the best idea we ever had.” Today there are 391 units that make up the U.S. National Park system, including 58 officially designated National Parks, and over 300 other monuments and historical sites. Out of 50 states, only one does not have at least one park unit – Delaware.

America has changed immensely since the first National Park at Yellowstone was established in 1872. However, the fact that America has been able to leave unchanged some of its most valuable attributes is unquestionably one of its greatest achievements.

Preserving the very elements that make a place unique and special does indeed take leadership and vision. And finding the right balance between what to preserve and what to change in a dynamic and competitive world presents the biggest challenge. But in the end, you will increase your chances for success if you seek to save and protect what is the most precious.

This could very well lead to your company’s “best idea.”