Dr. Frank Drake was a pioneer in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. He organized the very first conference on the subject at the National Radio Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia. Among the attendees: chemists, biologists, astrophysicists, a CEO, and a neuroscientist who researched dolphin communication. How did Drake make it possible for people from many different disciplines to understand and contribute to the discussion? He boiled down an incredibly complex topic -- life in the galaxy -- into an equation that made it all seem manage-able. The Drake Equation and the thinking behind it, was an accidental gift to business leaders.