Julie Desmond is Talent Manager for Express Employment Professionals. Write to
In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama told America we are poised for progress. He said, “What America does better than anyone else is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We’re the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It is how we make our living.”I know an architect who designed a working model of equipment that would have cleaned up the BP Oil Spill in weeks instead of months. There is a man in Northeast Minneapolis who thought a minivan could be improved if it had a convertible top… and then he built one. It’s in his garage now, you can see it if you want to. If you have been sitting on an innovation, now might be the right time to take steps to turn your good idea into a marketable product or service. The question is, will the effort required to move from concept to commerce be worth the investment?
Over twelve weeks, my friend Robin is journeying through six rounds of chemotherapy. She knows clearly the day and date of that last treatment. She knows what percentage is completed and how many treatments remain. And she understands her responsibility in the process; one bad cold can throw that deadline out the window if it delays a scheduled treatment.
