Says director Dayna Ryan: “Wow!!! My feet hurt, my voice is gone and I feel like I got run over by a bus– but we loved every minute of the Grand Finale of Swingshift and the Stars! It’s bitter sweet feeling that this local charity fundraiser has ended, and we still can’t quite wrap our heads around the enormous success, not just in terms of dollars raised but more importantly about the success of Max and Jenn and the important impact and message for all!

Throughout this journey we often referred to ourselves as,”The Little Agency That Could” but really we found we are bigger than that – we have a HUGE army of supporters who always believed in our mission and mostly, in Max and Jenn.”

Check out more photos on the VSA Facebook page and the Swingshift Facebook page.

Historically, there’s a glut of business books about the innovation that can result from challenging periods like this.  In the face of impossible odds, entrepreneurs and inventors hang out in skunk works to  brainstorm and create.  This effort often results in new ways of thinking—-and a spate of new companies and products.

Business tomes and MBA classes are rife with these Horatio Alger-type stories.  Perhaps these innovators discover a novel business application, a break through in a field everyone else thought was fully developed?  Or the inventor who, having spent years on developing a process that coverts waste heat to power, stumbles on a technology that finally makes it all doable by the recent discovery of a new and wondrous semiconductor material.

These transformational and often herculean efforts – like those of visionary and creative genius, Steve Jobs – are what makes this country the cradle of innovation, new technologies and enterprise.

They involve risk taking to an extreme—long hours, passion,  inestimable investment and an unshakeable belief in your business dream or ideal.  And hopefully at the end of the day, the integrity to represent you and your new product or business honestly and legitimately.

But now, back to that metaphor….

The e-mail included this video of a young man hanging from the wing tip of an airplane, high above the Utah landscape.  Risk taking, believing in one’s self, courage—-this young man’s daring represents many of the essential skill sets necessary to survive and thrive in today’s business world.  And then some.

The young dare-devil is our nephew, so the message is even more relevant and gripping.

The conundrum, although not new, surfaced again when I took my first car – a 1969 Pontiac Firebird – in for service. There’s plenty that needs fixing. The seals are going, there’s a crack in the manifold, the engine blanket has housed a family of mice and needs replacing. But a more finely engineered, solid vehicle is hard to find. Besides, it’s great fun to drive! Even the hood mount tach still works. And, then there are all the memories….coupled with the costs of keeping it running and stored, and feeding its insatiable appetite for gas.

On the other end of the spectrum are the fuel efficient hybrids that are capturing the media’s attention, like the new Ford Evos, a plug-in hybrid concept car.

Cloud-connected, this vehicle is a social media networker’s dream. It keeps track of the driver’s work schedule, monitors the weather, office tasks, driving routes, music preferences and helps you not only navigate your day – but your life.

Yet appreciating the historical element is essential. After all, today’s technology is based on this country’s entrepreneurial quest for invention and innovation. That’s what not only compounds technological progress, but is at the root of our economy.

Valuing the best tactics and lessons of the past, and melding it with today’s fast-paced innovation is the premium fuel-injected formula.

Whether it’s building sales or bringing in new customers, driving the tried-and-true while moving forward with the riskier outside-the-box technology is the best business solution—in any economy, but particularly now.

Give us a call!