Eyes on the Prize: Musings from Vacation

I admit that I am not the greatest vacationer. I know I am strange that way but I never take all of the vacation time allowed and when I do it is usually under duress from my family. Once departed I always enjoy the family time (it is nice to know that college kids can still be bribed to come along) and catching up on my reading (Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Freakonomics, and The World is Flat). On our trip to Florida last week we were not even out of the airport in Rhode Island before my irreverent children gave me something to ponder while on vacation.

“Hey Dad Isn’t that Innovation @ Scale sign up there part of your economic development job?” They were pointing at the big back lit advertisement that is easy to see as you wait to clear security on the way to your flight. I know from experience that the next comment would be sarcastic and I wasn’t disappointed. “ I bet no one in this crowded line has a clue what that means” . Before I could even reply they were gleefully off doing a random survey! No surprises. All the answers were the same. The woman who works for security spending a full work day right under the sign summed it up best “What sign?”. No one even saw it which amused the irreverent ones to no end.

Of course they didn’t stop there and proceeded to call attention to the sign and to ask what Innovation @ Scale meant. No surprises there either, no one had a clue! Perhaps the only surprise was that each of my kids can explain it better then I can. “The state is trying to create new jobs for Rhode Islanders by taking advantage of its small size so companies can test new ideas”. The security employee responded while looking up at the sign for the first time “ I hope they hurry up because we sure need the new jobs”

This humbling exchange reminded me of the real reason we created the non-profit BIF. It is because collaborative innovation is the key to economic prosperity (better higher wage jobs) and progress on the important social issues that we face (healthcare, security, education, and quality of life). The BIF community is growing rapidly and we have an important opportunity to strengthen ourselves, our organizations, and our communities. It also reminds me not to take ourselves (me included) and the catchy marketing slogans too seriously but to keep our eyes on the prize. In the end all that will matter is economic prosperity because “we sure need the new jobs”