"Tanks Alot" and Other Words of Wisdom on the Situation

Adults, Would-Be Adults and Kids Weigh In…

First, my favorite pot shot from the non-adult, the most adolescent of journalistic voices, The New York Post…

“Tanks Alot” with a picture of our president. Blaming someone else, in this case BAM as they punk-call him, versus being accountable. The very definition of non-adulthood.

“People are going to feel less rich and that will make them hold back on spending, which will be a further blow to the economy.” Beth Ann Bovino, Senior U.S. Economist, Standard & Poors, Wall Street Journal, 8-9-11

“I keep waiting for one wealthy, well-known figure to stand up and publicly say that he or she is willing to pay more in taxes as part of the shared sacrafice necessary to gain control of the country’s deficit. I know there are wealthy people who’ve had that thought — not just liberals like Warren Buffett, but old-fashioned, rocked-ribb Republicans who are worried aboutthe country’s debt problems. I even have a pretty good idea who some of them are. Come on folks. Your country needs to hear from you. ” Joe Nocera, New York Times, 8-9-2011

“Wake up. We gotta suck it up. Pay this bill. And have a loooooong talk about how we never get here again, while still maintaining our identity as a great country made up of great, caring people.” Alec Baldwin, Huffington Post,
7-29-2011

“The Treasury can cry foul all it wants, but the decision by Standard & Poors to downgrade America’s credit rating by one notch last Friday, and the subsequent plunge in the market, are serious symptoms of a loss of confidence that is fundamentally political, not economic.” — Menzie D. Chinn and Jeffry A. Frieden, New York Times, 8-9-11

“My friends all generally share the same option that old-style companies – company town type companies – are completely a thing of the past in the Western World. I have a good friend who works at a start-up called ChartBeat. He associates with “Silicon Alley” types and frequently discusses how, despite the long hours and stressful circumstances, he loves it because he is building something. While he is prone to hyperbole, he has said that he (and most around him) believe that internet/high-tech related companies are the only companies creating jobs in the US. I think this is somewhat true, and in the spirt of your website I think you could easily substitute innovative for internet/high-tech. I think there is a general sense in my generation that, for the vast majority, it is no longer enough to simply get a job and “climb the ladder”; you have to create your own ladder. Even my friends in finance, which is traditionally a climb the ladder old-boys-club type industry in my view, have chosen a more entreprenual route by working for start-up funds rather than large established institutions.

It is my opinion that the world has changed in a fundamental way. Look at a company like Tata Steel. These days, such old school industrial institutions are only sustainable in countries with generally low costs and low quality of life. The United States need to look to more innovative and agile business models as a means of creating wealth and doing business in general.” – My 20-something nephew, who works for an internet company.

OK. It may BE a depressing economic moment. But it’s our moment. Reading, writing, posting the words of this community is reaffirming and humbling. We practice and believe in innovation as a discipline that unleashes possibility. We have a great opportunity to lead ourselves out of the collective global economic morass. Here’s hoping we have the guts.

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Julie Anixter is Chief Innovation Officer at Maga Design and a Founder of Innovation Excellence.