Welcome to the new reality in business: What you thought you knew no longer holds true.
Worse, if you can’t adapt to changing times, you and your company are going to be made involuntarily obsolete.
That probably won’t happen to the 10 Visionaries and Rising Stars who make up the Innovation in Business class of 2010 or to our keynote speaker, Jim McCann of 1-800-Flowers.com. All of these organizations and their leaders embody both an entrepreneurial spirit and an innovative mindset.
Some common trends we saw among the winning group were:
- A focus on wellness and sustainability
- Creative use of social media
- Groundbreaking new ideas in raising project capital
- Reinvigorating old-line manufacturing to compete in the 21st century
Among the honorees is ABS Materials, which parlayed nanotechnology breakthroughs into new products capable of cleaning water by absorbing contaminants. After the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the use of dispersants, you may already see how ABS’ technology can change the game.
Entrepreneur Eddy Zai saw the potential in foreign investors to help fund Cleveland-based projects, so he created the Cleveland International Fund. It’s already helping raise money to pay for projects in areas such as the East Bank of the Flats.
Joseph Zeno may run a company that does heavy metal fabrication for the construction equipment industry, but that doesn’t mean the manufacturer adheres to 20th century rules.
Michael Feuer struck gold in 1989 when he co-founded OfficeMax, changing the office supply industry. Now he’s trying to do it again with Max-Wellness, a chain of national retail stores focused on wellness.
And PR 20/20’s Paul Roetzer is revolutionizing the concept of inbound marketing through what he calls disruptive innovation by capitalizing on social media to build relationships, produce search-engine-optimized content and directly impact the bottom line. What more can you ask for in this realm?
Combined, this group of 10 honorees is having a significant impact on the Northeast Ohio economy by doing one of the most important things any organization can do today — creating jobs.
Congratulations to our 2010 honorees.We invite you to join us for the event on the evening of Sept. 16 at LaCentre. Call (440) 250-2023 or click here to register.
