L ike it or not, the results from this month’s election — with the exception, perhaps, of the radical change of county government in Cuyahoga County — will not have much direct impact on the direction that this region, state or nation is headed.
Admittedly, it’s been an interesting election season. And if you listened to the pundits, the armchair critics or the squeaky wheels on both sides of the political aisle, you may have blindly believed the very future of American capitalism, freedom, liberty and seemingly everything else important to anyone and everyone hung in the balance.
Reality, however, isn’t so simple.
The American economy, like the global economy, is cyclical. Governmental policies change. Often. And legislation, whether minor or sweeping, takes years to reveal its true nature.
Significant (read: real) change more often than not arises from the business world, and what we should really count on our government to do is lay down a few markers that, depending on the policy, either speed up or slow down our ability to move as quickly and efficiently as we’d like.
All the hullaballoo can easily become distracting. It’s easy to miss good tidings all around us. So let’s take a momentary timeout to recognize three such positive signs that surround us every day.
First, congratulations to Case Western Reserve University. The Weatherhead School and its yearlong elective course, the Institute in Sustainable Value and Social Entrepreneurship, was recognized by Forbes magazine as one of the 10 Most Innovative Business School Courses in America.
The course, in which students learn through project work that you can turn a profit in the real world without ravaging resources in the process, reflects a business approach that’s quickly gaining momentum among CEOs and business owners: Do good while doing well.
Among the same lines, Shearer’s Foods’ new Millennium Manufacturing Facility received the world’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum designation for a food manufacturing plant.
And finally, JumpStart, the regional nonprofit that provides a host of resources to entrepreneurs leading early-stage companies, including making direct investments through its investment arm, JumpStart Ventures, reached a significant milestone.
JumpStart, which has impacted Northeast Ohio’s regional economy to the tune of $267 million and more than 800 jobs created, added a 50th company to its portfolio of investments.
You don’t have to look far to see good things. You just have to open your eyes.
