RHetoric

Last night I watched the State of the Union address and thought about how our firm has been impacted by the events of the past year.  Without going on any political tangents, I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised at how we fared this past year, and am optimistic that this year is shaping up to be a great one.

Our business has definitely benefited from the spending in Washington, mostly because our clients either sell to the government, or their markets are heavily influenced by government spending.  This is exemplified by two clients, Onvia and GCI. Both these businesses have positioned themselves to benefit from the stimulus bill (ARRA).  For Onvia, itlaunched recovery.org, a web site tracking the distribution of stimulus dollars.  For GCI, it applied for and won a grant/loan to build terrestrial broadband in rural Alaska.

So on this day I can report that the State of Our Business is strong and we are very optimistic for things to come.  We have new projects in the pipeline and are looking to bring on two new employees.

I am still have my fingers crossed that the recovery continues in its current path, while keeping an eye toward growth and success in 2010.

Periods of uncertainty, upheaval, and irrational behavior create wide openings for a new generation of innovators to stop in and assume leadership positions. Here are our top five ways to run with the bulls in 2009:

1. Get Positioned for a Recovery: Periods of economic turmoil create rare opportunity for new brands to emerge and for existing brands to outmaneuver the competition. If there was ever a time to invest in high-impact PR and marketing, this is it. Use this time to upgrade your messaging, revamp Web sites and marketing collateral, connect with the press and analysts, and apply for prestigious awards.
2. Stimulate the Government: Washington is rolling out a welcome mat to anyone with credible ideas on stimulating the economy. Tech and telecom companies that sell to healthcare, government, and education will find friendly audiences in D.C. and should be preparing white papers, talking with the press, and briefing think tanks to influence decision making. Doing so will position you well when stimulus money begins flowing to state governments in 2009 and 2010.
3. Share Your Vision for Healthcare Reform: Perhaps the last bastion of our economy to take advantage of IT-driven productivity gains, healthcare is moving to center stage. If this is your market, now is the time to articulate a vision for empowering consumers, increasing safety, controlling costs, and emphasizing prevention and wellness. Communicate your visionary messages through executive speaking placements, media interviews, bylines, white papers, and Web content.
4. Place Your Best Customers in Front: The flight to safety is causing business buyers to avoid risk at all costs. What better way to prove ROI than to have your best customers publicize the results they achieved using your products and services? Use 2009 to nominate customers for awards, prepare case studies and testimonials, and capture video clips of your customers raving about the value you deliver.
5. Socialize Your Content: As traditional print media continue to struggle, new media and social networks will become increasingly influential to your customers in 2009. Feed the beast with Web-ready content such as video, blogs, optimized press releases, and interactive tools, such as an ROI calculator.

As the late entrepreneur Keith Grinstein noted during the dot-com bust, “Swim between the waves… and you will be carried farther and faster in the long run.”

Two news stories on parallel tracks this week that, if we can get them to cross connect, will create some really powerful momentum behind health I.T…

The first is a report about the frightening slowdown in U.S. productivity growth - the key measure of a country’s average standard of living. We are at a point today where it will take 52 years for our standard of living to double. According to the report’s authors, nearly all economists agree that the only real way out of this economic mess in the long term is to get productivity growth back up in a big way. With bailouts causing the national debt to lurch above $10 trillion, stimulating productivity is the only real method to grow ourselves out of this mess (versus allowing it collapse upon us, thereby blowing up our currency).

The second is the news about Obama’s stimulus package, and his intensifying focus on our nation’s I.T. infrastructure. His plan will devote billions to upgrading and extending our nation’s broadband infrastructure, picking up hospitals and schools along the way. While some think of infrastructure as roads and bridges, there is growing consensus that investments in I.T. infrastructure can return more long term value for the economy and productivity.

The intersection of these two stories is where health I.T. should be jumping off the page. Of all the economic sectors to have huge untapped productivity gains, healthcare is it. Of all the sectors that have the potential to bankrupt our federal government, healthcare is at the top of the list. There simply couldn’t be a more urgent time to devote the smartest minds and federal resources to modernizing our healthcare system with I.T.