A big part of Better Montana Jobs is Montana’s kids; they will grow up to create and work in these better jobs. It’s critical that we consider their education. So let’s consider this – Albert Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Yet that […]
Whoever said that high tech businesses can’t be rural hasn’t been to Dillon, Montana in the last six months. Lead by Dillon-native Travis Cottom, Helix Business Solutions is quickly becoming an example of doing big business in a small town. Helix started in Memphis and provides technical services to major corporations all over the world, […]
We are exceedingly fortunate to live in a free market economy here is the US. Not only do we enjoy greater political and economic freedoms, but the competitive market means better products at lower costs, and the ability for employers to offer incentives to motivate their employees (and ultimately have a better company). From an entrepreneur’s […]
Entrepreneurs dream big and are eternal optimists. I love being around them. Their energy is contagious. Entrepreneurs also represent our best opportunity to improve Montana’s economy. Entrepreneurs are the ones who take the risks and start the companies that create jobs. Wealth and prosperity are solely created in the private sector, and entrepreneurs are the […]
I spent two evenings at Carroll College in Helena this week kicking off the Entrepreneur-in-Residence program there. Hundreds attended the opening lecture Monday evening. Over the course of this year we will attempt to launch up to 12 new businesses from scratch with teams of students, faculty, and community members. The goals are more high-paying […]
Engineering and computer science graduates at Montana universities accept out-of-state jobs at a remarkable rate even though we have lots of jobs right here. At one state university this past spring, 100% of the computer science graduates took jobs and moved elsewhere. This unfortunate fact penalizes the Montana economy and is a poor return on […]
When you think of innovation, the first thing that comes to mind is often a big, complicated idea. Something is really innovative if it does this, without doing that, while still doing this other thing. Does that sound about right? In reality, true innovation is a simple thing – one single idea that does one focused […]
If you are, or know, a Montana student interested in studying computer science in college, I have good news for you! Now participants in CodeMontana can earn college credit within the Montana University system, putting them that much closer to a degree in a computer science field. CodeMontana is partnering with Montana Tech to offer […]
In his book Creating the Innovation Culture: Leveraging Visionaries, Dissenters and Other Troublemakers in Your Organization, Frances Horibe makes an intriguing case for dissenters. According to Horibe, one reason companies fail to innovate is because they don’t recognize and accept that innovation is disruptive and initially takes the form of dissent. Dissent means that people […]
Back in 2008 an article in the Harvard Business Review had the following quote: “The myth of creative genius is resilient: We believe that great ideas pop fully formed out of brilliant minds, in feats of imagination well beyond the abilities of mere mortals. But what [innovative teams] accomplish is neither a sudden breakthrough nor […]