Just Say No to Status Quo

  Business Intelligence   Strategy  

The problem with many things in this country is that we live in a reactionary environment with limited experimentation and research. When things are good, we stay complacent, reap profits, and enjoy the good times. When things turn sour, we rapidly look for solutions which can resolve the problem but may not be optimal. Consider a couple of current issues:

National Security

The September 11 terrorist attack propelled the United States into action on the national security front. A Department of Homeland Defense was formed, two international missions costing taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars were undertaken and new funding was made available for national security initiatives and technologies. National security has been a major concern since this country was founded; yet we seem to only be willing to invest money in bringing it to 21st century standards when a major disaster occurs on American soil.

Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

A recent study showed that 70 percent of bacteria were resistant to at least one of the major antibiotics. Additionally, the number of cases where a patient does not respond to any antibiotics is increasing exponentially. While this seems like a ticking time bomb for a major epidemic, there are few if any new antibiotics in drug companies' pipelines. They believe that new antibiotics will not be as profitable as …

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