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PrintForging innovation
New TYPros initiative The Forge fosters business innovation.
Innovation is my mantra, and it is the driving force behind The Forge, TYPros’ business “innovator.”
“Innovation” is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as “the action or process of innovating,” which is in turn defined as “mak[ing] changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas or products.”
A prime example of innovation coming out of Independence Day weekend is the United States of America itself. Everything undertaken in the founding of the United States was an experiment in innovation. The means by which the founders declared and won America’s independence from the British empire was a profound departure from established norms. The form of government established by the framers, as embodied in our Constitution, was a novel, unprecedented idea. The confederation of sovereign states that is the United States, with national interests represented by the federal government reigning supreme over the parochial interests of state governments, introduced a new vehicle for binding many into a greater whole – a vehicle that is now finding its place, in the form of the European Union, on the historically war-ravaged European continent.
Such demonstrations of the value of innovation are easily forgotten in our day-to-day existence. Why? Because of the risk that is inherent in innovation. The founders are now national heroes, but at the time they were traitors. Their actions in declaring independence and liberty from the crown were treasonous. The risk of failure encountered and overcome by the founders was death.
The legal profession – my profession – is inherently risk-averse. My duty, as an attorney, is to protect the client’s interest, and any negligent failure to do so constitutes malpractice. Nevertheless, innovation remains the key to progress in the legal profession. As in other industries, there are first-movers who take the leap, try something new, and establish a new norm by which the profession measures itself. The key to being a successful first-mover is to ensure that the opportunity afforded by innovation overwhelms the risk associated with innovation, to a degree that it is in the client’s best interest to proceed down the path of innovation fully aware of the risks borne along the way.
By establishing The Forge, Tulsa’s Young Professionals (TYPros) has afforded enterprising young business men and women an opportunity to pursue innovation in a sensible manner, fully aware of the risks and with resources at their disposal to appropriately manage the risks. In this period of economic stagnation and uncertainty that we as a nation and in Tulsa are enduring, it is incumbent upon us to foster any spark of innovation that might be out there in order to fan the flames of economic vitality that will hoist prosperity out of despair. With the opening of The Forge, TYPros has taken one step toward doing its part.
What will its next step be?
