#mona a

By Mona Amodeo, Ph.D

Help Wanted: Big Thinkers needed to solve big problems. Must be willing to think beyond the limitations of their own assumptions, have extreme faith in the human spirit and be a “can do” thinker.

I would cast my vote for Starbucks CEO and Founder, Howard Schulz as the leading job candidate. Not because he has succeeded in getting a large part of the world to pay $5.00 for a cup of coffee…can you imagine? He did—and then made it happen!  Schulz has recently put his entrepreneurial spirit to work solving America’s growing imagination problem—disguised as a 9% unemployment rate.  Listening to a recent interview with Schultz about his “Americans helping American’s” initiative  ignited an ember of hope. His premise is really quite simple. While government certainly has a role, we can’t wait around for Washington to find all of the answers— as Mississippi governor Haley Barber said during a post-Katrina interview, it’s, time to “hitch up our britches” and do something.  Just as we have always done when faced with huge threats or great opportunities, the American people will respond when called to action--remember WWII or the Space Race? The threats and opportunities facing us today are in some ways our greatest--challenging the very core of who we are. We need a call to action. If our political leaders won’t rally our collective will, maybe business leaders can fill that leadership void.

I applaud Shultz for his willingness to do something. Not just talk or throw stones, but to challenge us to get involved. He has provided a a simple way that each of us can contribute to changing the dialogue.  I believe Americans are ready to respond. It is simply in our DNA.  So I encourage you to take this small action that has a potentially great ROI. Join Schultz in his effort to reignite possibility through individual responsibility. Purchase a bracelet that says it all “indivisible.” Imagine that.