I was reminded recently of a well known story that anchors the true spirt of MarketShift Strategies' business growth journey, and it goes something like this:

...Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Nathan Myhrvold once sent Bill Gates a memo on a crazy idea:

"I even... I think the title of the thing was 'a crazy idea,'" Myhrvold recalled. "And he sent me back this piece of mail that I have always cherished since then, and it said: 'This is the most bizarre, craziest idea you've ever had; please proceed.'"

This anecdote is one of my favorites as it captures perfectly the tension between ideas and risk -and the people who courageously support and develop them.

MarketShift Strategies was born from a risk taking moment several years ago; an idea hatched in a kitchen over a glass of wine at the end of a long day at work. There was never a picture of what the company would look like years down the road; but there was always this hard-wired vision of making sustainable industries highly competitive -rivaling the most traditional firms and shifting mainstream market share to an era of environmental and business partnership. In fact, that vision was crazy at the time. Technology application in sustainable industries was about five years behind corporate america, investment dollars had yet to realize the potential in a green economy, the word ‘sustainability’ registered as an alternative movement, and public policy support for a new-era economy was still a back-page story for most people.

But perhaps it is the crazy ideas that hold the most merit. From that moment of framing the future at the kitchen table, MarketShift Strategies has grown into a highly informed business strategy group helping businesses find value in the connection between people, planet, profit and innovation. We recognize a new economy requires a dramatic shift in behavior, business practices and attitude. It also requires new technologies responding to wider market adoption of sustainable practices, purchases and innovation.

And so our penchant for the uncharted and unknown has allowed us to explore fresh and strategic pathways in a very complicated world. Our principles have given shape to new processes, like our CEO Index Program, and have generated collaborative platforms spawning new economic development approaches. But above all, our crazy idea has evolved into one of the most informed companies addressing climate, energy and opportunity. And it is the people surrounding and inspiring us who make it possible. Yeah you, you know who you are - and our list is long and deep. And for that, our company thanks you.