This is from GE's 2010 Annual Report. I liked the graphic and the slogan: Growth Starts Here! When I think about GE that brings good things to life, I think that they must have very good people and a culture to applaud innovation AND failure (because you can't innovation without risk and failure). This is what it must have been like in the hey day at XEROX PARC, AT&T Labs and 3M. 

Today, most job growth comes from small business and startups. Don't believe me? Look it up or consider that for revenue growth, big companies have to achieve synergies which is political talk for firing redundant employees. So every merger is a net loss of jobs. 

I work with a the tech startup community in Tampa Bay and with the many smaller service providers in the US telecom industry. Here's where growth starts.

Grasshopper Group closed down a new division called Speadable. They are doing a 4-part post mortem. One takeaway: every product or startup needs a Leader. This is key. It has to be a strong leader too. She has to have Vision to see it through the many challenges ahead.

Dane Jasper of Sonic.Net is one of those types of leaders. He has a vision and he is driving forward undeterred. A Big Congrats to him! Donny Smith at Jaguar Communications is another leader with a vision driving him forward.

It's about risk for sure, but its having conviction in your vision and the passion, desire and drive to run down any hurdle, tackle every challenge to get continue down your path.

That doesn't mean blindly either. You have to make course corrections as data comes in.

I look at the companies in Tampa Bay at that growing - 2 jobs, 4 jobs, 8 jobs - and I see strong leaders. And its these businesses that are creating jobs and helping out the local economy. The local (city, county, state) government needs to help. These companies don't need tax breaks or subsidies. What they do need is help with government regulations (and the paperwork to go with it); assistance with grants and loans; and communication with the local leaders. 

It's easier than ever to start a business. (In fact, July 8-10 is Startup Weekend in America, where folks from a community will get together, team-up, and launch a business in 54 hours.)

It's the passion and vision that fuels the growth. That vision and passion has to infuse everything, from sales to talent to culture to customer care. But it never gets easier. Everyday is a new challenge, a different struggle. And when the passion fades, so will the growth.