Progress Paradox

“And I must say: I find the liberating power of adversity to be one of the more disquieting facts of life.”
- John H. Lienhard

In Episode 1603 of The Engines of Our Ingenuity, Lienhard discusses the adverse life, imprisonment, and great grief of Galileo. It seems that absent the opportunity provided by Galileo’s isolation he might never have performed his world changing work that has done so much to shape modern engineering, material science and astronomy. And, Lienhard’s writing as well as numerous other texts, such as “Selling Soap. Literally” in this month’s Fast Company, go a long way to show how adversity can spawn innovation.

West Cryogenics’ move into manufacturing is a case in point. Long interested in developing and producing new products, the company was always “too busy” to move forward in this area. The downturn following the 9/11 tragedy and some other unexpected turns created a unique moment where time, talent and market converged allowing for development of West’s Ultra Series liquid delivery vessels. The follow up development of GOrilla portable cryogenic vessels and packaged systems along with Dragon vaporizers has now positioned West Cryogenics as a nationally recognized manufacturer of quality solutions for cryogenic liquid argon, oxygen and nitrogen delivery and gas use systems.

T. Boone Pickens’ writing introduced me to the phrase “It’s root hog or die.” And that is often the case. Current rooting is leading to the development of several new product lines, systems, and relationships that will not only sustain through tough times, but also create opportunities to thrive in times of plenty.

None of us wish for tough times to make us better and the fact they can is indeed disquieting. It is also a reassurance for those who have stared into the abyss and found inspiration, innovation and purpose that we might otherwise have been too busy to see.