What is MEAPA all about and what do we do?

The Pathway to Think, Act, Grow and the Success Mindset

MEAPA is different.   The two founders, Dr. Peter Abramo and Dr. Michael Edmondson, are accomplished teachers, trainers, and business professionals.   When we launched MEAPA in 2005, the focus was on pharmaceutical and biotech companies as we had extensive training and experience in marketing and sales strategy for products in those industries.  This effort resulted in our first book, BioStory: How To Assess A Biomedical Product As A Business Opportunity.   Upon reading BioStory, Dr. Eugene Roussel, CEO, BioTHER Corporation said: “Communicating your story with persuasion is the number one factor as to whether you are successful or not, no matter how good your product is.  I got the book and read it in a weekend. The originality of the ideas and the advices on how to make your points that are proposed in the book are right on target to help you realize the persuasives you are missing.”

As MEAPA expanded its work to software and hardware technology companies within the pharmaceutical industry, we realized that our core services could benefit all technology companies in virtually every industry.  The more we worked with technology companies, the more we understood the potential impact of emerging internet-based products for companies in all industries.  MEAPA began integrating Web 2.0 tools into its training and services while expanding its diverse customer base.  Our examination into the impact of new collaboration technology led us to publish ou second book, 10+1: The Creative Economy Marketing Equation.  Kent Brooks, a college Chief Technology Officer, noted: “Books written about changing cultural and economic dynamics forced upon us by unprecedented technological change seem to flood the shelves of bookstores (both online and traditional) these days.  However, I am not sure that many of those books do a better job of empowering people with the knowledge and ability of how to adapt to this new world than 10+1.”    

MEAPA’s expansion to working with technology companies brought us squarely into the realm of new venture start-ups. To expand our reach to these companies, Dr. Abramo managed a business incubator for several years while Dr. Edmondson developed and provided training to neighborhood entrepreneurs.   Both of us provided training to the National Business Incubator Association on numerous occasions.  This is when we developed our axiom that “A Small Business Only Grows As Much As A Small Business Owner.”  While others focus on the business plan, we focus on the entrepreneur’s personal plan of action and how that shapes their business plan and ultimately their company.  This unique perspective has proven particularly valuable for non-traditional entrepreneurs, first-generation entrepreneurs, community entrepreneurs, and others who recognize that mere technical knowledge will not create a company.

Entrepreneurship and the creation of new high-tech and creative companies has become an increasingly used strategy for economic development.  Dr. Abramo is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute (EDI) and MEAPA has developed and taught courses for EDI.  It became evident that the approach we were taking to assist businesses had a wider application.  Entire communities could benefit from the way MEAPA empowers and assists business owners and their companies. Over the past several years, MEAPA also found itself becoming more involved in economic development and workforce efforts at the local, regional, and state levels.  This effort led to our third book, ICE: Innovative Community Engagement: How to Create A 21st Century Empowered Community.  This resource contains numerous specific action steps that communities can implement to engage its citizens and grow its economy.

A key aspect of economic development is workforce.  Dr. Abramo has been a Director on his local Workforce Investment Board and has become involved in recruiting and training a skilled workforce.  Such efforts are directly connected to education.  Increasingly, MEAPA is working with vocational technology initiatives, common education, and higher education.  Our products and services have provided benefits to educators as they seek effective ways to teach the skills necessary in the 21st Century, administrators who are developing training programs, and students who need both direct technical skills and thinking skills.

MEAPA’s Value Proposition: Creative and Practical Thinking

MEAPA is a different type of company.  The power of creative thinking has been at the forefront of MEAPA’s approach to working with all of our clients.  We recognize that our clients have the need to think differently about their challenges, and we’ve always helped them to do that.  The reason we can do this so effectively is that we take a unique approach that combines ideas and views from a wide variety of disciplines including the humanities, science, mathematics, technology, business, psychology, logic, behavioral economics, entrepreneurship and sports.  This interdisciplinary approach to issues results in new ways to think and process options.  We realize that what our clients need, regardless of their specific job or immediate challenges, are new perspectives.  Too often, people fall into the trap of hiring “experts” in their field to help them with a challenge – resulting in the same type of thinking our clients already possess.

MEAPA is different.  We combine a broad range of expertise with powerful interdisciplinary viewpoints leading to new ways of thinking.  As we have worked with clients over the years, we have come to realize that our real value proposition is helping people to think differently while assisting them so they can have new tools to tackle future challenges on their own.  MEAPA can both train clients and assist them in creative problem solving regardless of their needs or the issues they are facing.

Think, Act, Grow: Developing The Success Mindset

This awareness led us to create a series of products referred to as "Think, Act, Grow.”  We have packaged Think, Act, Grow into a series of programs to fit every organization's needs.  Think, Act, Grow combines training with introspection, exercises and direct application all wrapped in an interactive and entertaining package.  We did this to help a broad spectrum of people become more effective.  We are very aware of the need to be practical and all our services are focused on action steps that can be immediately implemented.  It is obvious that individuals, organizations, institutions, and companies can all benefit from an interdisciplinary approach to thinking.  Think, Act, Grow can be purchased by a community organization and offered to its board, employees, or citizens; it can be purchased by a company to help train its employees; and it can be attended by individuals when MEAPA holds an open Take Action Now event.  Think, Act, Grow is a great way to be introduced to the power of MEAPA and an interdisciplinary mindset.

An important point of differentiation is that MEAPA does not offer a methodology that we claim applies to everyone.  There is no black box at MEAPA.  There are ways to develop thinking skills and to address problems that are uniform, and there are unique ways to apply these skills to various problems.  MEAPA does not teach a process, rather we teach people how to locate and process information, how to develop new opportunities, and create new solutions that are outside of the industry-focused mindset most people rely upon.  Partnering with MEAPA is sure to be an enlightening experience that will generate new ideas while teaching individuals more about themselves.  The result of this is more effective people whether they are employees, entrepreneurs, community leaders, teachers, administrators, students, non-profit directors, or business managers.

Engaging MEAPA: Training that Empowers, Services that Enable

What can MEAPA help you or your organization to do?  First and foremost, to think differently.  Beyond that, we can help with training, marketing, strategic planning, organization, story telling, economic development, teacher training, entrepreneurship, community development, curriculum creation, sales strategy, marketing research, business incubation and many other needs.  There are no limits to the people who will benefit from MEAPA training or the types of projects for which MEAPA engagement will provide value.  Contact MEAPA today to discuss your issues and have us develop a course of action that is unique for you.