Joan Fallon - Goodbye, Status Quo: Reimagining the Landscape of Innovation

Goodbye, Status Quo

Reimagining the Landscape of Innovation

Dr. Joan Fallon

Founder & CEO of Curemark

Goodbye, Status Quo

Reimagining the Landscape of Innovation

2022 Dr. Joan Fallon

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, and photographic, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

Published by Forefront Books.

Cover Design by Bruce Gore, Gore Studio Inc.

Interior Design by Bill Kersey, KerseyGraphics

Jacket Illustration: Shutterstock Images

Jacket Design: Faceout Studio

ISBN: 978-1-63763-035-8 print

ISBN: 978-1-63763-036-5 e-book

To my mom, who recently left the earth but whose wisdom remains in all of us.

I n 2014, my Aunt Joan received the NorthStar Award from Springboard Enterprises at their annual gala for her exceptional entrepreneurial leadership and immense progress in Autism research. Akin to the way in which the North Star shines so eminently in the sky, providing direction to those astray, my aunt has imparted guidance to others.

Although numerous people whom I believed to be more qualified to speak inquired about introducing my aunt, she asked me if I would speak. Being that I was only thirteen at the time, I was not a proficient public speaker; thus, delivering a speech in front of 300 people seemed like a daunting task. Today I find myself in similar uncharted territorywriting the foreword to my aunts problem-solving book. As a result of this, I thought that it would be appropriate to retell the story that I told in that speech seven years agoa story of adaption, change, and self-belief.

Some months ago, on a Sunday afternoon, my Aunt Joan and I played a friendly game of one-on-one basketball in my backyard. Aunt Joan, beginning with the ball, drove to the hoop and missed her first shot. Then it was my turn with the ball. I did the famous Pistol Petetwo-dribble behind the back and went up for a seventeen-footerswoosh, nothing but net.

20me.

Then it was Aunt Joans turn with the ball. She went up for a seven-footer and I could not help myself. I stuffed her. I blocked the shot.

Something that you dont know about my Aunt Joan is that she is a real competitor. She won the city of Yonkers foul-shooting championship at thirteen as well as the New York City one-on-one championship in her senior year of high school. She knows the game and has taught it to me.

While these are great basketball accomplishments, what she has taken from those days is an intensity and fire that she brings to everything she does, as well as an understanding that the better those are around you, the better you, too, can be. Thank you, Aunt Joan, for igniting that same competitive fire in me. You are the one who made me always want to get better; you are the one who always makes me better.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to be in a foul-shooting competition at basketball camp. There were 200 kids competing and even more spectators watching. I went to the line. I did my pre-foul-shooting routine and took my first shot. And I missed it.

Everyone was watching and there was all this pressure on me. Then I remembered my Aunt Joans words that she always said to me, and they rang loudly in my head:

You can make any shot you want to.

I went on to shoot nineteen of twenty, and I came in second out of those 200 kids.

Now, you may already know that my Aunt Joan is innovative in her own right as she has developed a treatment for Autism. But what you may not know is that my Aunt Joan is an altruistic and resilient individual with an unwavering desire to inspire those around her.

When you are around her, you feel that you, too, can make any shot you want. That inspiration and belief in myself is a gift she gives me every day. This book gives you, the reader, that same gift.

James Edward Fallon

A s a female founder in my fifties, I have found that the path to innovation is littered with obstacles. Some of those obstacles are external, like the naysayers who tell you that you are not capable, the noisemakers who drown out every other voice in the room, and the risk that is inevitable in any entrepreneurial venture. However, in my experience, the greatest obstacles often come from within. For me, these internal obstacles ranged from a lack of self-belief, a tendency to be too rigid in the face of changing circumstances, to a failure to take account of other peoples needs and perspectives.

As a trained clinician rather than a seasoned business executive, I went from running a practice to being a CEO of a biotech company in what felt like a minute. Making a discovery and wanting to transform that discovery into a business was fraught with obstacles as I built my company. I had to find ways over, around, and beyond obstacles. At certain times throughout my journey as I embrace risk, I have found it useful to observe like a scientist. At other times, I have found it useful to read the field like a Major League Baseball player. And most important, I remind myself to never, ever, lose sight of who I am.

It was evidenced from early childhood that I had three loves in my life:

• Children
• Medicine/Science
• Baseball (or anything with a ball)

My favorite gift of all time was a real cardiology stethoscope that my cousin who was in medical school gave me for my tenth birthday. I love children and always have since I was a child. And of course, baseball, which has become a passion of mine. All three of these passions permeate my life even today and are reflected in this book in so many ways. What I find remarkable is that I have been able to integrate all three today in my life in ways I could never have imagined. So whether that is having my company sponsor sensory safe suites for children with Autism and special needs at two Minor League parks where the whole family can watch a baseball game in a safe place for them or being able to speak with a young Major League ballplayer who is struggling to find his mojo, the integration for me is such a joy.

I want this book to speak to anyone who doesnt think that their ideas are valuable or that their lack of experience translates into an inability to become an entrepreneur or changemaker. Its also for those entrepreneurs who do not fit the Silicon Valley stereotype of an entrepreneur, or even their own archetype of a changemaker. This book is for anyone who has been told any of the following: you are not male, you are not young enough, you are not smart enough, experienced enough, white enough, or from the right school. If that is you, I want you to know that regardless of where you come from, you