Since the days that the dot.com boom turned into the “dot.bomb” bust, and especially these days as we watch the markets gyrate wildly in the face of global political and economic upheaval, some have been tempted to consign the much heralded “New Economy” to the dustbin. But that would be a mistake.

The long waves of innovation that power cycles of growth tell us the New Economy is just entering those awkward, teenage years–you remember them, don’t you? Everything’s changing, nothing seems quite right, everything that can go wrong does, in fact some days things just seems down-right hopeless. Maybe the tech revolution isn’t all it was cracked up to be.

But as Robert Atkinson points out:

“The New Economy is about more than high technology and the internet and frenetic energy at the cutting edge. Most firms, not just the ones actually producing technology, are organizing work around it. The New Economy is a metal casting firm in Pittsburgh that uses computer-aided manufacturing technology to cut costs, save energy and reduce waste. It is an insurance company in Iowa that uses software to flatten managerial hierarchies and give its workers broader responsibilities and autonomy. It is a textile firm in Georgia that takes orders from around the world. It is a railroad that uses digitally directed DC current engines to power trains and transponders to automatically track cars. In short, the New Economy is a combination of a new technology system, a new global marketplace, a new organization of work and business, and a new workforce. These are inexplicably linked, each enabling and driving the other.”

Forget the references to Pittsburgh, Iowa and Georgia. Metal casting companies, insurance companies, and freight haulers are all businesses you can find based in and around Northeast Ohio–and today they are all part of the New Economy.

Now, if we can just make it through these awkward teenage years…