If the market's swoon during August's first week and its volatility since then didn't convince you of the absence of wisdom in the stock market, nothing will. Come on. We know what moves the markets during uncertain times like these - index charters and millisecond-triggered automated trading. Stock markets do not possess wisdom of any sort. They tell you almost nothing useful to guide your personal investment or business decisions.

     Down-market periods and volatility do, without question, affect consumer and business confidence levels. Those effects are real and, over the long term, they will influence demand for many kinds of products and services. But here's an exception: Medical products and services. If you're in one of those businesses, you are nearly immune to whipsawing confidence-driven consumer and business demand. It's always been a characteristic of healthcare delivery and the products that support it.

     So relax. Focus on the fundamental driver of success in healthcare: Easing the lives of patients and their providers. Keep doing what has brought you success in the past, to wit:

• Discover the unmet or poorly met needs. Learn from providers. Talk to and observe doctors, nurses and medical technologists. Get into their heads and their lives.
• Invent. Scour the landscape for solutions. Imagine, devise and design. Unleash your engineers, designers and human-factors experts. Improve your R&D processes. Reach out to academia and emerging enterprises.
• Focus on costs and economics. Talk to healthcare administrators and insurers. Don't wait for the market to tell you "great concept, but it makes no economic sense".
• Smartly plot your way forward toward regulatory approval and compliance. Focus on responding to today's rules; ignore future uncertainties.
• Realistically assess your ability to fully access the market. If necessary, partner up. You'll help more patients that way.

Now I'm enthused! I hope you are, too.