Every Monday morning, while Seattle is deciding whether today’s rain is any different from yesterday’s rain, I’m already on a video call with a group of Swedes who somehow believe 6:00 a.m. is a perfectly reasonable time to discuss the future of prosthetics. To be fair, they’re always on time. And so am I.
Mostly because I’ve learned that when a Swedish company says a meeting starts at 15:00, they mean 15:00. Not 15-ish. Military time! And honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
One of the things I love most about my job is that I get to spend my days learning. My colleagues have jokingly called me a “curious connector,” and they’re probably right. Every conversation teaches me something new.
That’s fortunate, because while I don’t have a clinical background and I can’t debate socket design over lunch, I am intensely curious. I ask questions, listen carefully, and try to connect the dots. In fact, I probably spend more time listening than talking.
That’s something I learned early from my father, a local politician in the Midwest. He taught me that listening was far more important than talking – a lesson that has stayed with me. I still challenge myself to be mindful of it, especially in a job where every conversation has the potential to teach me something.
And after years in O&P, I’ve noticed something: the best ideas rarely arrive fully formed. They emerge through conversations. A clinician shares a challenge. A prosthetic user shares an experience. Someone suggests a different approach. Another person questions an old assumption. Before you know it, an idea has become an innovation.
That’s the good stuff.
It’s also why I enjoy being involved with COPA. Whether it’s advocacy, education, conferences, or simply creating opportunities for people to connect, I’ve seen firsthand what happens when passionate people come together. Sometimes the most valuable thing you take home isn’t a CE credit or a product brochure. It’s a conversation, or an idea, or a new perspective.
At Lindhe Xtend, we believe mobility moves forward when people are willing to challenge convention. Not for the sake of being different, but because “that’s how we’ve always done it” has never been a particularly inspiring strategy. Progress happens when people are willing to ask questions, stay curious, and look at familiar problems with fresh eyes. That’s what I see every day in this community. It’s built into the clinicians who never stop learning, the prosthetic users who generously share their experiences, and the countless conversations that happen between them.
After all, progress isn’t just built in workshops, labs, and clinics. It’s built between people.
And that’s the good stuff.
MJ McNeece Western Territory Sales Manager USA, Lindhe Xtend
