I’ve been out and about a lot this week (and at $3+ a gallon I don’t even want to think about that too closely!) Some of the events were seemingly unrelated, but I’ve always noticed that there are trends in the world that seem to repeat themselves in many venues – and as I’ve been synthesizing the week’s experience, that’s exactly what I’m seeing again.
The explicit link in the week is the theme of Massachusetts and its economic future. I’m not sure what has happened in the past six months, but someone seems to have injected a little optimism juice into the water. Instead of the usual litany of “we can’t do that here” a different song is starting to echo – and that’s incredibly exciting.
Maybe it’s the Gen Y influence (you know, the Millennium Babies who think anything and everything is possible), maybe it’s Yankee stubbornness, maybe it’s simply the scent of spring in the air – I don’t know. But I do know that I’m hearing some very positive things. And in a state whose culture likes see a half empty glass, that’s no small shift.
Massachusetts has always been a great place with lots of inherent strengths. But as a region, we haven’t always embraced those. Instead of celebrating the talent of our population, the great mix of our environment, and our ability to adapt and grow, we kept trying to be something different.
But at three different events this week I heard a variation on the following statement:
Massachusetts isn’t a low-cost state and we aren’t going to attract low cost manufacturing jobs. We are a high skill state that can leverage these strengths instead.
All right! Let’s compete in ways that let us win!
Today’s emerging economy plays to our strengths. The innovation economy, the creative economy, the economy that is built upon the products of the human mind – that’s the area where growth is happening. And that’s an area that the state -- and not just one portion of the state – can compete globally within.
The innovation economy is driven by people who can think, and who can think differently. People who can see solutions, who can spot trends, who can research and discover the secrets of nature ... people who come from a culture that supports the quirky individual. Gee, that sounds like a lot like us, don’t you think?
When you combine that open inquiring mind with the infusion of capital and with a mix of cultural exposure, and with the opportunities for education to drive that natural inclination, a form of business magic happens.
Add in broadband and other enabling technologies that create global connection, collaboration and communications -- and with a little imagination you can almost hear the start of a powerful economic engine revving up.
That’s a beautiful sound!
And it is a sound that we on the Cape can hear in our own backyards as well. We have strong threads in the creative space and we have creative talents that are literally world class. We have researchers who are on the cutting edge of knowledge. We have a talent bank that is strong, deep, and commuting far and wide.
Our biggest regional challenge is self-belief. We have a large slice of what it takes to compete in the 21st century and we have attributes that other parts of the country would kill for. We need to believe in ourselves and in what we are capable of.
No, we’re not perfect! One of our challenges is finding ways of creating critical mass. In a low-density region, sometimes it can be hard to connect with others who can trigger our creative instincts. And, once we find those other minds, we have a little cultural bump to get over in being open to networking with others.
Low density has also affected our technology infrastructure. We need to continue to be proactive, taking our own lead in developing what we need to compete globally. We can’t wait for it to be provided to us by a third party. That’s a task for sure, but not an impossible one.
Another of our challenges is developing a variety of capital options that can help grow our emerging companies and provide them with the financial depth and connections that the innovation economy demands.
Education is a challenge for everyone, at all corners of the Commonwealth. From K-12 to public higher Ed, the innovation economy cries out for state investment in the ability to educate our students and to generate opportunities for ongoing learning throughout each person’s life. But we start out with a huge positive: we are a region that believes in the value of learning and has an openness to learning.
Building a future isn’t easy, but this week I’m buoyed by the shift in mood reflected in faces of folks from the Cape to the North Shore, from the Pioneer Valley to the Berkshire. I’m no Pollyanna, but I do think that we often create our own self-fulfilling prophecies – that is, we become what we believe.
I believe in the potential of the innovation economy, I believe in Massachusetts, and I believe that we have it within ourselves to create our own version of greatness. It was a good week.
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