If "innovation" is the name of your business growth game — and you demand talent, processes, vendors, suppliers, and strategic allies who share your out-of-the-box mindset — you must determine a community's entrepreneurial quotient (E-quotient) before selecting it for relocation or development.
Why is a community's E-quotient important?
One of the biggest American myths is the belief that innovation — or entrepreneurship — occurs randomly when a Chosen One stumbles onto the next great idea. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Innovation is a rigorous, by-the-sweat-of-the-brow process. Think Benjamin Franklin; you've gotta fly a lot of kites before you discover the next big thing.
Innovation does not happen accidentally. Consistent, high-quality breakthroughs occur when smarties have access to one another, and can learn and collaborate together in a systematized way. You would not build a drinking fountain on a site with no water. Why would you relocate your company – one that demands innovative, fresh ideas – to a community void of entrepreneurial spirit and a "let's do it" attitude?
Companies committed to the process of innovation must relocate or move their new site to a community that values innovation and has a built infrastructure – both physical and social – to support its growth.
How to evaluate a community's E-quotient...
To read the rest of this article, go to this link. The article was published in April 2004 at Business Xpansion Journal:
http://www.bxjonline.com/bxj/article.asp?magarticle_id=648&mag_id=1
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