I’m a fan of the folks at Jump Start, and Mike Mozenter’s recent blog on regional economies and high growth startups caught my eye, because it marries two of the things that fascinate me: places and innovation.

If regions would simply take these two ingredients - (1) their geographic/city assets + (2) their innovation/human capital potential - and gently stir, they’d have a potent economic cocktail.

Just look at Big Omaha’s success in transforming that city from “cow town” (that’s what they used to call it when I was consulting there) to a city that’s becoming synonymous with “Big thoughts, huge calls to action and absolutely zero crap.” (Read more of Brad McCarty’s great summary of Big Omaha here.)

Back to Mozenter’s blog. In it, he suggested five questions that regions need to ask themselves, to ignite their entrepreneurial economic development efforts.

For my money, these questions should be the centerpiece of any region’s strategic planning:

1. What are your region’s most promising sources of innovation?
2. Where are there gaps in the resources (capital, expertise, facilities, etc.) necessary to transform these innovations into high value businesses?
3. Can your region realistically fill one or more of these gaps?
4. By filling one or more of these gaps, can your region generate tangible evidence of opportunity and success?
5. Can the region build on this success to attract complimentary resources?

These questions are the right ones at this moment because:

• They ignite curiosity and require you to reach beyond what you know. Sources of innovation are - by their definition - beyond the ken of most economic developers. By forcing you to consider where your region’s innovation lies, you open your mind to new opportunities for growth.
• They force you to think systematically. You don’t just want to recruit the Chapstick plant; you also want to recruit the company that makes the labels, and the one that makes the tubes. You want Chapstick to get all of its needs met in your community. No more onesie-twosie economic development “wins;” you need to think end-to-end about what a prospect or company needs to meet more of its needs in your community. 
• They force you to separate hope from reality. It’s perfectly okay to consider a new sector of innovation and conclude, “We can’t do that.” Who cares? Cross it off your list and move onto the next opportunity.
• The next generation wants to be a part of a place that’s becoming, not a place that “has been.”
  

With these five questions, you can blend your physical assets with your human assets and make a refreshing change that people of all generations want to be a part of.

Now, go, do your work.

And…if your region is in the process of strategic planning, please consider these Five Trends as you plan. I’ve embedded these trends in a new keynote called, “Cities 3.0.” Check it out here. It might be just the kick-in-the-pants you need at your next annual meeting, to help your investors and the community embrace a more innovative, dynamic (and BOLD) strategic plan.

 

 

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