“It’s always nice to get good feedback, and a bit of encouragement can go a long way.” – Andy Murray
Thank you for your thoughtful notes from last week about what you would do if given the opportunity to advocate for an economic development issue – whether it concerns the country as a whole or your own community. Many of you advocated passionately about socio-economic issues such as mental health and education impacting our workforce. Others pointed to issues that deserve careful attention and require the scale and substance of national governments and global alliances. Still, others observed that we are entering a new economic era driven by advanced technology that will challenge our assumptions about business and traditional economic development approaches altogether.
These responses reinforced a few things for me. First, the most passionate advocacy lies in local issues that are closest to our daily lives and our neighbors. All development (and politics) is local at the end of the day! Second, there is concern and anxiety about our ability to prepare and deliver a workforce that will be able to compete and win globally. The intersection of massive technology advancements, demographic shifts, and wholesale changes in the expectations of employers and employees regarding how work is performed is challenging basic assumptions we’ve held for decades. Third, those with the responsibility to set policy and execute economic development strategies must listen attentively to both the data and each of these voices. The issues, whether global or local, are nuanced and require healthy debate and discussion before decisions and actions are taken. Conversely, when decisions and actions are taken given the best information available there must be a willingness to accept the results and press on.
Thank you once again for your thoughtfulness and passion for these issues. Let’s have a great week, lift each other up, and move forward together.