This is part four, the final part in my series about regional protectionism.

Forth, for some reason and I do not know if this is true in other cities, but no one who lives in NEO is an expert. It is almost like if you are not from out of the region you are not an expert. For example, why are retained searches done with search firms headquartered outside the region? If our local government does not trust the local firms to solve the problems, what message are they sending to local businesses that need those services? If our government purchases web and IT services from non-local companies what message are them sending to the community?

I find this mindset fascinating. Many of my associates are being paid top dollar by companies that are not NEO companies because of the value they bring; the knowledge they have. Why can’t our local companies (and chambers) use the local talent? Could it be that “familiarity breeds contempt?” Why are they not supporting local companies and promoting them? They seem to want to wait until someone is already successful and then promote them. They parade them around as if to say “Look what we did! He did it and you can do it to!” without providing the support that only our chambers could provide.

Because of the economic transformation NEO is going though it is necessary for the people to change as well. When you work for a big company you want your skills to be narrow and deep. As you move up in an organization (or start you own company), your skills must become more general, more board, more visionary. Because there are many new companies being started by people who have been downsized, right sized, fired, outplaced, etc, the skills are changing and the region do not know what it has. Many of these companies are not good at marketing. It is a skill they must acquire. Many are not good at sales. It is a skill they must acquire.

Necessity is the mother of invention and this invention is causing new companies to be born, new products are being developed, new skills have to be learned, and new services are being created. Let’s support the local companies taking those risks, learning those skills, and developing those services – not go out of state to find them. Know we will make mistakes. Know that mistakes can be corrected.

Under the circumstance I think our leaders are going a good job. But we need someone to rise above the local and regional politics, set out a regional vision, consolidate people and organization around this vision and utilize local companies to implement this vision.

I am not a politician. I am a small business owner trying to make a living in NEO who is frustrated by politics, the infrastructure (or lack), the protectionism, and lack of vision. I do not have the answers. Developing those answers are for people who are smarter than me.

From my limited perspective, the bottom line is that each of us has to take 100% personal responsibility for where we are (in our lives, career, business, etc) and do what is necessary to live a happy, health and productive lives. We do not have time wait for the regional leader to do what needs to be done because of the nature of what is required. Government by its very nature is one of compromise not collaboration, hierarchy not networking, win-lose not win-win. I believe the situation will need to get much worse before it will get better. Change comes from necessity and I don’t think we have reached the “necessity” point yet. I think it will take a few more years. We need to take some risks and know we will fail. Businesses who do not take risks, which become complacent, who wait for someone else to take action, eventually go out of business. As I tell me clients: we can always fix something that did not work, it may take a while but it can be fixed. We cannot fix inaction.