Prof. Appleby's Blog

You’ve heard of the elevator pitch – the 30-second sound bite that an entrepreneur can deliver that captures the essence of his or her business model?  What is America’s elevator pitch?  If you were traveling abroad and someone asked you what the United States is all about – what would you say?

We had a discussion yesterday about strategy, emerging markets, and geopolitical issues.  I started thinking about our elevator pitch.

I’m not sure that we even have a national vision.  It seems like we have competing, diametrically opposed visions. And a national strategy?  Have you ever heard anyone even suggest that we have a national strategy?  Maybe we do.  Maybe we don’t.  I don’t know.  But I don’t think the party platforms that get rolled out every four years are quite what I’m talking about.

I get the sense that our global competitors (for I’m certain that’s how they view themselves) have strategies… and they seem to be working.

I’d feel a lot better if I knew that we had a really smart national strategy.  You know, one where we remain strong and free and prosperous?  Where we create jobs, develop and retain top technical talent, encourage innovation and achievement… that kind of strategy.

And it might be an encouragement to smart, young Americans who can’t find a decent job and who think our best years REALLY ARE behind us.  Yeah.  That would be cool.

I’m blogging a lot tonight, I know. I suppose it’s because I’m very much preoccupied with the problem of how to open up job and career and professional opportunities for young people (I’m talking about the 18-30 year range). I’ve asked this before – how did we get into a situation where bright, talented, hardworking people can’t find work? But it’s more than that. I’ve had a lot of conversations with people this week which have shown me just how stacked the deck is against some folks.

I couldn’t be more serious.

I was talking the other day with an extraordinary young man who was telling me how certain educational requirements in a certain graduate program are actually causing people to just abandon the program and give up on their professional goals. Now, you might say, well, that’s as it should be – if they can’t cut it, then they should get weeded out. But that’s not what’s happening. The requirements are tangential, at best, to the point of the program – and being able to attain them (I’m just going to be blunt here and take my lumps, if I must) seems linked more to being on “the fast track” or being in “the in crowd.” But, even if this harsh evaluation on my part is wrong, even if the requirements were established with the best of intentions – they are terribly misguided.

When you design a curriculum, you ought to ask yourself if any of the requirements are “unnecessary parts” and discard them. Focus on what’s important. Strip away what’s unnecessary.

But, I’ve gotten off track.

Here’s what I’m thinking. As I said in my last post, I think that young people should focus on starting their own businesses. We need to stop paying lip service to small businesses and get serious about opening up opportunities for people to get started. Now, politically, that means we need to do things that facilitate and encourage small business development – not frustrate it. But I’m not going to delve into the politics.

My thinking is that our IEM Program, with it’s already considerable focus on entrepreneurship, should either expand its scope or spin off a similar program that is designed to move people from point A to point B in 20 months. We should look for clients who have a serious interest in starting a small business and, hopefully, some ideas of the kind of business they want to start, and then, work with them to develop a plan and take them through a process that leads to their being in business when they leave the program.

We could do this within IEM; we’re already doing it in part, but with a technical focus. Why not broaden the scope? Our UAB School of Engineering is full of talented, innovative people. If a person, or a group of people, entered our program and said “we want to get started in the X business,” we could certainly develop a process to get them from A to B. We could be a conduit – an enabler – for small businesses throughout this region.

Want to start a software company? A consulting firm? Get into construction? Start a new fast food chain? Design and market something new in electronics? Start a financial firm or an insurance company? Why can’t we teach and guide and mentor people toward these goals?

We ought to consider how to use our knowledge and experience to help young people get established in business. It’s no longer enough to prepare them to work for somebody else – that ship is rapidly sailing away for so many of them. We have to help them get started on their own. We can’t afford a lost generation.

Feb. 27, 2010

Long-Term Joblessness “Off the Charts”

Hitting Middle Class Particularly Hard; Millions of Such Jobs Gone Forever, Reports John Blackstone

via Long-Term Joblessness “Off the Charts” – The Early Show – CBS News.

You should read this article.  But, if you miss it, don’t worry.  These stories are becoming everyday occurrences.  There are two points from the article that I’d like to highlight:

1. In the last 10 years, according to Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, “… 8 million jobs have gone and there (sic) not coming back, ever,”
2. A former restaurant owner is starting a catering business. “Many more may have to follow [her] lead and find something they can do themselves – even though launching her catering business has been daunting, especially since she’s doing it on her own. ‘It’s just really frightening.’”

Our economic landscape has changed and, though I’m tempted to say forever, I’ll avoid the hyperbole and simply suggest to you the following:

If you plan to wait around for “big business” to offer you a decent job, you’re in for a long wait.  If you plan on an employer (business or government) looking out for your long-term interests, you’re in for a disappointment.  My advice is to start your own business and understand that you’re financial success is up to you.  Sure, some people are going to get the inside track and may get a piece of the ever-diminishing pie – but for the average guy, you are on your own, my friend.

I’m not trying to sound “doom and gloom” – but I’m absolutely convinced that the key to success is in your own hand and it will require initiative, and hard work, and probably long hours.  Of course, there was a time when everyone understood that to be the case.  Well, those times are back.