Leader Garden-Helping firms Cultivate and Grow their Leaders

I had the opportunity to attend the public hearing this morning for Tennessee Technology Development Corporation, a 501-c3 that exists to promote technological growth within our state.  I found their hearing to be quite interesting and it allowed me to reconnect with some current Friends as well as connect with some new ones.

Our state is in a great position for economic growth in spite of the current national and world economic situations.  We continue to be voted one of the best places to live and to grow a business and we also have a number of top-notch research based institutions such as Oak Ridge, St. Jude’s , Memphis Bioworks and Vanderbilt.  All of this coupled with our moderate cost of living and pro-business philosophy really set the table for the future.

There are two or three areas that are holding us back.  One is the lack of available financial capital for emerging firms.  A second is a lack of incubation support in some areas of the state, or the lack of cohesion/cooperation as well.  The third gap is that lack of entrepreneurial leadership in technology areas such as area of life science and technology.  Some of these resources exist within  our borders and are not yet identified.  Other resources exist in other parts of the country and we may need to develop a strategy to identify and attract these Human Capital resources in order to build a “critical mass” that is so necessary to fuel an industry.

It will be quite interesting to see how we leverage our newest technology in the solar industry as well as our European investment in the auto industry.  These events are watershed opportunities that could launch the next generation of jobs and economic growth for our region.  I am hoping we  can bring the right resources together to make this all happen!