Are We Wimping Out?

I’m puzzled by our local enterprise development community, both the public and private sectors. Why is it so conservative in matters involving technology? When fortunes are being made in technology-focused enterprises, why the apparent local reluctance to initiate, to commit to and to invest in them? Are investment decision-makers simply too risk-adverse, fiscally conservative, complacent or unaware of opportunities to get with it? More charitably, perhaps investors have real difficulties understanding technology and the risk levels associated with technology change.

Obviously, the kinds and levels of technology investments being made aren’t the same everywhere. Silicon Valley, Silicon Alley and Silicon Prairie all come to mind. Young self-made millionaires grace the covers of national newsmagazines. Almost overnight e-commerce has become a dominant shaping force in the evolution of our nation’s business environment.

Is anything comparable going on in Northwest Arkansas? Many folks here talk about the desirability of high-tech companies with their prospects of high-paying professional jobs, minimal environmental effects and relatively few demands for infrastructure improvements. Yet the observable growth in local technology jobs seems to come more from large and long-established companies than from new enterprise development. While I’m certainly glad for this growth, it seems a fortuitous consequence of past innovations and investments rather than of insightful recent ones.

I believe that individuals will drive local technical entrepreneurship, which is unlikely to be initiated or even substantially facilitated by grand-scale government efforts. Our minimum expectation should be for government and other bureaucracies to get out of the way if they can’t effectively lead or facilitate.

The availability of private sector, independent and objective technology assessments to complement conventional investor due diligence work could help bridge the gap between the technical entrepreneur and the investor. If, through the availability of such assessments, more entrepreneurs and investors can agree, then we may improve the growth rate in creating new technology-focused enterprises.

All this has also led me to a surprising personal opportunity. I’ve always had an abiding interest in things technological. My professional activities in scientific and engineering R&D management made me aware of the importance of carefully attending to how we work with each other. Participation in new venture start-ups and organizational development work in large technology companies showed me the importance of the constantly evolving ideas in strategic management.

I confess to feeling some resentment towards all those new young millionaires. How could they have gained such wealth so quickly and with what looks like such a little investment of effort or time? How are they doing it? What attributes do they have that makes such success possible?

I suspect those attributes include the ability to think “out of the box,” to go after success as if they had nothing to lose, and a comfort with technology in an environment of fast-paced change. I refuse to believe that out-of-the-box thinking is the perogative of those under 35 or that I can’t compete successfully in today’s arena of fast-changing technology. Many of the old rules must be reconsidered, maybe discarded, but knowing them should be an advantage.

I realized recently that I should expect more from myself. Am I wimping out? The paradox is that, while I now see many more opportunities for innovative exploitation of technology than at any other time in my 35 years of experience, I have remained inclined to proceed with business as usual. Moreover, if I’m going to publicly agonize over the slow pace of technology enterprise development I see locally, how can I justify being risk-adverse in my enterprises?

I must consider at least two role models: the brash, risk-taking 25-35-year-old techno-entrepreneur who puts it all on the line and drives like crazy to make things happen and the seasoned, mature and principled contributor to the growth and well-being of the community. I aspire to the best qualities of each (and hope not to end up with a multiple personality disorder so severe that I can no longer talk to myself).

So what should I do? Easy. Seize the opportunity, take the risk and move deliberately from concept to aggressive practice. Take a new, largely locally focused technology assessment provider company and make it explode onto the national scene. Can it be done? I believe it can.

Wish me luck — but I’m confident luck will really have very little to do with it.

Dr. Ron Goforth is a member and general manager of Beta-Rubicon LLC, a Fayetteville firm specializing in independent technology assessments.