Specificity

In a discussion several years ago, the author Malcolm Gladwell laid out his formula for what makes something interesting: It has to be both surprising (i.e., unconventional) and specific. Most ideas and conversations fail one or both hurdles, as they should – it is no small task to outline a specific, unconventional thought that is also correct. Jacob Benedict

I am in awe of the progress our region has made since I moved back to the area in late 2008. Progress has been both tangible — downtown development, increased activity and collaboration, etc. — and intangible — a sense of pride and anticipation that has steadily grown over the past decade. But this progress also raises the bar: What can we do over the next decade to accelerate the positive momentum in our region? My proposal is that a specific, unconventional goal might be a useful component of our region’s next stage of community development.

Several years ago, I was visiting with the management team of a successful, diversified holding company that owns and operates manufacturing businesses across multiple industries. As we sat down to review the organization’s performance, they started as they always do – with an in-depth review of employee safety statistics across their subsidiaries. Safety statistics rarely surface during my discussions with industrial executives, and if they do they are usually treated as a footnote in a company presentation. But at this organization, safety statistics receive an unusually large amount of care and attention. Why? The management team explained: “First, it is important to keep our people safe and to let our team members know that we care about their safety. Second, if our subsidiary management teams can’t execute the daily steps required to keep employees safe, then that is a signal that they won’t be successful in their other endeavors, which may be harder to measure on a real-time basis.”

This organization’s focus on safety was both surprising and specific. It was also built around the differentiation between objectives and key results (as championed by Intel’s Andy Grove and explained in Measure What Matters by John Doerr). The organization’s goals around safety included not only expectations for what kinds of end results should be produced but also specific, daily objectives driven down throughout the organization. In other words, the organization outlined both where they wanted to go and how they intended to get there. 

Consider a potential example. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged conventional thinking on the relationship between working and living. New economy workers and their employers have been surprised to find productivity levels avoid deterioration despite work-from-home arrangements. Young families are re-examining their choice of locale with a newfound flexibility and focus on health and well-being.  At the same time, the pandemic has accelerated the recognition that some cities and states have failed to build a sustainable financial model. This reality may cause both employers and employees to reconsider their home base. Indiana’s solid financial health, central location and strong infrastructure position it as a potential beneficiary. It is easy to over-predict the potential shifts in employer and employee behavior, but it seems that at the least our region can look for some additional tailwinds.

At the same time, many would agree that the economy will become increasingly driven by intellectual capital in the future. Even our domestic industrial base, which may see a renaissance as companies re-shore part of their supply chain to mitigate against the kinds of risks seen during the past two years (trade wars, a pandemic, etc.), will become more automated. Job growth will continue to be dominated by fields such as programming and information security. The economy of the future will be built around automating what are now human processes, and this work will pervade nearly every industry. Or as the venture capitalist Marc Andreesen said, “software is eating the world.” If this is true, then a region that offers the combination of a positive, low-friction business environment and a healthy and intelligent workforce will position itself to be a leader in the new economy.

What if we adopted, as a community, a goal of teaching programming as a second language to every elementary student in our public school systems? The key result would be clear and measurable: X% of high school students are able to pass a base-level programming proficiency examination. The objectives around this effort would be specific and widespread, with all stakeholders buying into the vision and agreeing to pull their weight by tackling specific tasks and expectations. Of course our community already has efforts around STEM education. But an effort like the one proposed here would tackle the problem from a supply perspective instead of a demand perspective. Instead of just linking educational programs to current regional demand for labor, our community would focus on enhancing our supply of highly trained labor for prospective employers. Instead of local employers working to develop local talent, the hope would be that external employers would relocate to tap into our local talent. In other words, “build it and they will come.”

If a project like this became a community-wide initiative, you can imagine the signal value this might have to stakeholders both within and outside of our region. Northeast Indiana would not only be a low-cost, hospitable environment for employers, but would signal their belief in the importance of a high-quality workforce by adopting a regional goal to equip every student with programming abilities.

This is just an example. I am not an expert in programming, education or workforce training. Maybe there is another goal better suited to our community and our needs. But my point is this: I think it is worth considering the adoption of a (a) specific and (b) unconventional goal to add to our current community development efforts. That goal would include expectations for both key results (the specific metrics we hope to achieve over time) and the specific objectives that we expect each stakeholder in the community to tackle. Then, if we fall short we can examine whether we failed because (a) we simply didn’t meet our objectives or (b) the objectives that we set were poorly designed to achieve the key results that we desired.

The goal chosen doesn’t have to be as complicated or as difficult as teaching children to program.  Indeed, maybe an easier or simpler goal would be a better bogey (perhaps something focused on the health of our labor force). I remember once hearing a retired cancer researcher reflect on his career by observing, “You know, as successful as I was as a researcher, I probably would have done more good in the world by spending all of my time simply convincing people not to smoke.” Our region has the potential to do amazing things in the next twenty years.  There will be many challenges to achieving our potential. But a simple, audacious, specific, unconventional, “all-in” goal could help signal the kind of region that we hope to be, generate excitement and enthusiasm throughout our community as we tackle a tangible goal and serve as an important component of a broader community development agenda.

This essay is part of a citizen-led book project in Fort Wayne called FORTHCOMING: Considering the Future State of Our City. To learn more and read additional essays, visit the Foreword and Preface.

Jacob Benedict is an Investment Manager at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to joining Notre Dame, he was a partner at AMI Investment Management, located in Kendallville, Indiana. He has been involved with numerous non-profit organizations in the Fort Wayne area, including the Notre Dame Club of Fort Wayne, Friends of the Lincoln Collection, THRIVE Noble County, the University of St. Francis, St. Martin's Healthcare Clinic and the Women's Care Center.  He has a strong interest in economics and development. Jacob is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Purdue University.