Ed Gordon, who has collected titles like the “prophet” and “Paul Revere”–sent to wake the nation of its economic deficiencies and downfalls, presented some insightful information last Wednesday evening at the Renaissance Theatre. The event was sponsored by the Richland County Economic Development Group.
“I am not a prophet or Paul Revere. I’ll tell you what I really am; I am a persistent coach to business people like you and people overseas talking about you, your businesses, your jobs, your children’s futures,” said Gordon.
Gordon is the owner and founder of the consulting business Imperial Consulting Corporation. His vision is to “apply a multidisciplinary approach to today’s complex workforce and economic development issues.” He is a respected international expert on strategic economic development by focusing on talent and skill. Gordon is the author of 17 books on economic development.
Richland County, according to Gordon, finds itself in a fragile economic state that, if proactive decisions are not made, will end up like a smaller version of Detroit: run down and vacant.
Gordon’s presentation was as much informative as it was charging and daring. He shared research facts that reflected an ever-changing economy, which in many cases, is changing faster than culture. For example, there are 30 million unemployed or underemployed individuals in the United States today, and 7.1 million vacant jobs.
His company projected that if we, as a nation, stay on this path, that 7.1 million number could increase to 25 million vacant jobs by the year 2020.
Dean Kamen, the man accredited with inventing the Segway, was quoted in an Economist article published in 2010, “Technology is easy to develop. Developing a new attitude, moving the culture from one mental model to another, that’s the difficult part.”
Gordon aims to achieve a paradigm shift by educating and retaining talent. This concept of retainment is one Gordon charged Richland County to adopt.
RETAINs stands for Regional Talent Innovation Networks and explores talent, focusing on that talent to cultivate a pragmatic use, aligning it to fit corporations’ goals, and executing that goal.
Although resistance to change exists, Gordon recognized that this retainment effort has been initiated by small local businesses in Richland County already. This strategy will cost time and money, but Gordon named this effort a “civic duty,” and said, “To those of you sitting here tonight who have contributed to the $3.5 million donated to training young talent, I salute you.”
With an extensive background in education, Gordon is a firm believer in empowering youth to succeed in the classroom. Sam VanCura, local entrepreneur and executive board member of the Richland Community Development Group (RCDG), said, “After hearing Ed and reading his books, it is apparent that education and business needs to collaborate more.”
Gordon believes that encouraging youth to “think,” will inevitably help the economy on a national level. According to the National Association of Education Procurement (NAEP), 68 percent of fourth graders in the United States scored “below basic” or “basic” in reading in 2011.
“We need people to think,” said Gordon. Developing critical thinking skills at an early age will empower youth to develop new technology, which will in turn create more jobs.
To close the evening, Gordon said, “The time for civic activism is now. Figure out what you can do, and go do it.”
In other words, Gordon dared employers, educators, and business leaders alike to focus on their abilities- collectively- and then work together to create a systemic solution based on those abilities with the intention of following through with that solution.
For more information on Ed Gordon visit his website.
