Update: A version of this post was published here as an opinion editorial, and another version was featured here on Brazen Careerist.
The pull Madison has is inexplicable, but powerful. It is this magic that sleeps in the winter, and then explodes in the spring like confetti on your twenty-first birthday, that makes me love the city. Even the winters become part of the voodoo that creates the vibrant mix of people and food and ideas and lakes.
Madison defines who I am. My career, friendships, and relationships are delivered to me from the city stork, like they were birthed directly from this intoxicating energy.
My affair with the city is an epic romance. But the city doesn’t know it.
Madison isn’t alone. Despite consistently placing in the top of every list imaginable – from Playboy to Forbes – Madison, like many other cities, is ignoring one of its most competitive advantages. That is, young people.
See, as cash cows go, Gen Y is a big one, and cities are ignoring us – the young leaders, entrepreneurs, professionals and creatives – in their plans for economic development.
Partnering with Gen Y should be of the utmost priority for cities since we are uniquely positioned to stimulate economic development. For example:
1. Good jobs come from good people. Economic development starts with human capital. The war for talent is one of the most interesting and challenging issues that cities face today. Young people actively promote and contribute to the high quality of life in cities, and need to be able to connect to both people and ideas. We are the quality workforce that is indispensable to basic sector job growth. Without a strong cadre of young talent, employers will be unable to expand.
2. Competitive advantage starts with entrepreneurship. More than any other generation, young people today are entrepreneurs. To meet the small business owners, the tenants of research parks, and other key entrepreneurs in cities is to meet an under forty demographic. There is ample opportunity to provide dynamic support for young entrepreneurs and the talent coming out of universities. Young entrepreneurs are a powerful determinant of a city’s future economy. They cannot be an afterthought.
3. To new customers, cities have no legacy. Gen Y knows little about the negative perceptions that have been prevalent within the business community. We don’t know the history or the mistakes. This is an opportunity for cities to build positive goodwill through superior customer service for this new generation. Young people can help cities to think innovatively. Cities can then borrow that energy and willingness to change to jump-start a perception shift in the existing business community.
4. Spiky should be funded. Place is extremely important to Gen Y and largely determines our destiny in today’s spiky world, to borrow a term from Richard Florida. To become a taller spike in the world’s economy – to compete – cities needs to attract young talent. In turn, young people will develop businesses and new markets. Cities should allocate money to young talent groups that promote and build upon the city’s strengths and spikiness to create the competitive advantage that allows us to expand business.
Cities must proactively reach out to Gen Y. Young people represent growth, and must be engaged in a city’s future development. We are a natural partner and ally in stimulating economic development.
13 replies on “Gen Y to cities: Don’t ignore us”
Rebecca – Where you live, who you associate yourself with, what you wear and how you behave all affect your brand and how you are perceived by others. I’ve seen many young entrepreneurs on the rise in the past year and never really noticed that in the past (maybe because I wasn’t looking).
@ Dan – I think you would enjoy Who’s Your City by Richard Florida. It argues that place strongly influences “where you live, who you associate yourself with, what you wear and how you behave,” etc. Place is a determinant of your brand… be interesting to hear your thoughts on that.
A lot of times it is tough to start your own business because of barriers to entry, licenses & regulations, fees, taxes.
I make great scones. Vegan, sugar-free, spelt flour. No one who has tried one doesn’t like them. So, I thought how nice it would be to sell my scones around town for fun and profit. Well – try getting through the mire of the Department of Commerce and Department of Agriculture. Between the 100 page booklet to figuring out which class of food I would be selling , to paying the fees to be registered, finding and paying for a commerical kitchen, the approval process…stopped me in my tracks. Dude, I just wanted to make a scone and sell it… (Violins playing.)
Also, things like the new health care reform proposals which would make all small businesses provide mandatory health care sound great, they are costly for entrepreneurs and could be prohibitive to growing operations…
I think if city and state governments were more pro-business, pro-entrepreneur, more Gen Yer’s would have the support they need and more people would be eating scones…
I love the imagery in your writings. You capture Madison’s beauty and interest.
This is one of your best posts–cities can’t grow without a talented young professional base. It’s a great reminder for boomers in government who are so focused on the present and immediate future. City governments need to plan to attract talented young professionals to keep the city strong and keep it growing. This will keep Madison the best it is and can be.
@ Milena – mmm… scones. Removing barriers to entrepreneurship entry would be good for everyone, not just Gen Y, obviously. It’s interesting, because Madison, for instance, is quite liberal politically, and stereotypically this means we’re not pro-business, but we’re listed on the top city lists consistently. Certainly, I believe we have more work to do, and I don’t have the answer, but somehow looking at city plans in a wholistic manner, including economic development and community development would be a good start. It’s all a bit confusing to me, and maybe that’s where the problem really begins! Life should be simpler ; )
@ Linda – Thanks! Definitely having a long-term approach would be benefiical. We should all have 1 yr, 3 yr, 5 yr, 10 yr, 50 yr, goals, etc. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to remain flexible and continually change and mold our goals, and be open to possiblities, but to have an innovative mentality would be a plus. Many cities seem to be stuck in traditional ways of thinking, and I’m not sure of the reasons for this.
I wish someone would forward this message to my little township of Corpus Christi, Texas.
I’m curious: Are there any cities that you think are doing a good job of this? Austin seems to be the go-to city for a lot of young people, but that just may be because I live in Texas. Also, it seems like when I was leaving college four years ago everyone I knew was moving to Portland.
Is post in response to the unvieling of Madison Economic Development Plan?
If so what specifically shows you that the plan is unfavorable to Gen Y?
@ Holly – I think a lot of cities are good for young people now, but what about the future? Things can change quicker than we think. For cities to continue to be good for young people, they need to include us in their plans. Thanks for the comment!
@ Daaimah – You could say that it was inspired by it, yes. I don’t think the plan is unfavorable to young people, just that it leaves us out. There’s a difference there, and I’m of the persuasion that it would be great to include us because we’re so uniquely positioned to positively affect economic development. Thanks for visiting!
I’ve read over the Plan…and I see what you mean. I guess I’ll be wearing Gen Y idealism on my sleeve here, or maybe I’m reading the ED plan wrong. But I think this is prime time for Madison Gen Y to use this Plan as road map to being strategically pro-active. I dont think Gen Y needs to wait to be asked or invited to participate. With a few informed Gen Y voices with ideas that speak to the ED Plan, I believe Gen Y is in a great postition to make some real changes here in Madison.
@ Daaimah – Definitely! It’s a choice on both ends, and we can make real change! Thanks for the encouragement.
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