On July 11, I was at the City Club of Cleveland listening to the EPA’s Chris Korleski speak to business leaders and policymakers about the economic impact of the Great Lakes on Northeast Ohio and other regions. Just before the event kicked off, news broke that LeBron James had decided to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. For a few minutes his announcement caught everybody’s attention and some in the room seemed to have forgotten why they were even there.
As if wanting to recapture their attention, Korleski, after he got on stage, asked with a smirk: “Uh, who’s LeBron James?”
“I almost gave up [giving my speech],” he continued, “because why bother after that [announcement]?”
Korleski’s tongue-in-cheek comment stuck with me, because in the weeks since, LeBron has dominated the headlines in and about Cleveland. There were articles in The Wall Street Journal,
“Economist: LeBron James Worth Almost $500 Million to Cleveland,” a Time.com headline read, followed by the subhead: “But a lot would have to go exactly right.”
The article argued that LeBron “could be an economic catalyst for the Rust Belt city” and stressed his likely impact on ticket sales, hotels, bars, restaurants and shops. Other stories, like this Meet the Press piece, viewed Cleveland’s ability to lure both LeBron and the 2016 Republican National Convention as evidence that the city is on the rise.
I am not one to speculate about how much money LeBron and the Republican National Convention will bring to Northeast Ohio. What I do know is that these high-profile events have an impact on how people feel about the region. And that’s not an insignificant thing, particularly when a historically manufacturing-based region like Northeast Ohio is trying to nurture a culture of innovation.
I think a region’s or an organization’s ability to innovate is as much about attitude as it is about resources. I’ve written before about the role GRIP values (Growth, Respect, Individual Responsibility, Passion) play in innovation. Another important layer is how people both in and outside a region feel about the place. I think a certain level of confidence and optimism is required to be innovative.
Imagine how much harder it would be for a business to encourage its employees to be innovative, if these employees didn’t think their company could change; how much harder it would be, if these employees were told by others their company wasn’t going anywhere.
Narrative matters. It’s true for businesses and it’s true for regions. Think of places like Boston or Silicon Valley. Talented people who have never been there want to work there. Why? Because there are opportunities and resources. But also because people keep telling exciting stories about these places.
Boston and Silicon Valley have narratives of innovation. They are regions that thrive on positive, innovative cultures built on open exchanges of ideas and an attitude that anything is possible.
Northeast Ohio needs that narrative – and the region is getting there. It already is a place where manufacturing expertise meets innovation. It is as much Tech Belt as it is Rust Belt, as much bits as it is bolts. It is a leader in industries like biotech, aerospace, logistics, advanced energy, food processing, additive manufacturing, flexible electronics, water technologies and lighting. Add low costs of living, great entertainment and an outdoor culture, and you have a desirable place to live.
Yes, there are challenges, too. Like other industrial cities, Cleveland is dealing with poverty, foreclosures and underperforming schools. The more balanced pieces that were written in the wake of LeBron’s and the RNC’s decisions didn’t ignore these things, but focused on the comeback story.
The biggest impact of LeBron and the Republican Convention may be to help change the narrative to this comeback story – a story that has been in the making not just over the past three weeks but for more than a decade; a story that has been told by the Regional Marketing Alliance and Positively Cleveland for years; a story that is catching the attention of people across the country in part because of the recent developments.
All of a sudden people seem to be paying a little closer attention than they did before.
“The recent highly visible and exciting news of both the Republican National Convention choosing Cleveland for 2016 and LeBron James deciding to come back to play in his hometown are both significant in our important task of changing the narrative on Cleveland,” says David Gilbert, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Positively Cleveland, which recently launched its “This Is Cleveland” campaign.
“A change in perception is critically important to attract more visitors, businesses and residents,” he says. “This news additionally enhances the self-confidence of locals, which can be critical to any strategy for advancing a community.”
David brings up an important point. Northeast Ohioans seem to have been infected with a new sense of optimism. Over the past three weeks, I have heard numerous business leaders talk about how they believe the region is on the rise, and several have cited LeBron and the convention as evidence.
It’s important business leaders channel that kind of confidence into strategies that can accelerate the pace of innovation. These strategies should include embracing national innovation trends, creating organizational cultures that empower creative thinking, and pursuing new and different business opportunities.
One area where changing the narrative is particularly important is inclusive competitiveness. If regions want to stay competitive, they need to make sure minority tech-employment and entrepreneurship reflect population levels. Yet, too few minorities, particularly in our cities, are even aware of the opportunities that exist within the Innovation Economy. Changing the narrative in these communities to one focused on opportunities in the tech sector is a small, first step in the right direction.
If LeBron James were to become part of that effort, it may be his greatest contribution to Cleveland and Northeast Ohio.
Share your thoughts on the impact of narrative on innovation by commenting below or sending me a tweet at @NorTech!
