Ryan Offers Unique Perspective on Community Development

IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP, MI - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - Yesterday evening, Rebecca Ryan, an energetic entrepreneur; the founder of Next Generation Consulting; and author of the book Live First, Work Second, both entertained and informed the capacity crowd at the Gogebic Community College Cafeteria.

College President Jim Lorenson introduced Ryan to the audience, by first explaining how the gathering came to be. He explained that several local community leaders gathered for coffee one day, and they got to talking about the area. Over coffee, they discussed the usual economic and political issues. In a very short time, however, the topic changed to the area's natural assets and how so few people that live here actually appreciate what the area has to offer. At some point, a recent presentation given by Iron County's University of Wisconsin Extension Director Wil Andresen was introduced into the conversation. Mr. Andresen stressed in his presentation, the need for the area to start better marketing themselves -- not just by accenting the usual industrial park, infrastructure, and economic development strategy that has been put in place -- but by demonstrating the great things, outside of work, that the area has to offer. Lorenson told the audience that Ryan's initiative was about to address that very issue.

Ms. Ryan began her presentation with a brief story about babysitting. Ryan joked that she occasionally babysits other people's children as a "very effective" form of birth control. She told the audience about a time she was watching a four year old girl and her younger sister. As soon as the parents left the house, the younger girl began to have a fit -- separation anxiety. Ryan tried her best to comfort the little girl by picking her up, but the girl refused to cooperate. She started wiggling, crying and twisting in Ryan's arms making it very difficult to for Rebecca to hold on to the girl. She joked that she ultimately put the little girl in a "tiny" head lock to control her, only to have her older sister walk up to her saying... "Rebecca... stop! Breath! Just tell me what you're feeling!"

Ryan explained that this was "generational moment" for her! She felt somewhat insulted that a four year old was telling her how to behave. Then she realized she had her sister in a head lock after all... maybe there the little girl had a good reason to say what she said. She told the girl that she was really frustrated and the little girl said to her, "What can I do to help?"

Ryan explained the two reasons she told the story. First of all, "Sometimes some of the most insightful voices in the kitchen are not coming from the babysitter -- are not coming from the adults -- the people that are supposed to be in charge. Sometimes the most insightful voices in the kitchen come from some of the youngest people -- some of the unusual suspects."

And secondly, "All of us, at some point or another, need to stop and take a deep breath, and really think about what's happening! And there are some issues that impacting the Gogebic Range that we need to talk about, so that we can take a deep breath and think about where we want to go from here!"

Ryan then went on to quiz the audience with a glossary of terms. Here are some of the terms she discussed and their meanings:

DINK - "Double Income No Kids"
YP - "Young Professional"
EP - "Experienced Professional"
OF - "Old Farts"
SITCOM - (In addition to "Situation Comedy") "Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage"
BASICS - "Bachelor of Arts Still In Customer Service"

Ryan pointed out that there is a currently a trend where people 27 years of age and under are grasping on to the values of the Eisenhower generation -- one parent working, the other raising the kids. She explained that it isn't exactly a "Ward and June Cleaver situation," but it is becoming a commonplace thing in America. She also pointed out that the woman is often the "bread-winner" in today's families.

Ryan explained that her goal was to have the people of the Gogebic Range take a good look at the horizon from 30,000 feet to see what is happening elsewhere, and then bring that knowledge home to make the area competitive. According to Ryan there are three basic issues that need to be addressed:

Demographics - In his last book, Ryan explains, famous social ecologist & management consultant, Peter Drucker said the number one issue facing community leaders is this one, "In developed countries the dominant factor is going to be something to which most people are just beginning to pay attention, and it's this... the rapid growth in the older generation and the shrinking of the younger generation." Ryan explained that in 1950, there was enough population growth to replace the existing population, but by 2000 the population trend changed resulting in a decline.

In Europe 25% of the population is over the age of sixty-five. In Japan, it's between 18 and 20%. According to Ryan, in Canada, by the year 2022, if everybody who is between 15 and 99 years of age was working full-time, there would still be a shortage of 3.9 million workers. In the United States, by the year 2012, there will be two people ready for retirement for every person entering the workplace.

Economy - Ryan told the crowd that her father worked for 33 years at the West Bend Company. She said his "value" as an employee was based on two things: (1) scrap and (2) safety. She explained he was rewarded for keeping all his fingers and having the smallest pile of scrap aluminum. Ryan's working environment and experience is dramatically different than her fathers was.

Ryan explained that the only piece of equipment you'll find in her office is a computer. She said, "Give me a few MBA's... give me a couple of MacBooks or laptops and I can start a business! I can start a company!"

Ryan pointed out that General Motors ($11.6 billion), Ford ($16.73 billion), Lockheed-Martin (42.0 billion), and Boeing ($59.3 billion), were four of the "gold standard" businesses of her father's generation. She explained that a person lucky enough to land a job at one of these companies was guaranteed a good wage, a full benefit package, and a decent pension. It was a manufacturing economy. People worked with their hands.

According to Ryan, Google ($173.27 billion) is today's "gold standard" employer. Their market capitalization is larger than GM, Ford, Lockheed-Martin, and Boeing combined!

"What does Google manufacture?" Ryan asked, "Google doesn't have an assembly line!" The fact is that Google "manufactures" information -- algorithms that help people find information. Simply stated, the "goods-based" manufacturing economy that Ryan's father's generation relied upon was dependent on two things: (1) a strong back and (2) a reliable alarm clock! The "information" economy has little to do with one's hands and much to do with one's head. In 1959, Peter Drucker predicted this and he called these people "knowledge workers."

"Knowledge workers" solve problems for people, using their ideas and their minds. The economy has shifted. Ryan pointed out that many people will refuse to believe this fact. She used an example to demonstrate that holding on to old ideas doesn't necessarily make them work. She said early explorers believed the world was flat, but that really didn't matter -- once new worlds were discovered the resources they produced created a new flourishing economy. Is the world round or flat? Does it really matter?

Ryan emphasized that communities which attract and retain "knowledge workers" will command a disproportionate share of the nation's wealth. This is the future economy -- Google and companies like Google are proving it.

Psychographics - Ryan, being an economist, confessed to the crowd that she only learned the meaning of psycho graphics after starting her business. She jested that she thought Ted Bundy or Jeffery Dahmer were psychographs.

Psychographics is the study of how people make decisions. Ryan explained that major companies like Coca-Cola and Nike heavily study decision making in an attempt to better their company's place in the market. Coca-Cola, for example, wants to know what goes on in the consumer's mind when he opts to buy a Coke from a vending machine.

Ryan explained that her company uses psychographics to understand why young people choose to live in one place over another. She said YP's think differently. She used an example that an interaction between her and her father. She explained that her parents were considerably older than most of her friend's parents. She said growing up with older parents gave her a unique perspective on life.

Anyway, Ryan and her father were watching the Packers play in the 1997 Super Bowl, and a Volkswagen commercial came on. Perhaps you remember the commercial. It shows two guys driving around in a VW saying virtually nothing to each other. As they are cruising the song Da Da Da Da by Trio is playing in the background. They spot a green recliner on the curb and they pick it up. Shortly after they get the chair, they realize that it has a funky odor so they drop it off at the next curb and drive off on their merry way. (To hear a sample of the song [CLICK HERE]).

After the commercial aired, Ryan and her father went to the kitchen to fetch some beer. She was completely impressed with the commercial and she started singing the song. Her father looks up at her and shouts, "Oh my God, Rebecca! What was that ad even about anyways?"

"Dad, that was an ad for Volkswagen!" Rebecca responded, "You know the car company!"

"Oh cripes! I thought that ad was about a recliner!" he snapped back, "If that ad had really been about a car, they would have shown me more shots of the interior. They would have told me what the miles per gallon was. And they would have told me where I could go test drive one!"

Ryan used the story to demonstrate how two different generations had two very different perceptions of the same ad. She explained that the ad ended with the VW tag line and a web address. The web address is all that is needed for the new generation!

Ryan said her company has interviewed over 30,000 young professionals. She presented a list of things they consider when choosing a place to live and play:

Live first, work second - Ryan explained that "Where I live is AS IMPORTANT as where I work" to young people. 78% of people under the age of 28 feel this is their number one priority. Many young people have learned through their parents examples that working for one company all of their lives is not necessarily the best thing to do. They have seen their parents laid off. They rely on themselves for job security. They want to live in a Cool City, and their jobs can be rotational.

She went on to say, at one time, when you asked someone what they did for a living, they almost always mentioned the name of their company. YP's will more than likely tell you where they live before they will tell you the name of their employer. Their identity is no longer closely tied to who the work for.

Job Security - The new direction the next generation is taking involves providing their own job security. Research shows that the average 32-year-old has had nine different jobs.

Entrepreneurship - Many young people, when they aren't challenged at their jobs, are now starting their own companies, creating their own businesses. Women, Gen X'ers and people of color are starting (depending on who you ask) between 30 and 60% of new businesses.

Tech Saavy - Young people that have been exposed to the computer at an early age become very comfortable and knowledgeable about the technology.

Ryan told of a focus group of nineteen 20 to 40 year olds in Fort Dodge, Iowa that she worked with for the State of Iowa. The community of Fort Dodge featured the Iowa Central Community College and the local newspaper is the Fort Dodge Messenger. The purpose of the group was to determine what needed to be done to make Fort Dodge a "Cooler Community."

A girl named Jennifer immediately spoke out when Ryan asked the all important question, "The first thing we could do is to get some ethnic food restaurants here! And Taco John's does not count!"

Ryan explained that she was doing the study for the Govener of Iowa, and she asked the girl how she was supposed to go up to him and say Fort Dodge needs more ethnic restaurants to be cool.

Jennifer explained that most of the people in the group went to college and grew fond of ethnic food. A community leader in the back of the room immediately raised his hand. Reluctantly Ryan called on the community leader -- "RV" (He goes by his initials).

"These young professionals say they want ethnic food," RV asked with disgust,"How many of them were at the ethnic food festival right here at the Iowa Central Community College last night?"

Ryan explained that she was shocked. She was afraid a can of worms had just been opened. She asked the group if any of them attended. No one in the group went.

Jennifer snapped back, "How many of us knew about it?" None of the group was aware of the festival.

The man was clearly aggetated and he barked out, "IT WAS IN THE PAPER!"

Ryan immediately asked the group how many of them subscribed to the Fort Dodge Messenger? One male member of the group sheepishly said, "Last week, I turned 30, and I felt like the adult thing to do was to start taking the paper!"

The moral of the story, according to Ryan, is that YP's don't read the paper -- they get their news online! When she asked last night's crowd what other moral was to be learned from the story, a member of the audience said with a grin, "Don't call on RV!"

Ryan's presentation went on to reveal the following statistics:

60% of all twenty-somethings are receiving some kind of financial assistance from their parents.
The average college debt for a 4-year graduate is $25,000.
The average college debt for a post-grad is six figures.
Women who live to be 40 without cancer, based on today's medicine would live to be seventy-eight.
Average age of a first marriage for men is 28 and for women is 26.
More 25-40 year-olds believe they will see a UFO before they believe they will receive Social Security.

Ryan highlighted seven indexes that can be used to attract and retain talented knowledge workers to a community. They are:

Vitality - The great outdoors is very important to the next generation. Parks, trails, and outdoor activities are crucial.
Occupational Options - Jobs matter... but other things are very important as well. Entrepenureship is also very important.
Learning - Public schools, colleges, lectures, knowledge expansion are important.
Social Capital - All communities are made of three kinds of people:

Home-Growns - Born and raised here, basically haven't left.
Boomerangers - Born here, then left, then came back.
Transplants - Not from here, but liked the area and wanted to live here. Surprisingly, MOST of the people at the meeting last night were not from the area. Ryan pointed out how important it is to have a mix of people in a community. She compared the community to the Irish Potato Famine. She pointed out that the reason why Ireland lost their entire potato crop is because they only had on variety of potato. Ryan went on to say that genetic diversity is vital to survival. Ryan stressed the importance of allowing a variety of people a voice in the community, a "seat at the table," if you will. Ryan said successful communities will never ask where you are from. Instead they will ask you what ideas you have and what chips you can push to the center of the table to make the community a better place.

Affordability - People can afford their slice of heaven here.
After Hours - There needs to be something for young professionals to do after they are done working. Ryan pointed out the importance of having a number of quality "after hours" activities within walking distance.
Around Town - Ryan explained that is important for people to easily travel around town.

Ryan told last night's crowd that Wil Andresen will be continuing the effort to make the area work. She urged the audience to supply their email addresses and contact information. She said a meeting will be set in the near future to try to put the communities ideas into action.

Ryan made the following suggestions:

Policy - Ryan noted that the area had several Chambers of Commerce. She stressed how important it is for young professionals to have a seat at the table with these organizations.
Social Support - Ryan suggested having special meetings (YP Kitchen Cabinet) with young people to hear their inputs. Someone needs to bring YP's to the area and work with them to locate here.
Attitudes - Ryan said it's important for EVERYBODY to promote the area and be proud of where you live. She suggested that people look at www.bestplaces.net to see how Ironwood is being rated.
Behavior - Finally Ryan stressed the importance of spending time with a diversity of people. She said it's good to be put in a position where you are challenged and surprised, where you don't know all the answers and where you may be able to offer a new perspective.

After a brief question and answer session, the meeting was turned back over to Jim Lorenson. Mr. Lorenson thanked Ms. Ryan and all of the sponsors that made the presentation possible, and he reminded the people at the meeting that we need to start working together in order to survive and prosper.

Jim Albert