Two Utah deals this week, separated by an order of magnitude, illustrate what happens when the great go big (Twelve Horses) – or – the big have been swallowed by the bigger (Omniture). And they raise a number of interesting questions.
Continue Reading...I recently cleaned the office. In the process of pairing back the teetering piles of reference periodicals I began to notice an trend. In 2008, Utah Business, a statewide business magazine, had a fetish for flocks of white guys. Not once, not twice, but four times we were to believe that three guys just happened to be hanging around for their photog.
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The only women to grace the cover in 2008 were part of the ’30 Women to Watch’ issue (a female was required, I suppose). At least they had the good sense not to break the ‘Three Amigos’ meme.
I’m sure this isn’t a conscious plot equating the state’s company mix to a slice of Wonderbread (or, more appropriately, three slices of white loaf). But it raised an interesting, albeit flawed, question – if the covers of Utah Business are to be believed – just how diverse is the state?
I had to browse all the way back to the June 2007 issue before I was able to find a woman who had the cover all to herself. I gave up looking for a featured business owner who was non-white somewhere in the 2005 archives – there might be one there further back.
In his book, Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida argues that cultural diversity is essential for innovation to happen (pg 79, paperback edition):
This is spoken of so often, and so matter-of-factly, that I take it to be a fundamental marker of Creative Class values. As my focus groups and interviews reveal, members of this class strongly favor organizations and environments in which they feel that anyone can fit in and can get ahead.
Diversity of peoples is favored first of all out of self-interest. Diversity can be a signal of meritocratic norms at work. Talented people defy classification based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference or appearance. … Many highly creative people, regardless of ethnic background or sexual orientation, grew up feeling like outsiders, different in some way from most of their schoolmates. They may have odd personal habits or extreme styles of dress. Also, Creative Class people are mobile and tend to move around to different parts of the country; they many not be “natives” of the place they live even if they are American-born. When they are sizing up a new company and community, acceptance of diversity and of gays in particular is a sign that reads “nonstandard people welcome here”.
All of which are additional reasons to celebrate Kelly King’s upcoming appearance on Utah Business. Not only does her story merit her standing alone (!) but its representative that there’s more to Utah’s story than dudes of European descent.
Is such weight on such a regionally distributed title justified? I think so. These are the faces that are presented to the world. These are the covers which either challenge or reinforce outside stereotypes. If Utah is to be competitive as a sector going forward we can’t afford to have brilliant creative types misunderstanding the number and diversity of opportunities that are here.
So congrats Kelly and her larger Startup Princess community for the recognition. Given the times we need much more of that all-encompassing coverage.
Continue Reading...In the past I’ve discussed how the emergence of steampunk aesthetics portends a growing alienation with an increasingly disposable consumer electronics culture (specifically that which is iPod influenced). I’ve also waxed profane about the overly aggressive personality traits present in Silicon Valley. Combine an competitive obsession with humanity eschewing cube farms and what do you have? Bloody, damaging, and potentially misogynistic fight clubs. I’ve embedded the ESPN clip below (first seen on ValleyWag). While the swearing is bleeped out some of the violence may not be suitable for work.
There are so many people (to some degree, myself included) who are intent on trying to replicate the financial and technical success that Silicon Valley has enjoyed. However singular the goal, though, we must not turn a blind eye to the damaging unintended consequences that such an environment creates. There must be a better way to provide meaningful kinship and engaging workplaces than having to resort to after hours collapsed eye sockets and kidney paralysis.
Continue Reading...Today I was giving an interview with New York based media for the upcoming RIA Dev Shed. One of the first questions asked was something that I get from a lot of people outside the state: why Utah?
The knee jerk is something that smacks of juvenile delinquency such as “Why not?” or “Because I’m uncomfortable being on a first name basis with the airport frisker”. However, the professional answer is because this is where things are happening.
The same factors which swayed my decision to move here after completing my undergraduate degree still hold true: continued infrastructure reinvestment on a grand scale (then the Olympics, now downtown revitalization, commuter rail, Utopia, etc.), youth driven and entrepreneurial workforce (which translates to more ideas per capita), and modest costs of living. Put those things together and you have an environment that, despite the grim news elsewhere, continues to be a great place for doing business.
Unfortunately, while those here in the trenches have hashed and rehashed the local news of the last year to (sometimes) fearsome degree the details are still unheard of outside our cliques. What are those stories (presented in no particular order)?
…and I’m sure there are many more that I’m forgetting. However, the point is this: while the rest of the nation is asphyxiating on uncertainty we have a chance to make a major positive difference. It is imperative that at this point in time we’re nurturing our human capital in the same way we court our investment capital. Throwing events is just a sliver of what programmers need to continue their professional development – but it is a piece. And that’s why I’m organizing a conference in Utah.
Curious on upcoming technology events in Utah? Check out the calendar. Wanna get something on the calendar? Contact me.
Continue Reading...Utah is in something of a talent crunch. The ongoing success of a number of UT firms in the technology sector (ie. Doba, Omniture, Mozy, Ancestry.com, etc.) means that there is a shortage of qualified technical and engineering talent in this valley.
Doba’s Jeremy Hanks was sharp to spot the state stepping up to the plate. The advertisement, a joint effort by the Utah Technology Council and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development aptly builds off Utah’s ‘Life Elevated’ tourism campaign.
Will promises of plentiful jobs and world class recreation be enough to lure the best and brightest to Utah? The verdict is still out. However, admitting that solutions might lie outside one’s own circled wagons is an important first step.
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