Previously published in ‘In Business, Las Vegas’ week of October 24-30, 2003

By guest columnist: Joan Bryna Michelson

“Fat, dumb and happy.” Many of us have heard Keith Schwer, director of the Center of business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, espouse his thoughts on the current economic condition of Southern Nevada.

Compared to other parts of the country, we are indeed better off in some respects. However, if we look at the patterns and potential threats ahead, the picture is not so rosy and we are at risk of sticking our heads in the sand.

We hear that Las Vegas’ tourist-based economy is just recently rebounding after the fallout from the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, reflecting two years of lost growth. Then there’s the added drain from the increases in gaming-related taxes; the burst of the Internet bubble; the weakened overall national economy complete with a loss of 3.8 million jobs since February 2001; a long-term trough in the stock market; and competition from the insurgent Indian casino resorts with their favorable tax status.

All we need is another terrorist attack and…

Which brings us to: prevention. How do we protect our economy from these vulnerabilities? Diversify.

OK, we’ve heard about economic diversification before, and there are groups helping companies find the tax benefits of being in Nevada. And UNLV is actively doing something about it through Carol Harter’s initiative to transform it into a research university and attract innovative thinkers who could build new businesses here.

But clearly, that’s not enough and not fast enough. This effort needs to be augmented by a more concerted community-wide movement. As Richard Flaherty, dean of the UNLV College of business says, “this is a classic example of strategic planning.”

One gets a whole new view of the situation after spending a week at an intensive business conference at the famed Aspen Institute in Aspen, Colo., with a group of high-level strategic and practical thinkers from around the country in a program focused on leading change.

One of the byproducts of the conference was a model we developed for leading change. I’ve been talking with several Clark County business leaders and we believe we could apply the model to building a movement to increase economic diversity in Southern Nevada.

Please keep in mind that, though listed numerically, many of these ‘steps’ occur simultaneously, and the process repeats. Here is a summary of the model and how it could apply here:

1. Assess the internal and external environments and the performance: In addition to the above summary, there’s the fact that states with high taxes and costs of living are suffering painful economic times now. What can Southern Nevada offer businesses in those states? What does our infrastructure need in order to succeed, such as high-speed rail to/from Los Angeles, and water?

2. Develop a core team and identify a leader: We need a committed team of people in the community – academia, industry and government, across disciplines – who are dedicated to developing and implementing a strategic plan to attract new businesses, and have a vested interest in its success. It has to be a true public-private partnership – a movement. And, the team needs a leader to keep it on track.

3. Establish a vision, defined by goals: What’s our vision of an expanded business community? How many new jobs will we bring, in what period of time?

4. Establish credibility: The leader and the tam need to demonstrate their commitment and credentials to developing a concerted, organized effort to attract new types of businesses.

5. Establish a ‘burning platform’ and provide ‘hope:’ Why does it matter now? What’s the urgency? What do we do about it?

It matters now because such a strong dependence on one industry weakens the community’s sustainability, as Schwer emphasizes. “It’s the issue of avoiding the Nevada problem,” that is, the historical boom and bust pattern that left ghost towns in its wake. Gaming has cycles, too, and we need businesses to smooth out those cycles in our economy.

“We have no choice. We live in a dynamic world,’ as Schwer points out, “competition is gaining everywhere.” Between competition for entertainment and travel dollars, and the vulnerabilities above, the platform is indeed burning. Schwer adds that, “”(Princeton Public Finance Professor Harvey) Rosen argues that there are 75-year cycles in gaming, and since we started in 1950, that means we have only a good 15 years left before our gaming declines.”

Being so dependent upon tourism also weakens the community’s underpinnings, such as “civic and cultural engagement,” according to Kenneth Gergen, a prominent leader in social change. He explains that we need a more truly “middle” middle class of workers, strengthening the non-tourism business community, increasing our “human capital.”

Adding to the urgency is that we have a window of opportunity over the next few years while states with high taxes and costs of living are struggling. This is a time when companies in these states could be more open to a viable business proposition on how joining our welcoming Nevada lifestyle and community could improve their businesses.

“Hope?” The antidote needed to extinguish the fire in the burning platform is that we have a lot to offer, and we can succeed – if we synergize our efforts across industry and community lines. Ad hoc efforts are not enough.

6. Demonstrate the linkage between the burning platform, the goals and individual members of the community: Why should the average member of the community care? Because if they don’t care, they will lose income and a sustainable community in which to thrive.

7. Communicate, communicate, communicate: Develop a proposal to targeted companies that will exploit their vulnerabilities and our strengths. For example, try to entice a large high-technology company to relocate one of its plants/research centers from high-cost California, offering jobs to unemployed technology workers if they move themselves to Nevada.

The team and leader also need to communicate constantly to our community, to broadcast small and large successes, to maintain motivation through what will be an enduring process.

8. Inspire/encourage as many people as possible: The more members of the community are motivated to speak the message, the more successful we will be at optimizing the window of opportunity and staving off threats.

9. Align the rewards with the goals: How do community members get rewarded, and thereby stay motivated?

10. Provide resources: It takes resources to build a successful movement, including a range of communication and traveling costs to promote what a great place Southern Nevada is to do business. One key value of an organized core team and leader is to generate and allocate tangible resources required for such a concerted effort.

11. Develop leaders: Look beyond the current team to the next ones. Sustain sustainability.

We can do this. We need to do this. As a relatively new person here, I can see how much more this community has to offer those in other (especially suffering) areas and how we can benefit from them joining us.

Joan Bryna Michelson is president/CEO of Michelson/Cooper Marketing. Joan can be reached at .