November Executive Brief: On Place, Innovation and Growth

By Skip Newberry, President & CEO of the Technology Association of Oregon (TAO)One of the hottest topics of the past couple of years is remote work versus hybrid versus fully in-person and what each of those approaches might mean for the future of work. One area of concern for many executives and managers is how to foster innovation among employees in each of those three scenarios. Is one approach better than the others?My impression is that it depends. Factors ranging from the size and stage of the company, the level of specialization of roles/functions, the quality of managers, where employees reside, whether a company has a rapidly expanding workforce, and more, all can have an important bearing on the quality and volume of work produced and the presence (or absence) of innovation within companies.I would argue that a variation on this topic has not received the airtime that it deserves: specifically, the importance to innovation of interactions between employees of different companies. There is a line of thinking that one of the most important conditions that must be present to foster meaningful innovation is agglomeration of different perspectives and ideas in a single place. Put differently: a lot of people from a variety of employers, industries, backgrounds, etc. crossing paths with one another serendipitously in a single place.The future of work and innovation boasts more variety than it did in the recent past. This is exciting. Traditional office culture with a bunch of companies with offices located near to one another and employees working 9 to 5, 5 days a week and bumping into each other at food cart pods, at the local coffee shop, the gym, or at a bar, is not the only way to foster place-based innovation like that described above. Clustering of parts of tech companies at co-working spaces such as CENTRL Office, Kiln or EugeneHQ alongside other kinds of businesses is another. And newer models that bring people together in spaces that are in residential neighborhoods but contain office-like amenities, like Radious–including their RAD workdays that combine co-working with networking in a single day–are yet another solution. In fact, this greater variety, if utilized properly by employers, could enable even more innovation by also encouraging employees to work in different spaces, each offering different kinds of serendipitous networking opportunities and sources of inspiration. And for companies that are fully remote, it’s important for managers to encourage their employees to get out of the house periodically and network.This article on innovation, serendipity and cities by Emily Badger in “The Upshot” in the New York Times notes the clustering of AI firms in San Francisco in an area referred to as “Area AI”. She observes that these firms are there to take advantage of proximity of talent, capital and networking opportunities among other companies developing AI solutions. The risk to too much homogeneous clustering is, however, that you end up with group-think or an echo-chamber. This is not a new problem for Silicon Valley’s version of a tech ecosystem–either in many of its online social platforms or its in-person events. It is, however, a huge opportunity for smaller regions that can harness local tech talent and provide serendipitous interactions between those technologists and people from other industries and other parts of the broader community. Where Silicon Valley has historically gotten it wrong, other communities can get it right.Intriguingly, Oregon is a home to a wide variety of cutting edge tech talent spanning multiple current and next-gen technologies. Moreover, the pandemic has created more variety in terms of how, when and where people want to connect. This presents an opportunity for redefinition and innovation in terms of how we conceive of places and interactions.An opportunity and challenge for TAO (given limited resources) is fostering the right mix of events, convenings and programs that strengthen the region’s tech workforce in areas unique to the tech industry (interactions among professionals at tech companies), while also providing some broader opportunities that place technologists outside of their “usual tech-specific comfort zone”. Think back to when you grew the most personally or professionally. Chances are that you were in a new environment, new role or were facing a new challenge. Chances are you were not comfortable.Our state is going through some profound changes and facing some daunting issues. I want to challenge you to think of this as an opportunity. This is our time as a community to innovate and grow.If you haven’t attended a networking event or participated in an executive dinner or raised your hand to serve as a speaker before or in a while, I encourage you to consider it. Haven’t attended TAO’s annual legislative reception or an advocacy event? Now’s your time. Elected officials and policymakers at all levels in Oregon are looking to the tech sector for perspectives and recommendations on what the future of the state should look like. From AI and Data to Cybersecurity, Workforce, Digital Equity/Connectivity and Semiconductors, federal funding and policy formulation opportunities abound. And chances are your company’s executives don’t have all of the answers, either. So now is a great time to raise your hand and sharpen your leadership skills. Don’t worry: we’ve got you covered with TAO’s professionally-facilitated, cohort-based Learning Lab and Leadership Academy.You will see TAO go through some dramatic changes in 2024 as we roll out new programs and initiatives, and even a new look and feel. We invite you to grow with us.