Published October 2003

Fall offers opportunity
for strategic introspection

Apples are falling to the ground. The air has turned crisp, and football has returned to our high school and college stadiums. It’s time to settle back in from our summer adventures and to once again take time to look ahead.

Four times a year the Economic Development Council of Snohomish County presents a Quarterly Economic Update designed to do just that. Each event — luncheons throughout the year and the EDC’s annual dinner in December — gives EDC members, community leaders and attendees from throughout Snohomish County an opportunity to temporarily step aside from the demands of the day to look at the larger picture. Each update is designed to spark new thinking in some area of strategic leadership.

At September’s luncheon, we were privileged to hear from Sally Jewell, chief operating officer of REI. Jewell helps lead what Forrester Research just called one of the nation’s two best multi-channel retailers. Before joining REI, Jewell spent 19 years in commercial banking, including serving as president of Washington Mutual’s commercial banking group.

Jewell’s message to Snohomish County was thought provoking, an essential back-to-basics message in an era of quick fixes:

We, as humans, and by extension our businesses, are resistant to change. It’s just human nature. Yet remaining flexible and willing to rapidly accommodate fluctuations in our societies, economies and marketplaces is central to creating the types of prosperous communities we aspire to. As Jewell said, we want things to stay the same, yet we know they can’t.

Jewell, a Pacific Northwest native and a member of the Governor’s Competitiveness Council, says that taking a rigorous look at who we are and what we want is what can make communities and companies great. If we’re going to have to embrace change in order to thrive, we need a clear consensus on what we choose to become.

“Businesses succeed when they have a clear sense of direction that is based on an honest assessment of their position and their opportunities,” she said. “This is where businesses and communities working together cooperatively can really bring focus to their core strengths, and shape a vision for their future.”

Fall is an annual opportunity to do just that. It’s a natural time for introspection. Companies’ focus turns to planning for the next year. We in the business world draft budgets, set goals, review strategy. As community members, we support our schools and select our governmental leaders by voting in fall elections. Fall is an ideal time to assess where we are as a region and work together to decide where we want to go.

Jewell’s message to Snohomish County and its communities offers clear guidance:

• Understand your community and what it has to offer. Be realistic.
• Support your existing businesses. Listen to them and help eliminate the barriers to their success.
• Cultivate your natural strengths to retain the talent you have and to grow more.
• Develop a vision that plays on your strengths.
• Look beyond your local community and support statewide programs that will help our state compete in the future.

Sure, there’s always room for improvement, but our area is blessed with a broad mix of strong and exciting companies, both large and small. Snohomish County companies are doing business around the world and among neighbors. We are home to companies who are here because this is where they want to live and work. This foundation gives us the opportunity to use this period of introspection to choose well where we want to go from here.

Because, as Jewell says, it’s easier to let go of the “from” if you know where the “to” is.

Deborah Knutson is president of the Snohomish County Economic Development Council. She can be reached at 425-743-4567 or by e-mail to dknutson@snoedc.org.

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