What is the strategy for Indy?

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Permalink Reply by Jon D. Speer on April 16, 2009 at 11:01am

Thanks, Michael. What are your thoughts on the topic?

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Permalink Reply by Jon D. Speer on April 16, 2009 at 11:07am

Chris,
Great comments! Two things that I hear all the time about Indy (and Indiana):

1. Centrally located and can reach 80% of N. America population within a days drive.
2. Low cost

Centrally located is an asset. Low cost is not. Who wants to be the cheapest?

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Permalink Reply by Aaron M. Renn on April 16, 2009 at 11:20am

I agree.

Cost is important, but unless you are the low cost producer, you can't compete strictly on cost. And with labor in China at pennies an hour and a globalized economy, Indy is never going to be a truly low cost location.

So while cost is important, the value you get for your money is critical. Educated people with high income potential demand more than a bare bones community. Hence the net brain loss from Indiana. Indy is holding its own, but cannot be described as a talent magnet. It is critical to raise the bar there.

In the short run people follow jobs, in the long run jobs follow people. You can't have a life sciences industry without life scientists. Why would these people choose Indianapolis given the high demand for their services in the marketplace?

Centrality is good, but is not an in-region differentiator. Nevertheless, I don't think we've fully exploited the geographic characteristics of our location.

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Permalink Reply by Jon D. Speer on April 16, 2009 at 11:31am

I believe you are correct about lack of strategy. I'd also love to develop one. :)
So how, some way, we will figure this out. Aaron is a great guy to connect with. I know how big a fan you are of bloggers, but you should read his blog The Urbanophile.

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy Schieler on April 16, 2009 at 11:37am

There's another discussion on SI where you are supposed to describe Indianapolis in 3 words or less
http://www.smallerindiana.com/forum/topics/3-words-or-lessno

It would be nice to have a paragraph of support for many of these statements. Some of these people might have some great ideas. Is there any way to encourage them to explain their thoughts?

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Permalink Reply by Jon D. Speer on April 16, 2009 at 11:56am

I posted a comment to that discussion inviting people to offer a comment here.

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy Schieler on April 16, 2009 at 11:57am

thanks, John!

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Permalink Reply by Nicki Laycoax on April 16, 2009 at 9:53pm

It served the intended purpose!

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Permalink Reply by Jack Pincus on April 17, 2009 at 10:13pm

Central location is an asset if the goal is to be a center of logistics. It's not really an asset for anything else.

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Permalink Reply by Jon D. Speer on April 17, 2009 at 10:43pm

And logistics is a pretty average industry.

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Zuber on April 19, 2009 at 4:02pm

Jon,
Logistics is a huge industry. It is one the fastest growing indutries in our state. Logistics and warehousing/distribution employees more than blue collar pick and pack workers it employes quality control experts, engineers and IT people all with good paying jobs. Good logistics also attracts good companies.

Indy ships more product than virtually any other city in the Midwest. Few other cities in the US shipn more warehoused product than Indy.

I think that a study showing the people employed as a direct result of Warehousing/distribution/Logistics versus being the "sports capital of the world" could be very interesting. Billions of tax dollars have been spent over the years on sports with a mediocre gain for business and employment versus millions in yearly payroll with little tax incentive for the logistic businesses.

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Permalink Reply by Jon D. Speer on April 19, 2009 at 4:24pm

Jeff,
I don't dispute your comments. In fact I agree. But logistics jobs are not hi-tech, innovative, or entrepreneurial. My question is this: Does Indy want to be known as a logistics capital of the U.S.? Maybe.

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