High-Touch Low-Touch

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The transformative impact of digital technology on our world and lives is indisputable. With the hard trends of processing speeds, bandwidth and cloud storage, there is no reason to expect this transformative force to subside. In fact, many argue it will accelerate. I recently listened to an online conversation by Gary Vaynerchuk on the topic of Internet bots and their implications across industries. In that conversation, Vaynerchuk made the comment that people prioritize their time over human interaction. In other words, speed, efficiency and accuracy are more important to people when conducting commerce than human interaction. A vote for Internet bots.

I can’t say that I unequivocally agree with Vaynerchuk although I can tell you I gravitate to those apps and e-commerce sites that bring high value and ease of use, such as Amazon. Nevertheless, personal human relationships mean a lot to my personal consumption habits. As an economic developer, I argue that successful local economies require a combination of high-touch and low-touch. Sure, the digital world will continue to disrupt our economies and there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop this tidal wave. We can only ensure that our digital infrastructure is state-of-the-art and our workforce, both existing and future, fully embrace entrepreneurship, technology and innovation. Nevertheless, we as humans make decisions where we live and issues of community, civility and local assets are important to these decisions. I believe these dimensions should become the focus of economic developers.

The practice of economic development should shift its focus from companies to people. The digital world with its effects of economic volatility and change highlights the folly of hunting and incentivizing companies. The most important asset to companies is people and people will define the future success of our communities. Economic developers need to focus on designing communities that attract people. Designing means more than tangible assets, it also means community cultures that embrace cooperation, collaboration and civility. This doesn’t just mean millennia’s and creative types, but people of all demographics and skill sets. Communities that ignore these fundamentals will continue to struggle trying to keep pace with a world that spends faster and faster. Create a great community and people will come. When people come, so will companies.

#High #Touch #Low