MLK - A Legacy of Leading Without Authority

The reason why we lead without authority is because there’s a scarcity of leadership from people with authority.  People who try to exercise leadership without authority are often perceived as deviants and troublemakers.  The fact that they are trying to gain something that they do not have is the issue.  When people take on informal authority it is because they do not see leadership being executed.  This is leading without authority.

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            The life of Martin Luther King is a testament to the virtue of leading without authority.  King challenged the status quo and sought to paint a vision of the future in broad yet defining strokes.  He championed unity as a means to an end where all Americans are bound not by race or economic status but by the inherent values as individuals.  But to achieve his dream the only option available to him was to lead without authority.

            Because he did not have a defined constituency and that he lacked the authenticity of an elected official he used a multiplicity of venues to reach a greater audience across America.  The battle was fought on the streets of Alabama, nonviolent protests, in the court System, in the bus terminals and in small town diners.

            Martin Luther King, Jr. did not allow the fact that he had no formal authority to keep him from leading.  He successfully exercised leadership from the root of the table, from outside the formal organization and left a legacy on the virtue of leadership.  The reason why Martin was able to lead successfully was because he had in place a wide network of informal authority in the community at large and he used this informal authority to recruit and excite people about the possibility of a better future. 

            Leaders gain informal authority when they have the respect of a diverse audience with a compelling urgency to bring forth change.  It happens best when people believe in the leader, trust his judgment and the leader uses the moral persuasion needed to convince people to want to be led.  At a minimum, Martin’s sense of constructive impatience was a strong motivation to the many Blacks of his day who saw a courageous man with the audacity to challenge the establishment.   

            People who lead without authority know how to seize the moment, focus attention on the issue.  They do not seek permission but have a sense of purpose.  Martin Luther King was not an elected politician; he did not have a formal constituency; but demonstrated a compelling urgency to challenge the system.

            This begs the question – Why do people lead without authority?  First, they lead without authority when there’s an absence of authority…when there’s an absence of leadership…and so when the people that are supposed to be leading fail, it is Mavericks like Martin who move to fill the vacuum of leadership. 

            I have found key lessons from the life of Martin Luther King that is applicable to the challenges that we all face at our various organizations.  Martin was an inspiration to all of us because he showed us how to lead from where we are.  He showed us that leadership is best exercised when there is a cause.  Martin showed us how to transform society.

            But, the problem about leading without authority is that it is a dangerous expedition, because it often over-simplifies the complexity of the situation and underestimates the reaction that will come from the establishment.  When you lead without authority, the real authority is unwilling to sit idly by and watch things unfold.  For those with the courage to lead, it is a noble calling that may bring unanticipated consequences. 

            MLK was assassinated in the midst of his leadership journey.  His life was cut short in the prime of his life and his effort to transform a divided nation.  Yet he was successful in translating an ideal to a cause and ultimately into results.  Even in his absence the dream unfolded over time. 

            The ability to lead without authority is present even among us today.  You see it occurring with people that believe passionately in what they are doing and are not deterred by cynicism and fear.  We need more people that are willing to take a stand for what is noble and what is right, individuals who are not content with things as they are and are eager to make things better.

            I believe everybody ultimately gets the opportunity to lead without authority.  It is that defining moment in our lives when we are asked to step up to the plate and say “I’m going to stand for what is right when principle is more than a word, when we develop the capacity to see around corners.  Martin recognized that the future belongs to those who can see it. His I Have A Dream conversation with America gave us a blueprint on leading and assures us all that it is within us 

            As we celebrate the life and contributions of Martin Luther King Jr. I urge you to remember that he taught us not to be afraid to lead from where we are.  He showed us that status quo is not an acceptable option.  He challenged us to look beyond our present and to create a future that is greater, better and more fulfilling.  Martin showed us that we all have moral authority and to lead without authority. 

Benjamin Ola. Akande, Ph.D. President BOA Consulting, St. Louis, Missouri

Job talk: St. Louis must find its competitive advantage

8-Jan-2010
Published in: St. Louis Beacon
Author: Mary Delach Leonard

As the U.S. economy heals from the worst recession since the Great Depression, the St. Louis region must define its new competitive advantage, says Benjamin Akande, dean of Webster University's School of Business and Technology.

"This is an opportunity not only for St. Louis but for many cities around the Midwest," Akande told the Beacon during a recent interview. "The cities that are able to embrace creativity and innovation and refuse to remain flat-footed are going to own the future."

Akande said the region must be forward-thinking in developing new strategies to create new jobs.

"What are we going to call our competitive advantage? What can we do that nobody else can do -- that nobody else could do if they wanted to," Akande said. "It begs the question: Is St. Louis going to be relegated to the past? Or, are we going to be prepared to play an even more important role in the area of health care, in the area of alternative energy, in the area of new technology in rails and transportation that will replace the old technology of automobiles."

Akande believes that many of the jobs lost in the recession were going to be lost eventually due to the competitiveness of the global economy. Companies will transfer operations to other places where their costs of doing business are lower -- and there is no way to mandate that they stay, he added.

The local auto industry took a big hit, as did Anheuser-Busch and Pfizer after those companies were involved in major mergers, he said. But he points to recent expansions of local companies such as Edward Jones, Express Scripts and the Centene Corp. -- despite the recession -- as a sign that St. Louis could be finding a new competitive advantage.

Akande said that developing a new strategy is not all up to the government.

"It's going to take individuals, foundations that have been fortunate to survive the recession and have significant resources available to them to be able to say, 'This is the area where we're going to plant some seeds that will help St. Louis,' " he said. "We have an opportunity here. Will this opportunity be allowed to pass us by or are we going to grab it and make it something significant?"

Akande, who recently visited Dubai, shared his perspectives on that emirate's financial troubles in an earlier Beacon story. Here are more of his perspectives on unemployment and the local economy:

ON LOCAL RE-EMPLOYMENT

Although there are signs of the recession ending, it will be some time before companies begin hiring again, Akande cautioned.

"This is a very steep valley; we're in deep. For us to be able to emerge out of it is going to take some time, but we're starting to move out of that valley," he said. "A lot of organizations are very cautious about hiring again. They're stretching themselves, trying to do the work as long as possible with what they have. That is the missing ingredient of this recovery. I believe that we will not begin to see any sort of significant uptick on that until the middle of the first quarter of 2010."

Akande said that as the region defines its competitive advantage, resources should be targeted to retrain workers in those areas.

"We've got a lot of folks who are unemployable because they don't have the skill sets that are transferable. They're sitting at home from the assembly line of Chrysler, and they're thinking, 'What do I do next?' " he said.

ON THE RECENT WHITE HOUSE JOBS SUMMIT

Had he been invited to President Barack Obama's summit on jobs in early December, Akande said that -- among other points -- he would have encouraged reform of the federal capital gains tax.

"You don't punish people for investing in companies and stocks, and you don't levy huge taxes on them when they make these kinds of purchases or when they sell them," he said. "I think that would be a great boost especially to small businesses in the U.S. looking for fresh capital."

Allowing businesses to expense immediately up to $250,000 of certain capital investments (such as equipment) would also help with business cash flow, Akande said.

"And, again, what this does is it gives small businesses a cover and would reduce the cost of capital and may eventually spur the employment market, which, in essence, is frozen right now," he said.

Akande would advise against another economic stimulus plan similar to last February's $786 billion package that he said was designed around "a grab bag of money dedicated to so-called public works and funding that have done nothing so far to really help revive the economy."

"The most significant portion of that money is yet to be spent," he said. "The problem with that is by the time it is spent, it's not going to have the impact it was meant to have. Compare that to China that was able to infuse significant spending in areas where they were able to boost their infrastructure and economy. And as a result, China is essentially out of the recession."

Akande would also warn against unlimited deficit spending.

"It's not just spending but good economic management and decisions by the government -- and holding people responsible for what has put us into this mess in the first place," Akande said. "I would like to see a very strong financial regulation put to vote in the next few months that would ensure that what has happened will not happen again."

ON THE PFIZER LAYOFFS

Akande believes the region should be actively working to provide an "economic blanket" for scientists and researchers who want to create new businesses in the region after they are laid off from Pfizer. Most existing unemployment programs are tailored toward assisting workers with less education and experience.

"This is an opportunity for St. Louis, and I want to believe that there is a conversation taking place at the very highest levels of the city and county about what to do," he said. "What do we do in terms of making sure that we can harness their skills and keep them in St. Louis? What are some of the possibilities? Are they even talking to the scientists as to what some of their ideas might be? Do we set up a think tank that enables these scientists to take their ideas and convert them to businesses? We provide offices, facilities and resources to assist those who have ideas about creating the next Pfizer."

Akande said he worries that, in fact, little is being done to ensure that St. Louis retains these highly skilled workers.

"They're going to go somewhere where the opportunities exist,'' he said. "Where the chances are stronger that they are going to be able to regain their careers and lives.''

Akande said he has met a number of Pfizer employees -- many of them top scientists with doctorates from some of the top schools in the world.

"You're looking into their eyes and they're telling you, 'I've got credentials here. I've worked hard to be where I am. I'm a contributor and I'm out of a job,' '' Akande said. "And they look around and there's nothing. For me I think it's pretty devastating for St. Louis because I don't think St. Louis knows what to do with them.''

Take Five: Webster's Benjamin Akande Talks About Dubai

14-Dec-2009
Published in: St. Louis Beacon
Author: Mary Delach Leonard

Despite its current economic woes, don't count Dubai out in its goal to become the world's financial hub, says Benjamin Akande, dean of Webster University's School of Business and Technology, who is just back from a trip to the Middle Eastern emirate.

As Akande predicted in an interview with the Beacon on Saturday, Dubai World -- the state-owned holding company of Dubai -- will be bailed out by the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai World sent international financial markets into a tizzy after it announced in late November that it was seeking to restructure $26 billion in real-estate debt. The U.A.E. will pump $10 billion into Dubai World to keep its real-estate unit, Nakheel, operating while the company negotiates with its creditors.

Akande, a professor of economics, is a well-traveled world observer who has headed the business school since 2000. Webster serves about 13,000 business students on campuses in the United States, Europe and Asia.

The response by Main Street Dubaians to the current financial turmoil offers a lesson in resilience, Akande noted.

Here are excerpts from the interview:

What took you to Dubai?

Akande: This was my first trip to the remarkable city-state of Dubai, and it was an interesting visit.

I was there to attend a meeting of business school deans. We had a chance to engage deans from business schools located in the Middle East, to share ideas and perspectives on curriculum.

I was also there to meet with alumni of Webster University in the Middle East, specifically in Dubai. Webster has a significant presence of alumni in that area.

In lay terms, what is the current economic situation in Dubai?

Akande: Less than 50 years ago, Dubai was essentially just a very small place with nothing but sand. The inhabitants were fishermen, and they dove for pearls from the sea. It is a place that in a very short period of time has put itself on the map, transformed itself into an international hub for the Middle East.

A couple of weeks ago, the emirate of Dubai announced that it wanted to renegotiate -- or reschedule -- payments on $26 billion of debt. It created a lot of problems because the investors who loaned this money to Dubai never thought in their wildest dreams that Dubai would be in a situation where they're calling to reschedule their debt.

It is an unfolding story, but it has provoked a lot of conversation and premature assessments on the demise of this city-state -- that it was on the verge of collapse.

They are not defaulting. They are asking to reschedule, and this does not rise to the most recent default we've experienced, which was the one in 2001 of Argentina, which defaulted $100 billion. In that sense, Dubai will turn out to be a minor hiccup when it's all said and done.

For those who are saying it is over for Dubai, my suggestion is don't underestimate the ability and the capacity of this emirate to successfully defy convention.

What is the root of the current economic problems in Dubai, which, unlike other Arab states, has limited oil and natural resources?

Akande: Dubai's strategy has been to become the regional hub for commerce and tourism for the Middle East and Asia, and I believe it's in the process of becoming just that.

When I arrived in Dubai, it was around midnight. As the plane landed, you could see this remarkable formation called the Palm Islands. It is staggering when you see it -- how you can create an island that looks like palm trees from the air, lighted up from one end to the other with magnificent homes and financial facilities and the best of the best.

You get to the airport at midnight, and it is packed with thousands of people coming in and leaving. That for me was the first indication that this was a very different kind of place. At midnight in St. Louis, no one is at the airport.

This state has become a major real-estate haven. And it is not just in Dubai but also its investments -- they own Barneys New York, they own MGM in Las Vegas. In an effort to build all these facilities, they took huge loans. When the price of oil began to fall, and a number of those facilities were not immediately occupied, it started creating a bubble for the real estate subsidiary and so they found themselves in this process.

They're asking for new terms on debt, particularly as it relates to their real estate area, a company called Nakheel -- the real-estate wing of Dubai World.

How will Dubai weather the storm?

Akande: I don't believe it will fail. The United Arab Emirates has a sovereign wealth fund of $900 billion. So even though they've gone on record and said that they're not going to bail them out -- it's a private matter. Let me assure you, at the end of the day if it came to that, Abu Dhabi [the capital of the U.A.E.] will bail out their brother emirates. (Note: A partial bailout was announced today.)

I give you a parallel for that. It's like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the U.S. When they run into trouble, what do we do? We bail them out. The U.A.E. will not allow a default, and I don't think that's where we're going.

I really feel this will be resolved in the next few weeks or so. I believe in the case of Dubai, this is a strategic step in negotiation where you get new terms that are better in a very difficult economy, so they are better positioned to succeed.

Dubai is also a major port for transshipment in the Iraqi war and Afghanistan, and so you see a lot of ships and folks coming through there on a daily basis and pumping billions into that economy.

My prediction is you're going to see the completion of the current construction that spans the landscape because if you don't finish the construction, you lose everything you've done. Construction might be more modest than initially planned, but at the end of the day, I think Dubai is facing what we in the U.S. have faced for the past 18 months. And I wouldn't bet against them.

Did you see indications of tough times in Dubai?

Akande: I was looking for evidence of a downtrodden economy. What I found was construction everywhere. Construction cranes working overtime. What I saw was a bustling Dubai Mall, the largest mall in the world with over 1,200 stores. What I saw was an incessant drive to do what they believe will set them aside as the financial hub of the Middle East, if not the world, one day.

I was looking for sales in different outlets. I was seeking evidence that "we're closed for business.'' I was engaged in conversations with Dubaians and people who live and work there. What they tell me is that this is a speed bump of sorts, but business continues unabated.

There is a tendency that when things are down and not as they should be, that we fold up our tents and go home. We believe that by laying low for a while, that perhaps at the end of the day, things will fix themselves. What I saw in Dubai was a level of resiliency and an audacious capacity to say we're going to keep on keeping on. That's what they've done.

I visited the world's largest indoor skiing facility, which is inside the largest mall in the world, and what I saw were mostly Europeans and Americans skiing, and a lot of Dubaians watching. And it was jam-packed and people were spending money, doing their holiday shopping.

It sends us a message. For us to move beyond this recession, we need to be cautious, but we need to be optimistic. We need to get back up again and find a way to do what successful nations do: To continue to find a way to create jobs, to create spending opportunities, to revive ourselves, to learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of others -- and to move forward.

Express Scripts, Centene Highlights of Difficult 2009

11-Dec-2009
Published in: St. Louis Business Journal
Author: Gil Stuenkel

The St. Louis County economy is not quite firing on all cylinders yet, but those who closely watch the employment picture see encouraging signs.

After beginning 2009 with a jobless rate of 8 percent, St. Louis County saw its unemployment rate shoot to 9.7 percent by June, according to data from the Missouri Department of Economic Development. The rate has since begun to decline; it was 9.3 percent in October.

The county's job market took some hits, among them the closing of Chrysler's operations in Fenton, affecting 1,200 workers there, and the loss of 600 jobs at Pfizer's facilities in Chesterfield. Still, the county's diverse economic base helped it show "some resilience," according to Denny Coleman, president and CEO of the St. Louis County Economic Council.

The bright spots most often cited are financial services and health care. Notably, Edward Jones, Scottrade, Express Scripts and Centene Corp. all expanded this year despite the lingering recession.

Thanks to its $4.7 billion acquisition of WellPoint's pharmacy benefits management unit, Express Scripts is poised to become the region's largest publicly owned entity. Benjamin Ola Akande, dean of the school of business and professor of economics at Webster University, believes the company isn't done growing.

"They have accounted for more than $400 billion in economic impact in the last three years," he said. "I see them making (more) strategic acquisitions."

Express Scripts currently is building a high-volume prescription fulfillment center here that will create 270 jobs. Construction of the $60 million, 12-acre expansion at NorthPark is under way and scheduled for completion next April. The center will feature state-of-the-art pharmacy automation for the dispensing, packaging and shipment of 110,000 prescriptions a day.

Edward Jones plans to add 250 jobs as part of its latest expansion. That number is in addition to the 500 jobs the firm added in exchange for state tax credits to help finance its $260 million campus in Maryland Heights, where it recently added a 372,000-square-foot building. The new jobs will be spread between the company's North campus in Maryland Heights and its South campus in Des Peres.

Scottrade this year purchased two buildings and two parcels of land in Maryville Centre, and it announced earlier that it would add 250 information technology jobs.

Akande sees Scottrade as a growing global force in online securities trading. "This is a home-grown company with global impact," he said. "It puts St. Louis on the map as one of the financial capitals of the new generation."

Centene's $186 million headquarters in Clayton will be that city's first new office building since 2001, and it will comprise more than 460,000 square feet of office space and more than 28,000 square feet of retail space. Centene, which provides managed care programs and related services to individuals under Medicaid, will fill about 200,000 square feet of the space.

Future opportunities

As 2009 draws to a close, the county is "well-positioned for a rebound," said Rod Nunn, vice chancellor for work force development for St. Louis Community College. "Too often we fixate on the jobless rate from month to month, and this contributes to a negative investor and consumer psyche."

Akande said the area should emphasize attracting manufacturing companies that will recognize the availability of workers. "And we have idle plants, big spaces," he said. "St. Louis County really has the opportunity to reinvent itself."

Manufacturing now accounts for 12 percent of the county's economy, Akande said. Higher education and health care make up 21.6 percent, and financial services represents another 9 percent.

Johnson sees plant science and nutrition as an emerging area where St. Louis is well-positioned to take a world leadership role. "We are on the front edge of revolutionary developments in plant science and technology related to agriculture," he said.

County Executive Charlie Dooley said the completed rebuild of Interstate 64/Highway 40 and new construction on Highway 141 will have a big impact next year. The completion of the work on Highway 141 will open thousands of acres in west St. Louis County for new development.

Steve Johnson, senior vice president of the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, said there has been a "significant increase in (out-of-town) companies looking for new facilities." However, he cautioned it would be six months to two years before any of those inquiries lead to new area jobs.

Gil Stuenkel is a St. Louis freelance writer.

Getting St. Louis IT on the Dean's List

12-Aug-2009
Published in: St. Louis Commerce Magazine
Author: Bill Beggs, Jr.

Someone once referred to the Mississippi River and environs as "the Third Coast." If that's the case, St. Louis is smack dab in the middle, between other big river (coastal) cities such as Minneapolis and New Orleans. This puts our information technology fortunes in perspective, if you consider the popular mythology that nothing much happens in this sector anywhere but on the East or Left coasts.

Those in the know would encourage the great unwashed to take a closer look at what the St. Louis IT Coalition and business incubators, plus civic and corporate forces throughout the region, are doing to raise the bar for this tech sector on both of our coasts; i.e., the east and west banks of the Mississippi.

None of this would be possible, of course, without a strong commitment from colleges and universities throughout the region.

We surveyed a sampling of the business and technology "brain trust" deans, chairs and other leaders at college and university business schools in Missouri and Illinois to get their perspective on what's happening, and what the future holds, here on the Third Coast.

Here are the questions we posed:

What can higher education in St. Louis do to attract IT talent to the region?

Since many IT grads tend to move around as they move up, how do we keep them engaged so that they remain here rather than leave for a job on a coast?

How is the incubator environment and the corporate community rising to the challenge of IT workforce development and retention? Are we indeed "on the Dean's List"? If not, how do we get there, and where do we stand now in comparison to other IT-savvy regions of the country?

Here's what our sources had to share:

Keith Womer, Dean

College of Business Administration University of Missouri-St. Louis

Our focus is on educating the St. Louis workforce. Our undergraduate, masters and Ph.D. programs in information systems are focused on the intersection between business and information technology. Some of our students start with us right out of high school, but others come back for a new focus on their career.

At the undergraduate level, we mostly are involved with developing IT talent for St. Louis rather than attracting it. One message that we all need to deliver is that IT is a good starting point for a career in business. We also need to communicate the message that there are good, entry-level IT jobs in the United States. Of course, there is a great deal of messaging on the other side of this issue to counteract. The UMSL Summer Camp Extreme IT is one of our efforts to combat this perception.

The need for professional IT project managers is great and, in my opinion, this is the crucial next step for many IT professionals. We support the search for IT talent by providing the graduate programs in business and information systems that permit IT professionals to move from implementing technology to managing the IT workforce. UMSL's Masters of Information Systems program and the Information Systems emphasis in our MBA program provide this crucial link for those who are serious about an IT career in business.

In addition to the availability of graduate education, to retain IT talent, St. Louis must provide a work life that is second to none. Companies that are regularly ranked among the best places to work have little trouble holding on to their talent in IT or in other fields. On the other hand, a company that quickly moves to outsource its IT work whenever the economic wind changes will find that holding onto IT talent is very difficult indeed. I think the key to retaining IT talent is demonstrating that the company is willing to invest in talented people. This is not just paying market wages, but committing to education and corresponding career development. I believe that progressive companies are doing this, but we need more of them.

At UMSL, IT Enterprises (ITE) is designed to be a major force in translating innovative ideas into thriving businesses in the fields of information technology and life sciences. To succeed in this mission, the enterprise offers state-of-the-art infrastructure and access to the expertise of university faculty and students. In concert with the University of Missouri's fourth mission, ITE fosters innovation to support knowledge-based economic development. ITE provides all of the services that IT entrepreneurs need to start successful companies.

I believe that we have the programs and opportunities that are necessary for St. Louis to be among the very best places to pursue an IT career. What we need to do is to let young folks know what the entry opportunities are and to work diligently to insure that there is a clear career progression from those entry positions to the very top.

Benjamin Akande, Dean

School of Business & Technology, Webster University

Business schools should seek out young men and women who have demonstrated potential and interest, and invest time and resources to develop them. Retaining talent can only happen if there exists a formalized collaboration between B-schools and the IT sector.

St. Louis' effort through the IT Coalition and RCGA is gradually yielding fruit. St. Louis has a plan and is committed. In time, we will own a piece of the sector.

Craig Klimczak, Vice Chancellor

Technology & Educational Support Services St. Louis Community College

High-paying IT jobs still in high demand require years of educational preparation and experience. Further, IT technologies continue to rapidly evolve thus demanding lifelong learning. Higher education institutions need to continue to evolve their IT educational programs to remain current with the changing technologies and create new non-traditional professional development offerings. Professional growth and development are often tied to educational attainment, so St. Louis area higher education institutions need to provide this access.

IT grads seek rapid promotion and want to work on interesting projects. The St. Louis region needs to develop a critical mass of IT development project opportunities and embrace a mobile workforce. St. Louis IT culture is one of long-term employment focused around systems maintenance. Shifting our thinking to look at IT projects as construction projects opens the door for a more mobile IT talent workforce. As one project ends, those skills can move to the next organization in need of them.

For this to occur, IT organizations need to act more collegial by sharing their future opportunities with other IT organizations that are wrapping up projects. Local organizations such as the IT Coalition and St. Louis Works are promoting these relationships among local employers. Further, both are working to inform the IT workforce of opportunities.

The incubator environment thrives on the mobile talent workforce and thus provides the opportunities to work on new and interesting projects. These opportunities keep the best and brightest engaged and working in our community. Retention needs to be viewed as retention in the region, not necessarily with the same company.

We need to rally business and community support around the efforts of the RCGA, St. Louis Works and the IT Coalition. These groups are promoting the region's IT talent base and are working to build the collegial environment that will sustain a mobile yet engaged IT workforce. Creative people need a variety of opportunities to stay fresh and engaged.

Robert Talbott, Professor

School of Business and Entrepreneurship Lindenwood University

To attract IT talent to the region, we need to offer educational courses in the latest technology and to show the benefits thereof. Moreover, we need to show how critical IT is to our region, how St. Louis has a large number of companies that rely heavily upon IT, and that there are abundant opportunities to develop a hearty network among IT professionals in the region.

A primary concern for IT workers is staying current in their field. To keep them engaged, they need to be provided with opportunities to improve themselves and to update their skill sets. In addition, competitive salaries and bonuses are still quite important, along with opportunities for promotion and development and generous accommodations for personal and/or family time.

Regarding IT workforce development and retention in the corporate environment, I feel that the corporate community could do much in the way of improvement. IT workers move from one job to the next based upon the lack of job satisfaction, which is abundantly recognized not only in the job network but also in scholarly articles. This lack of satisfaction can come from varied sources: weak promotional opportunities, overwork, poor development opportunities, poor compensation/raises, family-work imbalance, and the like. Rising to the challenge of IT workforce development and retention is achievable but may cut into the short-term bottom line. Consequently, organizations must weigh any short-term losses against strategic long-term gains. Retaining IT workers means retaining an organization's IT and (to some extent) business knowledge, prized company assets.

We are striving to be a recognized region, though some will remain dominant for decades: e.g.; Silicon Valley, Redmond, Wash., etc. St. Louis has had numerous IT breakthroughs, but to become a top player, the area will need considerable, highly visible breakthroughs in IT across different industries, along with strong entrepreneurial IT ventures. Moreover, the promotion of our existing IT base: i.e., the IT workforce and the existing companies that rely heavily on IT and are industry leaders' is vital. In addition, area universities must continue to develop research and to offer courses in leading technologies, from academic and practitioner standpoints.

Kian Pokorny, Ph.D.

Associate Professor & Chair, Division of Computing McKendree University

Over the past five years at McKendree we have experienced approximately a 40 percent decline in the number of students choosing one of its computing majors, compared with the 70 percent decline in undergraduates choosing a computer science major nationwide. Many of those entering the first course are unprepared for computer programming, which has traditionally been the first introduction to the computing disciplines for entering college students. High schools do not have a uniform curriculum in computing and students do not understand what career opportunities exist in IT.

We have taken several actions in recent years that have had a positive impact. First, we diversified our degree programs. In the past, we had the traditional majors in Computer Science and Computer Information Systems. Now we have added new majors in Information Technology, Interactive Media and Computational Science. These new majors provide options for students that help to initiate the inquiring process for many students. They begin to realize that there are many career paths in the IT field, not just solitary confinement to a cubicle as a programmer.

Secondly, we have restructured our introductory courses to allow students to experience a larger view of the IT world in their first year of college. The first semester course goes beyond computer programming to introduce topics in database and network administration; computer architecture and organization; software engineering; artificial intelligence and game programming; and careers in computing. Students begin thinking about the vast career options in the IT world and receive an overview of topics to come if they choose one of the computing majors.

These two strategies have enticed new students who would not have been interested in the rigid introductory programming/calculus sequence of our traditional Computer Science major or the rogramming/accounting I & II sequence that begins our traditional Computer Information Systems major. Our Information Technology major appeals to those teenage whiz kids that own and maintain enough computing equipment to run a small country. The Interactive Media major attracts students who are visually inspired. Game programming is the big pull for this one, but also students are reminded that simulation software and scientific visualization also fall under this category. Our Computational Science major allows students to incorporate areas of application in the degree program. Students can specialize in areas such as biology, chemistry or economics and finance allowing them to experience how integral computers are in helping people in the world solve difficult problems. We continue to maintain strongest enrollment in the CS and CIS majors.

The bottom line is that we have recognized that the student population has changed over the past 10 years as has society's use of technology. Students are not just interested in computers for the sake of computers. Heck, everyone has one. Students want to do something important with their lives. They want options that impact society. One of the goals of our new programs is to show how computers and information technology helps solve the difficult problems the world faces.

Gary Giamartino, Ph.D.

Dean and Professor of Management School of Business, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Is there an IT talent "deficit" in the region? I've heard folks claim that, but I have never seen any data to support the notion. I think we are growing splendid IT talent in the region, now.

Let's think about what resources we have in the area: major universities that engage in research and teaching, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs that should be able to meet the region's needs. A number of smaller colleges and universities that have undergraduate IT-oriented programs. Several community colleges that deliver technically oriented curricula.

With all those educational institutions producing graduates every year, I am not convinced that there is a deficit in IT talent in the region. We see more indicators that the number of undergraduate students majoring in information systems in our business school will continue to grow as long as students believe that there are productive careers to be made in IT. Much of the media coverage in recent years of IT outsourcing led people to believe that there would not be good career opportunities in IT.

There may not be as many innovative IT companies in this region as one would find in Boston or the Silicon Valley, but there are some outstanding innovative IT companies that have been started by regional IT talent. We should not be so quick to discount the talent and resources that are here. We should do everything we can to continue to grow those resources for the future.

There are encouraging signs that the corporate community recognizes the need to have an innovative, vibrant climate in which entrepreneurial IT companies can grow and flourish. The leaders involved in the St. Louis IT Coalition have demonstrated their support by sponsoring awareness-raising events like the Gateway to Innovation Conference and the Emerging Technology Forum series. Both events stress skill building for individuals, benchmarking best practices of corporate performance, and innovative ways in which companies are using IT to solve business problems.

John Lewington, Ph.D., Associate Dean

John E. Simon School of Business Maryville University

I don't know of any stats to measure the "Dean's List." However, I don't think we are on the list compared to California, Washington State, or the New England area. Our region is focused on biotech...Monsanto, Novus International, Danforth Center, Bunge, etc. A city our size cannot spread itself across too many business sectors.

That said, the region needs to provide programs that deal with the present needs of IT-courses that focus on project management, and the new virtual economy. The Internet has, and is continuing to, increase productivity in marketing and supply chain management.

We have award-winning companies in the virtual space–e.g., Scottrade and leaders in healthcare cost management–e.g., Express Scripts–that are both dependent upon cutting-edge IT to manage their businesses.

Washington University and Saint Louis University both have large entrepreneurship research grants and programs. There's always money for great ideas.