Changing work place dynamics: intellectual capital, teamwork. Rapid-fire advances in technology.

A Shifting Economic Floor-

Though there's now record coal production/many jobs are being lost through layoffs, shut-downs.

Kentucky's "New strength:" the high-wage auto industry.

There are many inherent weaknesses.

Tourism Development. Represented $1.9 billion in revenues in '80/$5.7 billion in 1992. The industry is not an antidote to poverty; it is characterized by unemployment. (These businesses are seasonal by nature) There is a need to emphasize local ownership.

Points of Opportunity - R&D -invested industry (we're building a base)

Kentucky's "information highway." Bio-tech and pharmaceuticals. Advanced materials; environmental remediation

Liabilities - our under-educated, inadequately trained workforce. Undercapitalized firms

The employer-employee contract is changing:

We're not doing well in terms of how income and employment is "done" in this state. We have:

1) Need to address the human infrastructure in Eastern Kentucky.

2) Great need for physical infrastructure development in same areas.

We must now expect "re-training" three to ten times in our lives!

Change will impact community in different ways. We've got a lot of assisting to do; we must address a lot of areas.

But what do we want: farms or production?

Farmers will produce for income, not for tradition! Tobacco provides money! Thus, the central problem of Kentucky farmers: to diversify. Show the market! They will.

We've been beaten to the draw so often. In Kentucky, every four years we change the Commissioner of Agriculture. North Carolinians has had the same one for thirty years! That's stability! A program not a new program every four years is what's needed!

Farmers need to find out what needs to be produced. We need a leadership group within agriculture. Then if it doesn't get done, someone is responsible! Who's responsible now? A consortium is farming. It involves the Commissioner, Ag 2000, the Universities, Farm Bureau, and others.

Small business is the backbone of Kentucky commerce.

$750 billion is spent on farm-related produce in the U.S. Only 20% goes to farmers, 80% goes to others in food production, processing, distribution and sales.

I once closed a 1,500-employee plant in a town of 8,000. That community had a crisis; they pulled together and the result was "a fabulous success story" for that community.

These charts, statistics make me believe that Kentucky has a crisis, and Kentucky needs to pull together.

Foreign-made clothes, cars, appliances, food, etc. dominate our existence!

Is Kentucky participating in this world market? Kentucky's exports are growing faster than the U.S. BUT! put this in perspective: the U.S. since '75 has had a continuously growing trade deficit! It was $15 billion in '93 alone. U.S. exports 8% of GNP. That percentage equals Bangladesh's.

Germany "exports" 30% of its GNP; France, 22%; Japan 19%.

We're not very "internationalized!" 14% of Kentucky businesses export; 80% do not! Why? Lack of knowledge, commitment, need. We need to wake up. The world market is $3.6 trillion. It's growing three times faster than the rest of world economy. The U.S. gets only 13% of that $3.6 trillion. Kentucky's share is sixteen thousandths of 1%.

We need policies, strategic to take advantage of the free trade agreements.

Exports create jobs! In Kentucky, the 90,000 jobs are already directly related to exports.

It's not easy to "hold market share" or increase share of market! Everyone's competing hard!

States must be aggressive, bold in their efforts.

First, we saw emerging "national" economies. Now, we see emerging international economies.

1) Globalization: it's not just the economy but our world views. These are expanding beyond the place we know. We must now think of "sustaining the global environment"

We're advising the former Soviet nations, and Third World nations. They're all thinking of stronger environmental contracts. Kentucky is exporting "environmental measures."

2) Changing Policy Options: We must think leadership, community development, and infrastructure!

We must harvest resources in a sustainable way. We must forge partnerships. "We must learn how to live in long-term measures." "Scientists" in Europe are in charge of environmental measures. Public Relations people do it in Canada. "Lawyers do it in America." We fight about these issues; we litigate our way through it! We must institutionalize a new way of thinking about this.

3) Mechanisms That Are In Place: Many opportunities are there: "sustainability" and "long-term thinking." Participation in local community efforts are crucial. We must learn to do that: build our civic capital-and not always look to Frankfort and Washington.

We must involve the young. They're the people who'll be dealing with this in the years to come. Programs like this should be included in KERA.

1) Direct participant? or a

2) Detached reporter/commentator?

These are now competing ideas in American journalism. Newspapers are the vehicle of public debate. They can serve either as:

b) Detached dissenter, independent reporter.

The media is "arguing" over their role. Should it focus on either of these two points:

1) The fact of economic/moral degradation ... or offer practical argument?

2) Where are we in Kentucky creating a critical mass of scholarship and research? Do

Is there a causal relationship? How do we harness this? Is it not just educate the people and the jobs will come? As in, "Build... and they will come"??

It takes talent, education. Menial jobs are now done by machines and the Third World. Critical thinking skills, no fear to tackle problems, basic skills, a good work ethic. That's what people hire for. We must think of education as a process, not a destination.

How do we provide the leadership we need in Kentucky?

The responsibility of the Press? First, get over the schizophrenia; it influences people in a powerful way. You should influence people in a positive way. You're a major player, long-term. In Myrtle Beach, SC, the newspaper was the impetus to help move the community forward.

Commenter: Kentucky needs to access and support its border states' initiatives too.

Leadership? Leadership Louisville's been going for 15 years. At the state level, there's Leadership Kentucky, which has just completed its tenth year.

We've got to think about "Process:" Today, we've projected trends; we would also look at extremes.

The "givens" are these:

Many pluses have been noted:

Coupled with these is a

Solutions must be integrated, collaborative and interwoven. Effectiveness may be translated

as quality: doing what we intend to do. Quality/effectiveness reduces cost.

Solutions arise from within communities of people which have effective leadership. Kentucky does not have a good track on this. For effective community leaders, "systems thinking" is required. Our first priority is to help leaders learn applied systems thinking. For example, great education system with no job opportunities at the end is bad. Today is a beginning. The real work comes as we seek to collaborate.

We must stop to build that bridge rather than just moving on as we always have. The future depends on what we decide.