Talent Clustering Is the Solution to Southern Utah’s Brain Drain By Brad Plothow
Y
ears ago, I was attending an expo event and noticed that I was unconsciously attracted to the booths with the most people gathered around. It seemed counterintuitive since I don’t like crowds, and the busy booths felt chaotic. Still, something about a gathering whispers that “the good stuff is here.”
Expo crowds are a microcosm of an economic concept called “clustering.” When more people clamor around a particular booth, the vendor makes more money and exposes his products to more people, which leads to network effects that further increase brand awareness and sales. To borrow a business cliche, clustering creates a flywheel. There is a lesson here for southern Utah’s next chapter of economic and business growth. If you can create an environment that consistently attracts talented people and incentivizes them to collaborate, it will create a ton of economic benefit for everyone. Of course, a fixation on masses of people misses the point. You need a mix of the right skills and experiences to create a “talent cluster.”
10 Southern Utah Business Magazine :: Summer 2022
