Am I doing enough?

This article is found in the April edition of Triangle Business Leader and can be found online at http://www.businessleadermagazine.com/.

"Am I doing enough?" This is a common question for business leaders even when they are growing their business and taking an active role in their community.

It's a question I'm struggling with these days. I fear I'm not doing enough for our state and for the people who will be here after me.

Consider the previous generations who made my success - our success - possible. I do not expect to measure up to visionary leaders like the pioneers of Research Triangle Park. But I'm also thinking of the anonymous heroes who supported those leaders. Am I, is my peer group, adequately filling their shoes?

We certainly have the opportunity. When historians reflect on the turn of the 21st century in North Carolina, surely they will mark this as a time of transformation. They'll note the region's evolution from a manufacturing-based to a knowledge-centric economy, from small family farms to agribusiness enterprises and from the home of thriving regional companies to a hub for global businesses.

This time will be remembered as a period of dramatic growth and success for our region. It will also be judged as a critical moment for addressing the infrastructure demands brought on by growth.

I expect history will praise today's leaders for leading North Carolina through this transformation. But I wonder if they will also hail the leaders of decades past who had the foresight, vision and even the courage to lay the foundation for the success this generation enjoys.

Will they credit Research Triangle Park pioneers like former governor Luther Hodges and UNC-Chapel Hill professor George Simpson for their indirect, but critical role in bringing global companies like Credit Suisse, Fidelity Investments and Lenovo to the Triangle?

More recent visionaries like former governor James B. Hunt and Charles Hamner are able to see the fruits of their labor. In 1984, Gov. Hunt and the General Assembly established the North Carolina Biotechnology Center as the first government-sponsored biotechnology center. Charles Hamner led the Center through its defining years. Today, North Carolina is routinely considered one of the top three states for biotechnology with companies like Biogen Idec, Wyeth, Salix and Talecris. These businesses provide industry leadership and high-paying jobs. North Carolina's biotechnology resources and reputation are the envy of other states and nations who, only recently, are investing to catch up.

These visionaries and many others led North Carolina in making the investments and tough decisions that fuel the quality of life we enjoy today. Many of the investments were in infrastructure, research and seed money that got ideas off the ground. Equally important and sometimes overlooked were progressive-minded decisions involving commitment to education, land conservation and even civil rights.

As we look to a future where dramatic change occurs in moths rather than decades, I wonder whether we are adequately envisioning new possibilities for our region. Are we making the necessary investments and doing the foundational work that will deliver transformational results in 30, 40 or 50 years?

Are today's business leaders, often required to spend more time on Wall Street than Main Street, able and willing to play an active role in leading their communities forward?

In a highly charged political environment, do today's elected officers have the fortitude to defer near-term gratification for long-term results? Will their constituents support vision and innovation, or simply accept the status quo?

Where are tomorrow's big ideas? Are they in the universities? In government? In the private sector?

If I had the answers, maybe I'd run for office. But I have a hunch that our next big idea is taking shape in a distinctly unglamorous setting - much like the parking lot where Charles Hamner held the first meeting of the NC Biotechnology Center. I think there are entrepreneurs out there - young and seasoned.

They are waiting patiently for the right meeting, where someone will finally understand their vision and help them go for it - maybe with help from the state's Green Business Fund. I want to be in those meetings, hear those ideas, and find ways to be a part of what's next.

Karen Albritton is president at Capstrat, a strategic communications firm using interactive communications, public relations and marketing communications to connect with audiences that matter most to clients. Albritton offers expertise in strategic planning and positioning with 10 years of experience in media direction. Albritton specializes in financial services and telecommunications and is recognized as one of the leading Triangle in business.