What Grows an Economy? …. PIE? ….. X-Factor?

The “What Grows an Economy?”  article in the November 22, 2010 Forbes issue  by Rich Karlgaard has some very interesting information which I find gives validity to the concept of planting PIE Teams.

He points out that “Since World War II the U.S. economy has averaged 3.3% GDP growth year. …. Right now the U.S. is in a “growth recession,” which we can define as statistical growth but at a subpar rate.”

It further points out “Carl Schramm, who heads America’s top entrepreneurial think tank, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, has a stunningly good insight into what causes an economy to grow. Growth, he says, correlates directly with startups that get big. …. He is quoted in an interview with Rich Karlgaard “The single most important contributor to a nation’s economic growth is the number of startups that grow to a billion dollars in revenue within 20 years.” He indicates the U.S. needs to spawn 75-125 billion-dollar babies every year in order to feed the country’s post WWII rate of growth.

This triggered in my mind the importance of planting Entrepreneur Productive Innovative Engines (PIE) Teams in our schools and jobless networks. In my previous blogs I discuss the concept of PIE Teams in:

     • Create Job Opportunities with PIE
     • Wanted Economy With Motor

     • Quality White Glove

Mr. Schramm states the “X factor” is startups that get big.

I suggest if we want to solve the problem of Jobs and a slow economy, we need policies that encourage PIE Teams to experiment with creating new products and services that have the potential for growing into big companies i.e., X factor effect.

The concept of Entrepreneur Productive Innovative Engine (PIE) Teams is that they are planted in Schools. Jobless Networks and within Industry as potential spin offs that will get those participating into a frame of mind of creating products and services that will result in new jobs.  In Industry these Teams may be called "Skunk Works."

A Team consists of the following Hats:
  - Business (Entrepreneur)
  - Customer (Marketplace
  - Technologist (Production/Service)
  - Engineer (Design & Development)
  - Scientist (Research)
  - Logistics (Global Supply Chain

These are discussed in detail in blogs at http://www.bcswonline.com/blog/index.html.

Hopefully these thoughts will be useful in getting the pipe-line primed for the X-factor companies that will be needed in the next 20 years.  Other thoughts regarding this concept are welcomed.