SCHWARTZ CROSSROADS

MTLC Annual Meeting Sheds Insight Into Recovery

I joined the Schwartz high-tech PR delegation that attended the Mass Technology Leadership Council's (MTLC) annual meeting yesterday. As a quick piece of background, the MTLC is a major industry group in New England. The group provides networking, education and leadership to the various market sectors that comprise the technology industry in the state. Interestingly enough, current MTLC Executive Director Tom Hopcroft worked at Schwartz Communications earlier in his career.

The clear highlight of the meeting for me was a keynote address given by Michael Mandel, former chief economist at BusinessWeek. He discussed the state of the economy, and job numbers were the primary metric used as part of his analysis. As Mandell explained, job numbers are the best way to evaluate the economy, since the numbers are concrete. "Governments tend to pay very close attention to who is paying unemployment insurance," he explained.

Dr. Mandel's talk sheds light on where we might see-- or be seeing-- an economic recovery. He noted that the industries that recover the quickest after a downturn tend to be the ones that lead the economy in the resulting boom. Right now, he sees job growth in a few different areas: Internet publishing, broadcasting and web search portals (essentially Internet companies); computer system design and programming; and wireless and telecom.

Dr. Mandel's overall verdict? "We're heading toward a communications-driven economic boom."

MTLC Chairman Steve O'Leary, Entrepreneur in Residence at General Catalyst, began the meeting by noting the advantages that Massachusetts brings to business, and he referenced a study by Dr. Robert Krim of the Boston History & Innovation Collaborative, "Shaping the Future from Our Past: Four Amazing Centuries of Innovation."

Of the many points argued by the study is the need for innovators to have proximity to one another in order to grow businesses. The study calls this the "bump effect," literally the result of having innovators "bump" into each other. It's one of the reasons why groups such as the MTLC are so important. [Editor's note: Schwartz Communications is a sponsor of the MTLC Social Media Cluster.]

It is always pleasant to spend a morning with optimistic entrepreneurs. And after attending the MTLC meeting, I am certainly feeling very optimistic.

You can read more about the annual meeting, and see some of the presentations, by visiting the MTLC blog.

Posted by Ross Levanto on April 1, 2010 at 4:33 PM