Jim Kastama

Today we had our final quest speaker for the class. Jim Kastama is a retired Washington state senator who in 2006 got deeply evolved in economic development. In his talks, Jim discussed the idea of innovation vs. invention and how geographical regions can foster entrepreneurship.

Jim began by stating that 2/3 of GDP growth is from innovation and then when on to discuss some examples of innovation. Jim presented his ideas in a format that showed some of the misnomers of innovation.

First, innovation is not just tech. Jim talked about innovated ideas in Washington that did not necessarily come from the tech industry. One was that growers in Washington looked at the climate and geography in France and found that it mirrored some of the natural climate here in the Washington. These individuals decided to create wineries in the Walla Walla region, and it is now the second largest produce of wine in the United States.

Next, Jim refuted the idea that innovation comes from a top-down approach. He gave the example of Boeing and their desire to speed up their production. Using a Japanese strategy, Boeing approached its front end workers. These workers were responsible for installing the seats in a Boeing 737. When approached about a way to do their job better, one employee brought up an idea from his youth. This employee grew up on a farm in Eastern Washington and suggested that they use a hay bale elevator to put the seats into place. This along with other procedures help Boeing cut it's 737 production time down from 21 days to 11.

Finally Jim stressed the idea that public policy can foster innovation. During his talk, Jim was the most passionate about the work that he has done to create IPZ's here in Washington. IPZ's are innovation policy zones that get businesses, the workforce, and local government working together to create an area where innovation can take root. One of these areas is the Walla Walla region with it's wine production. Jim also mentioned that Seattle has worked hard to provide that necessary resources to make it an IPZ for global health. Jim brought up an interesting idea in that if you are an entrepreneur you may want to find an area relative to what your business is so that you can be a part of one of these IPZ regions. However, Jim also countered this notion that businesses should move by saying that often these business don't know enough about whats around them. Jim's idea was that often you don't need to move to be closer to the action, you can create a new center of innovation where you are already at.