Jim Krampen is the co-founder,  principal and executive officer at Seven Corners, Inc.

The diversity of industries represented at our roundtable discussion was encouraging, in that all were thriving!   Not once during the evening was there any note or comment of future “doom & gloom.”  Expressions of concern regarding the current state of the economy and government were mentioned, but then addressed with sheer commitment and confidence that companies, industries and the country will adapt and again return to profitable times.

The most prominent point I took away from our discussions was the emphasis of development and retention of human capital.   As markets fluctuate and revenues drop, the most valued resources are the management employees that will be able to foresee market shifts and guide a company through this period and adapt or create new business environments.  Chief executives need to not only cultivate these employees, but provide them with the opportunity and support necessary to implement a plan of action to accomplish both long and short term goals.

Many of the roundtable participants are involved in community and educational outreach programs.  Should commercial industry be engaged in education?   I think yes, to the extent that feedback to educators is needed in order to provide a curriculum that will be beneficial to both the student and industry.

I have had several occasions to speak to current or graduate MBA students from various universities.  It seems that the larger and more prominent the school, the more the MBA candidate is taught and believes in the “go big, or go home” philosophy.   This is great if it can be applied in a Fortune 500 company, flush with working capital and developmental infrastructure.  However, the plethora of MBA graduates far exceed the available positions in Fortune 500 companies.  The majority of MBA graduates are placed among small and mid-size companies, which are the backbone of the U.S. economy.  Does the “go big, or go home” philosophy work within these companies?  “Yes” in the emotional sense, but “no” in the working capital and infrastructure sense.  This is where developing human capital to adapt to realistic market conditions is key.  Everyone would love an employee ready to take on the world, but few companies can actually afford to employ all of the tactics and protocols presented in MBA classes.

I believe the state should continue in its quest to excel in educational outcomes from K-12 through post graduate programs.  However, the state and private educational systems also need to understand the needs of business and industry in the State in order to retain talent within the state.  Furthermore, the state needs to be more conducive for business.  It could be worse, but on the other hand, it could be better.   More business will create more employees.  More employees will create more tax base.  More tax base will create better schools and communities and thus more propensity to work, live and thrive in Indiana.

Jerome Peribere is president and chief executive officer at Dow AgroSciences.

I enjoyed this roundtable as it was a prime opportunity to talk about culture, state of mind and values which shape a community and a company.  These topics are especially relevant as it has been fascinating to observe the quality of our employees at Dow AgroSciences in the recent months.  Not only have they had to cope with the potential consequences of the global recession like everyone else has, but in our case it hit close to home when The Dow Chemical Company, our parent company, mentioned that it was evaluating the possible divestiture of several assets including Dow AgroSciences.  Of course employees went through the process of being shocked and feeling uncertain, yet the Midwestern values of hard work and self determination quickly took over.  The realization that we are a solid, highly performing technology-based entity valued for the quality of our output quickly reboosted confidence and determination to succeed.  The strength of every company depends on the state of mind of its employees and their thinking, which in turn shapes the company culture and brings results.  If we engage employees, the values of our communities will come out strong and respond.

Michael Evans, Ph.D. is the founder, president and CEO of AIT Laboratories.

Think Globally, Not Locally.

It was a pleasure to be part of the roundtable discussion hosted by Inside INdiana Business’s Gerry Dick earlier this month.  There were some great conversations surrounding the economy, education standards here and abroad, and the global aspect of business, and the whole experience left me with some lingering thoughts about the overall state of affairs in the United States.

With the housing market leveling out in certain parts of the country and an increased commitment from Americans to become more fiscally responsible, there’s reason to believe that the economy will soon be on its way up.  However, one of the biggest lessons our country has yet to understand is that when it comes to business, we are competing in a global economy and not just with the competitor next door.  In comparison to citizens from places like India and China, we are less traveled, fluent in fewer languages—a large number of Americans only know English—and less in touch with our global counterparts.  Take General Motors.  One of the biggest contributing factors to their bankruptcy was their dependence on their reputation as an American-made product and a Midwest-based company while Toyota did the leg work to put out a better car.

When it comes to education, I think Americans take a similar, more laissez-faire approach, which is equally hurtful to our economy in the long run.  There’s too much “my dad worked at company X, so I’m going to work there, too.”  Many of our young people don’t take advantage of all that is offered to them in school.  In Indiana, our public education system is broken; that’s evident from low test scores produced at the elementary level and poor high school graduation rates state-wide.  We are fortunate, however, to have colleges that produce tremendous talent.  My company, AIT Laboratories, has benefited immensely from gleaning talent from colleges throughout Indiana.  We just need to start building that foundation much, much earlier, because the better your education, the more capable you are at adapting to change.  That applies not only to business but life as well.