From vision to action: self-awareness helps Utahns plan for the future.

• Author: Gochnour, Natalie
• Position: Economic Insight

Irecently interviewed with Joel Kotkin, the famed demographer, author and columnist who is frequently quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Daily Beast. Kotkin was doing a media tour and had spent the prior two days meeting with community leaders to get a pulse on Utah. As we finished the interview he said, "Salt Lake is very self aware and it serves you well."

His comment struck me. What did he mean? I can only speculate, but he's written with conviction about many of Utah's best traits--our fiscal responsibility, multilingual abilities, family focus, volunteerism, charitable giving, education levels and commitment to plan for the future. It is as if this New York-raised, Berkeley-trained and Los Angeles-based thought leader sees in us something we often don't see ourselves. We have a strong sense of self, and we translate it into a great place to live.

Vision is nothing new to Salt Lake City. It's part of our DNA. Wallace Stenger wrote that Mormons "were the most systematic, organized, disciplined and successful pioneers in our history."

Within days of arriving in Salt Lake City, Brigham Young laid out a plan dictating the size of building lots, the setback from the street, and the width of the streets and sidewalks.

Today, Utah is home to Envision Utah, the nation's most successful voluntary regional planning endeavor. And cities like Salt Lake (Downtown Rising), West Valley City, Sandy and Provo have all created multi-decade plans to guide large public and private investments.

It's as if we intuitively recognize that the future is not a gift, but an achievement. We can, as purposeful people, create the future we want. This sense of planning, preparation and vision is at the core of our self-identity and one of our greatest traits.

The global and national economy is in a scary place right now. Navigating the uncertainty of global conditions and a U.S. political system that consistently fails is not easy and may become more difficult in the months and years ahead. As Utahns, we must keep refining who we are and what we want to be and then translate this self-awareness and vision into action.

As a starting point, I offer these suggestions for areas of focus:

Education. Let's take the plunge and do something big for education in this state. The keys are innovation, investment and...