Northern exposure: majoring in the minors makes it tougher for North Carolina to retain its economic edge.

• Author: Mildenberg, David
• Position: UPFRONT

As travelers to other states and nations repeatedly attest, saying "I'm from North Carolina" is a surefire way to draw raised eyebrows and questions about our state's culture wars. I learned that firsthand when I joined a group of journalists who spent a week in March visiting economic-development officials and technology-company owners in Canada. At least a half dozen people--not including my writer friends--asked why North Carolina is so worked up over bathroom politics.

I long ago stopped worrying about outdated negative perceptions of the South held by anyone living north of Richmond. There are fools and saints in every precinct. IBM, GlaxoSmithKline and others made clear decades ago that North Carolina is a world-class business center.

Our state's growth offers much to boast about. North Carolina regularly tops "best of" lists when compared with its U.S. peers. Real-estate leasing giant CORE ranked Raleigh-Durham eighth on its 2016 ranking of best North American markets for attracting "tech talent." Keeping that edge requires more vision than cutting taxes and waiting for a big automaker to establish a plant.

Learning about Canada's development strategies--a coordinated focus on higher education and targeting artificial intelligence, film-industry special effects, financial technology, video gaming and other high-growth sectors--made me want to give a supportive hug to North Carolina's industry hunters. Their jobs are more difficult as influential business owners and innovators question why our state isn't more welcoming to all sorts of people. The compromise over HB2, while satisfying the sports folks, is more of a delaying tactic than a solution.

Just as North Carolina's small towns endure a brain drain to bigger markets, Charlotte, the Triad and the Triangle are in a war for talent with regions reaching out to creative, fast-growth industries run by creative, diverse leaders. Can...