WorldCity Business Magazine

X Factor

by Suzy Valentine

This month, WorldCity Business celebrates its 10th year in publishing.
The milestone is monumental which is why we decided to use an X, the Roman numeral for 10.

X, aside from being the 24th letter of the English or 27th letter of the Spanish alphabets, holds a number of meanings. X is a variable, the x-axis of the graph, whose value is not constant.

It is this indefinable quantity that we believe will determine the identity of South Florida in the years ahead and will distinguish it from its competitors.
So, while South Florida has made strides over the past 10 years, we wanted to find out, from key players in the community, what South Florida is doing right and what it is doing wrong to warrant a big, fat X.

More than 60 leaders in internatinal business and education told us what they thought would make this a world-class region and what they loved about it to justify an X, an ?equis or kiss.

In pirate speak, X marks the spot and South Florida, founded by pioneers and adventurers, is the source of treasure. Experts have cited additions to the cultural landscape and the arrival of immigrants as examples of that hidden loot.

But some changes have not been for the better. For one, development in South Florida has far outstripped the pace of provision of services.

Nevertheless, we are looking forward so it is appropriate that, at the time of going to press, we should learn that Miami has been acknowledged by f_D_i, a Financial Times sister publication, as among the key North American cities of the future (appropriately making it into the top X).

f_D_i, which focuses on foreign direct investment, placed Miami 10th with Chicago topping the poll.

The matrix of statistics that earned Miami this distinction included its placing as third most cost-effective and fifth best served by infrastructure, tying with Dallas.

These conclusions may surprise some of our readers not to mention contributors who write, in the pages that follow, of South Florida’s costs, housing included, and deficient services, transportation and education among them, as factors that could be detrimental to development.

They might be less aghast at how this study shows that Miami does not make it into the top five for business friendliness, economic potential, development and investment promotion or human resources.

Discourteousness, insufficient incentives to business and the brain drain are gripes that are predominant among our columnists.

We have come a long way since launch but there are still deficiencies in our community that need to be addressed. There was disagreement among our luminaries over what that missing ingredient is but, as you will read, our commentators were passionate about the X factor, whatever it may or may not be. WC