This article appears in print in the January 2019 issue. Click here for a free subscription.

At an event recently, a prominent business executive told me in no uncertain terms what was wrong with the Puget Sound region. “We don’t brag,” he complained. “We’ve got some incredible things going on here, but we don’t tell the world.” He’s right. The business community here is much too modest.

Maybe it’s because we’ve never shaken the humbleness exemplified by our settlers from the Midwest. Perhaps it’s that passive-aggressive “Seattle Freeze” thing. Maybe it’s the ongoing cultural struggle that simplifies political issues as social justice vs. big business.

Whatever it is, the region historically has done a very poor job of selling itself to the outside world. That’s a particularly strange flaw in a place diligently striving to become a global leader in everything from trade to retail to technology.

As my colleague John Levesque wrote last summer, researchers have showered the region with praise. Seattle is No. 1 for STEM professionals and ranks highly for its economy and its business climate. Washington state earned exceptional grades for innovation and education. Other organizations laud the region for its tourism and environmental sensitivity.

There’s a lot to brag about.