Louisiana Economic Development: What’s the Real Story?

It seems there are some differences of opinion about the intent of some recent consulting studies commissioned by the Louisiana Department of Economic Development. Click here. I know the economic developers involved. They are good people and solid professionals.

By writing about this situation, I do not aim to add to the apparent confusion in Louisiana. Rather, this is a good example of what every good economic development executive and his or her leadership should pay attention to—that is the need to understand the “readiness for change” in your strategic environment.

From what I can tell, quite different expectations exist in Louisiana about what type of economic development should be encouraged and what are the best policies and strategies to develop these opportunities. This argues for consensus-building, to the extent that is possible. It’s not easy—in any state for that matter—to make these decisions and bring your stakeholders along with you.

This is a “fickle time” for economic development—everywhere—and not just in Louisiana, which has its share of challenges in bolstering educational attainment levels and improving its scores on a host of other performance measures related to the knowledge-based global economy.

Much of what we do in economic development remains an “art form,” and many of the policies and strategies we advocate are, at best, experiments in planned economic change. And yes, at times, they are nothing more than “political stunts.” We’ve all been there. Right?

I wish the folks in Louisiana luck in resolving their current situation. It sounds like a good time to stop looking for someone to blame and get on with a well-understood program to strengthen the Louisiana economy.