Welcome to the Latest Issue of the ED Futures Newsletter

Dear ED Futures Subscriber:

Did I ever tell you have much I appreciate what each of you do? If not, let me take this opportunity to say "thank you."

As an economic developer, you have a unique vantage point on vital economic, business, and community issues. No other profession that I know of places you at the very important intersection of so many interesting and exciting developments and activities related to communities, businesses, industries, technology, human relations, finance, and many other things.

What you do is eminently important to society. I am thankful that I "stumbled" into this field some 30 years ago. To think, I almost became an organization development (OD) consultant, which isn't all that bad either. In fact, my OD background has come in quite handy as an economic developer.

Lately, I have been re-reading an old book on mythology. The book made wonder about what mythical heroes and heroines might we look to in economic development. Here are a few I ran across.

Goddess of Business Attraction: That would be Artemis, who was the Greek goddess of hunting. Myths about her are often stories about hunting. Artimus could be very fierce. One of the best-known myths about her is the story of Actaeon, who accidentally saw Artemis while she was swimming in a lake. She was so outraged at being spied on while she had no clothes on that she turned Actaeon into a deer. His own hunting dogs chased him and killed him.

Goddess of Competition: The mythical hero for competition would be Nike, who was not one of the twelve Olympian gods. The Greeks (and also the Romans) sometimes worshipped things like good fortune, virtue, or wealth. Although these are ideas, not people, they turned them into gods and goddesses, complete with statues and temples. Nike was the goddess of victory and was usually pictured with wings. She was a very popular goddess in time of war.

Revitalization (Rebirth) God: In ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology, the Phoenix is a mythical bird and associated with the Egyptian sun-god Re and the Greek Phoibos. The Phoenix bird symbolizes immortality, resurrection, and life after death. Only one phoenix exists at one time. When the bird felt its death was near, every 500 to 1,461 years, it would build a nest of aromatic wood and set it on fire. The bird then was consumed by the flames. A new phoenix sprang forth from the pyre.

Consider your mythical roots, fellow economic developers, and pray for their help as you continue the journey to build stronger communities and economies for tomorrow's economy.

Here are a couple articles you may want to check out:

How Economic Development Works.

India Outsourcing Situation.

Thirteen Leadership Mistakes to Avoid.

In conclusion, if you know someone who would like to sign up for the ED Futures newsletter, just provide them with this link, which can be used to directly sign up for our mailings.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Don Iannone
Publisher

Tel: 440.449.0753
Email: dtia@don-iannone.com