Wisdom as an Economic Development Leadership Quality

Consider this statement: "The wisest leaders have a deep understanding and keen discernment that allows insight into themselves and others. They can discern inner qualities and relationships even if they cannot always put what they know into words. They can be judicious, prudent, sensible and sane. A capacity for sound judgment, based in significant part on their wisdom, provides a foundation that enables them to choose sound ends and appropriate means." Source: The CEO Refresher.

On a scale of one to ten, with ten as the best, how would you rate your current ability to discover and use your inner wisdom as an economic development leader?

Are you currently working on becoming a wise leader in economic development? Yes or no?

Now, what are three specific things you can do in the next month to increase your ability to use your inner wisdom as an economic development leader?

The Older Affluent Market

I ran across a thoughtful analysis of the "Older Affluent Market" by the Gallup Organization. It has implications for economic development, especially when you think about where the buying power for certain goods and services comes from in your community. Read the article here.

How's Your Sense of Humor

To find out the answer to that question, consider taking the short online self-test that Spirituality and Health Magazine has created. I took it and discovered that I need to lighten up a bit. In line with that, here is a joke about economic development consultants:

Top Ten Things You'll Never Hear from Your Economic Development Consultant

1. You're right; we're billing way too much for this.
2. Bet you I can go a week without saying "clusters" or "incentivize".
3. How about paying us based on the success of the project?
4. This whole strategy is based on an EDI business case I read.
5. Actually, the only difference is that we charge more than they do.
6. I don't know enough to speak intelligently about that.
7. Implementation? I only care about writing long reports.
8. I can't take the credit. It was your VP of Research and Planning's idea.
9. The problem is, you have too much work for too few people.
10. Everything looks okay to me. You really don't need me.

What's Shaking at GM?

General Motors Corp., a symbol of American industrial might a half-century ago when it became the first U.S. company to make $1 billion in a year, announced plans to cut 25,000 jobs after losing more than $1 billion in the first quarter of this year alone. Lots of American communities will be affected by this one. Is yours one of them? More here.

News of the layoffs, reportedly the largest single announced job cut in corporate America in more than two years, helped boost GM shares by 31 cents, or 1 percent, to close yesterday at $30.73 on the New York Stock Exchange. And the announcement brought panic to the hearts of thousands of GM workers, who sense their jobs may be in jeopardy.

So, do you think GM will give back all those state and local incentive dollars it swooped up in recent years? I know that was a 'stupid' question.

Council on Supply Chain Management

Here is a resource you should know about--CSCMP:

CSCMP Mission

To lead the evolving Supply Chain Management profession by developing, advancing, and disseminating Supply Chain knowledge and research.

CSCMP Vision

The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals is the preeminent worldwide professional association of Supply Chain Management professionals.

CSCMP exists to:

* Provide opportunities for supply chain professionals to communicate in order to develop and improve their supply chain management skills.

*Identify and conduct research which adds to the knowledge base of supply chain theory and practice.

*Create awareness of the significance of supply chain to business and to the economy.

Green Design

The Consortium on Green Design and Manufacturing (CGDM) at Uc, Berkeley was formed in 1993 to encourage multi-disciplinary research and education on environmental management, design for environment and pollution prevention issues in critical industries. Faculty and students come from UC Berkeley's College of Engineering, School of Public Health, Energy and Resources Group and Haas School of Business. Ongoing collaboration also exists with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Network for Energy, Environment, Efficiency and the Information Economy.

Gratitude as an Economic Development Strategy

Everything around us is transformed when we are grateful. Small things seem large, and large things seem small. I have noticed this in my own life. Perhaps you have found the same to be true in your experience.

I believe there is room for greater gratitude in economic development. Instead of simply wanting more, or wanting something different than what we have, we may discover that by being more grateful we are richer than we ever imagined, and that we are "richer" in ways we never thought possible.

Lately, I have been thinking a great deal about how a daily attitude of gratitude could transform what we do in the economic development business. It is quite possible we might discover that our communities and businesses have far greater assets and resources than we ever envisioned. We might learn that our fundamental purpose in economic development is not to simply satisfy community and business desires for more of whatever they want. Rather, we have been put on this Earth as economic developers to appreciate the economic and business mysteries and wonders of life and to allow that sense of appreciation to transform us in a personal and community sense.

Many world religious traditions contend that "wanting" is the source of all suffering in life, especially when we are never satisfied with what we have. In my work with communities across America, I see so many that suffer under the burden of their own excessive wanting because they are never satisfied with what they have and who they are. A wiser approach to economic development is to develop a fuller awareness and understanding of what we already have in terms of human, business, and community assets. I am not convinced that our current "Me, My, Mine" model of strategic planning prepares us to do that.

Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. The desire for positive change and to make improvement are vital in economic development. However, wanting for the sake of wanting, and wanting in the absence of gratitude are not ok in my book. This is meaningless consumerism, the exact thing we rail against when we think of the economy that Wal-Mart is creating for us, whether we want it or not. The alternative is to invest in things that really matter to our genuine happiness and well-being. You decide what those things are.

In conclusion, perhaps we should consider how a healthy dose of gratitude could contribute to a greater sense of appreciation and well-being in our communities, and perhaps that sense of well-being and appreciation could help engender greater real prosperity and abundance in our lives. I think that is what the noted author and physician Christiane Northrup had in mind when she said: "Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life."

Maryland Community Colleges' Business Training Network

Maryland Community Colleges' Business Training Network (MCC BTN) is a network of the sixteen community colleges in the State of Maryland.

MCC BTN exclusively offers the ability to develop training on topics employers choose, great flexibility in training staff, regardless of number, uses state-of-the-art equipment, and with the versatility to do this at the business' site or at a community college location.

The advantage of this website is its ability to reach across the state's community college network and target the exact training service needed by an employer. It's worth a browse.

Hot Jobs and Skills in Indiana

Click here to find out where largest number of new job openings are expected in Indiana in the future. Click here to find out which skills are in greatest demand by Indiana employers. Here are some of the top ones:

1 Work As A Team Member
2 Apply Good Listening Skills
3 Adhere To Safety Procedures
4 Follow Detailed Instructions
5 Manage Time Effectively
6 Maintain Safe Work Environment
7 Follow And Give Instructions
8 Use Hand Tools
9 Operate Precision Measuring Tools & Equipment In Industrial Production, Manufact
10 Load And Unload
11 Move Heavy Objects
12 Follow Customer Instructions
13 Use Basic Math
14 Maintain Consistent Quality
15 Acquire And Evaluate Information
16 Receive Payments & Make Change
17 Use Computer
18 Serve Customers/Clients
19 Perform Basic Assembly
20 Perform More Than One Task At The Same Time

Indiana Counties Think Regionally

Click here to read how Indiana counties are thinking about regionalism.

Sam Frain is president of the county council in Pulaski County, one of the most sparsely populated counties in Indiana, and he has been around long enough to see the benefits of multi-county planning and cooperation for counties the size of Pulaski.

"I really believe when you get in a region like Pulaski County, Fulton County and White County, collaborations have to work. Pulaski County, Fulton County, Jasper County, Starke County can't work individually. You have to collaborate with agencies in other counties to be able to function. We can't afford to operate on our own. They can't operate on their own," he said.

"We're looking at a multitude of things that are going to have to be done multi-county if they're going to be accomplished in the future."

Rating Your Hospital

How does your local hospital stack up? Go here and here and here to gain some useful insights. Finally, read this recent Business Week article for additional information.

Closing the Trade Gap is Key!

The greenback is down, but the trade gap keeps growing -- as it will until the U.S. increases savings.

Despite the 50% drop in the dollar against the euro since early 2002 and a slowdown in U.S. demand this year, the trade gap continues to hit new records -- $666 billion in 2004. It took 0.6 percentage points from gross domestic product growth last year and shaved off 1.5 percentage points in the first quarter.

The trade gap remains the major threat to the continuation of the current economic expansion in both the U.S. and other industrial countries, as well as the stability of world financial markets.

More here.

Blue Brain Awakens

On July 1, the Blue Brain computer will wake up, marking "a monumental moment" in the history of brain research, says neuroscientist Henry Markram, founder of the Brain Mind Institute at Switzerland's Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). The event could usher in a new era of scientific discoveries about the workings of the human mind.

The Blue Brain computer is the latest installation of IBM's (IBM) BlueGene/L system, a radically new approach in supercomputer design. EPFL's machine has a peak speed of some 22.8 teraflops -- meaning it can theoretically spit out 22.8 trillion calculations every second. That blazing speed should put Blue Brain among the world's top 15 supercomputers. (The world champ is the BlueGene system at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory -- when finished later this year, it will have a peak speed of 367 teraflops.)

Read more here.

Industry Sector Dynamics Data

The US Census Bureau has downloadable data on the birth, death, expansion, and contraction of industry sectors for selected years. The most recent data are for 2001-2002. This is very useful in tracking growth in your target industries. Great stuff. Get it here.

State and Metro Area Business Brith and Death Data

Looking for some useful data on the birth and death of business establishments at the metro and state levels? SBA has downloadable data you can use for the years 2001 and selected other years. Download the Excel spreadsheet here. (Big File!)

Research on Rural Small Business

SBA and its partners have formulated a future research agenda on the following issues. This is an ambitious research agenda and only selected parts of it will be undertaken in the near future. It's important for rural economic developers to know about this however.

-Characteristics and demographics of the owners of rural small businesses.

-The number of rural small businesses.

-The number of employees working for rural small businesses.

-The growth rate of rural small businesses compared to the growth rate of urban small businesses.

-The types of businesses that exist in rural communities and their structures compared to the types of businesses that exist in urban communities.

-The success/failure rates of rural small businesses.

-A comparison of success/failure rates of rural and urban small businesses.

-The reasons behind failure rates of rural small businesses.

-The correlation between the number of small businesses in a community, the unemployment rate, various types of government assistance, and commuting patterns for rural small businesses. How those patters differ from urban businesses.

-The impact of the global market place (Internet and e-commerce) on rural businesses.

-How rural communities have addressed/overcome challenges to assist small businesses in participating and succeeding in the global economy.

-The types of businesses that can succeed away from population centers.

-Rural Small Business Financing

SBA's Dynamic Small Business Search

SBA has an online search engine allowing you to search its database for businesses and statistics related to small business at the state, metro, county, Congressional District, and zip code levels of geography. It's a useful tool and you can access it here.

Looking for Chamber Partners Worldwide?

Here (World Chambers Network) is where you can learn about potential partners to work with to advance your ED efforts.

Corporate M&A Activity

This is a much more important issue in economic development. Where do you go to get the facts on M&A activity in the US and abroad? Try Thomson One Banker. Download first quaster 2005 data here.

Merger activity continued at a fervor pitch in the first quarter of 2005. Announced worldwide merger and acquisitions exceeded $589 bn in the opening quarter. Together with the $670 bn in announced M&A activity during the fourth quarter of 2004, more than US$1.2 trillion in announced deals have occurred in the past six months. That marks the strongest pace of merger volume during a six-month period since the second half of 2000 when nearly US$1.5 trillion in deals took place.

The current quarter ranks as the tenth most active period in terms of dollar value and the third-best opening quarter. Only the first quarter 2000 with US$1.19 trillion in volume and the initial quarter of 1999 when $694 bn in deals were announced had better debut quarters than the current one. M&A of US targets totaled US$270 bn. That ranks as the ninth best quarter for US M&A in terms of dollar volume. In four of the previous six quarters, US M&A volume has surpassed US$200 bn.

U.S. Job Growth Slows

The US economy has recorded the smallest rise in employment in 21 months during May, new figures show. Just 78,000 people entered the workforce that month, the Department of Labor said - far fewer than the 185,000 predicted by analysts. More here.

D.C. Big Box Legislation

Washington D.C.'s "Big Box" Legislation will limit big box development in the District. Council members have vowed to fight big-box retailers from moving into the city, going so far as to introduce a bill that would prohibit national chains - including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Wegmans Food Markets Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. - from building their most profitable kinds of stores in the city.

The bill would ban stores with more than 80,000 square feet that devote more than 15 percent of their space to nontaxable products such as food. Council members say it is aimed primarily at Wal-Mart, but the legislation would also lock out other major chains that are considering opening stores in the city.

The bill is part of the delicate balancing act District leaders perform as they try to burnish the city's reputation as a business-friendly environment while satisfying the demands of powerful constituents such as organized labor, which is pressing for restrictions on Wal-Mart's growth.
However, some city leaders say that, regardless of the bill's intent to focus on Wal-Mart, it has intimidated other chains that the city would like to attract. Spokesmen for Costco, Wal-Mart and Wegmans — an upscale grocer that's been courted by the city in the past — say the bill would prevent them from building typical stores in the District.

More here from NAIOP.

NAIOP Announces New Green Development Award

Enter your green development project now for NAIOP's first Green Development Award. The recipient of the award will receive considerable publicity through NAIOP publications, including Development magazine, and will be honored during the NAIOP Annual Conference, October 18-21, 2005, in Hollywood, Fla.

The award, developed in consultation with the U.S. Green Building Council, recognizes outstanding efforts in green development and will be bestowed on the NAIOP member company that best exemplifies innovation, efficiency and quality.

Requirements for Entry: Applicants must be NAIOP members. Companies will be judged on the following criteria:

Sustainable Sites
Indoor Environmental Quality
Water Efficiency
Energy and Atmosphere
Economic Viability

Submit your entries: See the application form for complete details online.

Kentucky Lands 700 New Jobs

Fidelity Investments announced plans yesterday to build a facility in Northern Kentucky that would bring about 1,500 jobs to Kentucky, about 700 of which are already at the company's Ohio facility, said Mandy Lambert, a spokeswoman for the Cabinet for Economic Development.

The mutual-fund and financial-services company is planning a 350,000-square-foot building on its campus in Covington that would combine its Midwest operations by 2007.

For its investment in Kentucky, Fidelity is eligible for up to $10 million in state tax breaks under the Kentucky Jobs Development Act, according to a press release. The state also has promised to build a $17.5 million, 1.7-mile connector road to the Fidelity campus.