March 2004, Volume: 7, Issue: e/3, ISBN 1527-5175

~~~"Seattle Hopes Seeding Nurtures Biotech Powerhouse"... is the title of the Chicago Tribune article 3/7/04. Seattle has lost 60,000 jobs in the past 4 years. Now, a concentration of talent, intellect, and money is transforming a deteriorated industrial area, the South Lake Union, into a new vision. Seattle and the state are providing $400 million for amenities such as a streetcar system, pedestrian access and parks for the 29,000 employees expected to work and live in the area. Billionaires Paul Allen and Bill Gates, along with their resources, are bringing key interests to the table. This includes corporate research giants, the U of WA, a cancer research center, and the Seattle Children's Hospital. Build it and they will come!

~~~"Managing Six Sigma"... "Practical Guide to Understanding, Assessing, and Implementing the Strategy That Yields Bottom-Line Success" by Breyfogle, Cupello, and Meadows provides strong self-improvement strategies. For instance, "Many executives confuse efficiency with effectiveness. Efficiency is 'doing things right.' Effectiveness is 'doing the right things.' A wise implementation of Six Sigma focuses on 'doing the right things right." Source: John Wiley Publishers

~~~Donna Latino of Greater New Orleans, Inc... is looking into the use of an 800 telephone number as a hot line for local businesses to use. In Chicago, Business Express, a business assistance center, is accessed by dialing "311", the non-emergence equivalent to 911. After dialing 311, the caller is put in contact with an operator who then directs the call to the appropriate office. This system was activated in 1998. Have any of you set up a similar function? Has it been successful or problematic? E-mail us: nblane@blanecanada.com

~~~Tell the story... Annual reports sometimes hide critical information. Not in Hampton Roads, VA where the recently released annual report has a section titled "Hits and Misses". The annual report also includes a "Prospect Industry Profile". This is a great way to build credibility with investors and leadership.

~~~Over dinner... we recently had a discussion with a CPA formerly with one of the major accounting firms and a nuclear engineer/MBA. The topic of the dialog was outsourcing. Each stated that production outsourcing was intended for non-sensitive portions of a company. Great, but it's evident that more than primary production is being moved overseas. The German firm, Siemens, is moving most of 15,000 software programming jobs (out of a total of 30,000) from the U.S. and Western Europe to India, China and Eastern Europe, according to the Associated Press. Although politicians and unions might be angry, it's not in their control. Source on Siemens: AP, Srinivasan, 2/16/04

~~~Magazine ads... Do you get solid return on your advertising investment? We regularly peruse ads to see what's new, what works, and what doesn't? If the copy includes words such as location, quality of life, live, work, play, and incentives, are you saying enough to compete? A "stand-out" ad appears in an economic development trade publication spot lighting Coahuila, Mexico. Five road signs reflect a concentration of 5 key industries. The signs say it all.

~~~Coming soon... to an LCD projector near you! Dynamic 3D backgrounds, pre-made animations and unique transitions, e.g. "Seafloor" a refractive light pattern replicates a shallow ocean bottom, the "Wheel" template, focuses a rotating beam of light on your content. OfficeFX is a PowerPoint plug-in by Instant Effects. At $149, the program will probably be a big hit. Our question is, when will someone create a plug-in to strip out boilerplate and hyperbole, and add substantive content for the audience? http://www.instanteffects.com

~~~Toll booths are under construction... on the information highway. E-mail spam has not been minimized, so gatekeepers are looking seriously at an economic solution via e-mail toll charges. Bill Gates and other heavies are throwing their weight behind the idea. There are many questions yet to be answered. However, experts believe this will gain serious momentum during the next 12 months. Just when you thought your budget got a break, it turns out it was just a brief respite. Plan ahead with your budget. Source: Peppers & Rogers Group, INSIDE 1t01, 2/16/04, http://www.1to1.com

~~~Remember_ in an era in which convenience, speed, and steep profits are valued, patience is still the most important virtue. Don’t settle for shallow relationships predicated on money and impersonal communications.

~~~Three things I really like about Synchronist... (1) there is a large base of users. This insures this tool will be available in the future. Availability will not be subject to the vagaries of political whim. (2) The user base actively contributes to enhancing the tool, increasing the value to my organization. (3) It adds much needed discipline to business retention. Synchronist User, PA

~~~Fascinating... The March issue of the Chicago Fed Letter addresses the role China and other Asian countries play in their complementary and competing roles. The writers address the interrelationships of China (China & Hong Kong), the NIEs (Korea, Singapore & Taiwan), and the ASEAN-4 (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines & Thailand) across 48 industries. One statement of particular interest is: "It may not be too long before China starts exporting autos." In order for that to occur, it is likely that more suppliers will be developing within the mainland in order to meet this market demand. Source: The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, March 2004, Number 200

~~~The China Boom... is the phrase used in Japan to refer to the lower unemployment rate resulting from the massive Chinese demand. It is also the reality of China jump-starting the Japanese economy. Japanese steel companies are working at near full capacity. Japanese exports to China more than doubled since 2000, even though they're only half of Japan's exports to the U.S. Daily Herald, 3/7/04

~~~Everybody sells... No, we are not talking about all development professionals. We are talking about board members and community leaders.

"If your leadership is not selling they are not adding value - get rid of them." Quote: Ron Kitchens, co-presenter, Leadership Orienteering. Call for details about our NEW on-site leadership workshop. 630.462.9222

~~~Manufacturing in America: A Comprehensive Strategy to Address the Challenges to U.S. Manufacturers... U.S. Commerce Secretary released a comprehensive review of the American manufacturing sector. The initiative included over 20 public roundtables to solicit input from American manufacturers, including representatives from nearly 200 companies in over 20 manufacturing industries. The Commerce Department's question: How can government help manufacturers compete? Get the report at http://www.manufacturing.gov. For reference, the recommendations fell into six categories:

     Enhancing government's focus on manufacturing competitiveness

     Creating the conditions for economic growth and manufacturing investment

     Lowering the cost of manufacturing in the United States

     Investing in innovation

     Strengthening education, retraining, and economic diversification

     Promoting open markets and a level playing field

~~~Denver Post... "Companies that are planning to relocate out of the state typically start flattening out that capital budget line," says Tom Clark of the Metro Denver EDC during his interview with the Post. Using the Synchronist software to track capital spending is one of many benefits of investing in this software.

~~~During the past several months... we asked for names of top economic development professionals in your state. The responses from 21 states are: CA - Paul Saldana FL - Charlie Sloan, Robin Ronne, John Haley GA - Slater Barr IL - Vicki Stewart, John Grueling IN - Steve Witt, Diane Thalmann KS - Bill Thompson, Sandra Allison KY - Joe Reagan, Daryl Snyder, Eileen Pickett MO - Mitch Robinson MN - Nancy Norr MS - David Rumbarger, Greg Giachelli, Tommy Hart NC - Ken Atkins ND - Linda Butts NM - Noreen Scott, Linda Kay Jones NV - Chuck Alvey NY - Ray Gillen OK - Don Wood SC - Peter Arnoti TX - Ron Kitchens, Tom Mullins, Jim Gandy UT - Scott Hirschi, Ron Kusina VA - C. Jones Hooks VT - Joe McClure

Blane, Canada Ltd.
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