July 2008, Volume: 11, Issue: e/5, ISBN 1527-5175

~~~ Community Capitalism... People in Kalamazoo, MI are drinking the Kool Aid. They believe they can make a difference in their part of the world. They are making a difference by thinking big and taking personal responsibility. No white knight. No call for government help. No big study. No wringing hands. Just real people stepping up and taking responsibility. The new book, Community Capitalism: Lessons from Kalamazoo and Beyond by Ron Kitchens, is an important reminder of the importance of community leadership.

Want to make a difference in your community? Buy a dozen copies of Community Capitalism and start passing them around town. Then, brew the coffee.
http://www.southwestmichiganfirst.com/CommunityCapitalismLessonsfromKalamazooandBeyond.cfm

~~~ Online scheduling tool... If you need to coordinate a date for a group activity and want to find the best date for the majority, try Doodle. Doodle is a good, efficient alternative to an e-mail blitz. It works best in our tests for larger groups, but it can be used for any size group. It is a free, on-line service. It is simple to use. Check it out http://www.doodle.ch. Source: Ian Griffin

~~~ Perception... changes everything. When is a weakness a weakness? A weakness is ONLY a weakness when it impacts behavior. All other "weaknesses" are just perceived problems. Take transportation for example. Transportation is a perennial issue identified in many SWOT analyzes. In a recent study we concluded, transportation is ranked the second most important issue, right below negative business climate. However, when perception is removed, transportation drops to fifth position. This is a significant difference. If a community allocates resources to attack a perceived problem, they remain vulnerable on the real problems – those that impact decisions. Source: 5 Bad Assumptions that Kill Economic Development Effectiveness. (speech) Schedule 5 Bad Assumptions for your next state or regional meeting or plan a private webinar for your members/partners. Contact Eric ecanada@blanecanada.com or 630-462-9222.

~~~ What came first... the research or the marketing plan? A researcher will say research first. A marketer will say plan first. Who’s right? Well, as a marketer who conducts a lot of research, I see a lot of economic development research that does not give me the information needed to construct a marketing plan. When they ask us to help them craft a marketing plan, they are often surprised that additional research is needed. Why? Because the research scope did not include what the marketer needs. It includes what the author and/or researcher decided was important or as often as not, what information was available. Here is our advice: plan first. The information needed for the marketing plan should be very clearly defined in the research scope. This will save time and money.

~~~ 2008 North American Data Study... The 3^rd North American Data Study (NADS) by Blane, Canada Ltd. will be conducted this winter. NADS provides comparative information to help Synchronist users better understand local findings. NADS established over 100 Key Performance Indicators (KPI) giving Users a competitive advantage in benchmarking strengths, weaknesses, and the performance of a local economic engine from BRE style executive interviews. Synchronist users can increase your call activity now to learn how this murky economy is impacting local employers and your community's economic future. Then, in early 2009, you will have the latest and only KPI (2007 and 2008 data) to compare with your local findings. Contact Eric ecanada@blanecanada.com

~~~ Counter point... "Ideas are cheap. It's implementation that creates the real value. Ideas by themselves are worthless. Plans are nothing... (see May Economic Development Marketing Letter.) "I frequently hear this and roll my eyes. Effective teams are made up of people with differing talents, strengths and weaknesses. Some members excel at implementation while others generate ideas, provide administrative support, and even cheerlead. No doubt implementation is vital. However, failure to appreciate the value of each of these inputs reduces a team’s morale and willingness to contribute in the future. If implementation is king then business would be outsourcing everything to lower cost environments. Implementation without new ideas eventually leads to reduced market share and lost opportunities." Source: David Ellis, Plano, TX.

~~~ Counter, Counter Point... David is absolutely correct, if we have the luxury of a team. Yet, "While we need to encourage innovation – that is the creation and development of good ideas – we need to remember that, while a good idea is worth a buck, a well-executed business plan focused around a good idea can make you a million bucks." Ron Kitchens, Kalamazoo, MI, Business Review, June 19, 2008

~~~ Bottom Line... Ideas have "potential" value. Extracting the value of an idea depends on the attitude of the idea person, team assembled, focus, commitment, and execution in some order. Without focus, the original idea becomes a launch pad for a whimsical journey to nowhere. Without commitment, the bloom fails to form for lack of water. Or, as Sun Tzu pointed out some time back, "Opportunities multiply... as they are seized." Sun Tzu (c. 544–496 BC), Chinese philosopher

~~~ 9^th Annual Synchronist Users’ Forum... October 6 and 7, 2008, Chicago, IL. As always, the focus will be on maximizing the return on your investment in business retention and learning what others are doing to increase their organization’s local impact. We hope to see you all there. Registration Schedule your rooms early to make sure you get the group rate. Contact Sarah Groninger, sgroninger@blanecanada.com

~~~ "Old dog" and mental stimulation... Responses to the "been there, done that" stage of conference attendance. "I jumped into working on my PhD. I am enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi's program in Human Capital Development. All classes are either online or in an "executive format" (four-five weekly chat sessions with a three day (Thursday-Saturday) on site session either on the home campus in Hattiesburg or their gulf coast campus in Gulfport. In addition, USM has a master’s program in Economic Development utilizing the same format. I have been in the program for a couple of semesters and it has been just what the doctor ordered for taking my "creative" professional education to the next level." Burdette (Pete) Fullerton, Kansas City, MO. "I go to guest lectures like the "Physics of Baseball" at the local university. There is little or no cost and there are a wide variety of topics to choose from. These events and conversations with the speakers and attendees after the session transport me into a different mindset. I believe the secret is to get out of the trench long enough to get a little perspective." Ted, AZ

~~~ Track Business Activity... The Edward Lowe Foundation has created an online resource that tracks business activity in communities across the United States. The site provides a breakdown of business establishments along with the jobs they generate at state, MSA and county levels. This is only one element of the site. Others will be added over the next few months. http://www.YourEconomy.org Additional information: T.J. Becker, Edward Lowe Foundation, tjbecker@lowe.org or 269-445-4257. Source: Paul Dillon, Chicago, IL

~~~ Limited view limits potential... The Know Your Region Project is working to break this barrier down by aggregating regional strategies in an accessible form on the Internet. Spearheaded by U.S. Economic Development Administration partnered with Western Carolina University’s Institute for the Economy and the Future, the Know Your Region project offers concrete and insightful tools to development specialists on how to understand and apply the concept of regionalism. The Institute (WCU) worked with the University of Illinois’ Regional Economics Applications Laboratory and The Council for Community and Economic Research (formerly ACCRA) to develop a curriculum that enables practitioners to understand and apply core concepts of regionalism and clustering to the strategic planning process. During this second year of the project, the Institute is focused on delivering the Know Your Region curriculum and disseminating additional resources for development practitioners across the nation. http://knowyourregion.wcu.edu/ Source: Dallas Gislason, Regina, Saskatchewan

~~~ How do you define... 'advanced manufacturing?' This question posed in the May issue of Economic Development Marketing Letter generated too many responses and too much important detail to capture in the Letter, so you can read all the advanced manufacturing of the responses at http://www.blanecanada.com/Newsletters/AdvManufR_Letter.pdf.

~~~ Here’s a new question posed by a reader... How does $5/gallon gasoline/diesel fuel change economic development in your community? Share your thoughts. ecanada@blanecanada.com

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