January 2004, Volume: 7, Issue: e/1, ISBN 1527-5175

~~~Increasing the flow... of capital through the community and reducing its leakage is a definition of economic development. Other definitions are only pretenders to the crown. So, what have you done for your community today?

~~~"The Physics of Marketing... An Uncommon Combination of Marketing and Sales for the Serious Economic Development Professional!" Our course is offered April 14-16 in Chicago. Be one of the 25 participants who achieve greater understanding and motivation from Eric Canada's presentation. Some organizations send a group of staffers to work as a team on building their marketing program. Check out the details at: http://www.blanecanada.com/BCL_marketing.html

~~~"Advanced Business Retention: Beyond the Basics"... our two-day interactive professional program will also be offered in April in Chicago.

We've received numerous accolades. One person attending the recent program stated that the quality of information provided in the first morning paid for itself. This seminar will be held April 26-27 in Chicago. To read more details and/or register, go to: http://www.blanecanada.com/BCL_retention.html

~~~Your input is needed... In November, we asked you to nominate the top ED professional in each state. We're still looking for input. WE NEED YOUR FEEDBACK. We'd like to share the nominations with you. E-mail us with your nomination. nblane@blanecanada.com

~~~Year 2004 Prep... Five sure fire tips: 1) Take a private two-day retreat (in your own office - no calls, no interruptions) and review your 2003 marketing plan for successes, drops, and failures. Determine where and when you were on track and where you veered and why. 2) Identify one area you'd like to focus on per quarter to improve your marketing. Review how well you did on each during the past year. 3) Go back through notes from any courses or workshops and look for ideas that can be cultivated. 4) Pick one area that has worked well for you and determine how to improve on it -- maximize what is working. 5) Adjust or prepare the proposed plan for 2004.

~~~"Greatness... is not a function of circumstance, but of conscious choice." Quote: Jim Collins. Source: PikeNet Dispatch, 10/21/03, http://www.pikenet.com

~~~Logistics friendly... "Expansion Management" and "Logistics Today" magazines teamed up in 2003 to study "logistics friendly" metro areas in the U.S. Hans Rosebrock with FirstEnergy/Ohio capitalized on the study by e-mailing the rankings of several Ohio metro areas: the Toledo area ranked 5th out of 300, Cleveland 4th, Columbus 16th, & Dayton 25th. Sometimes playing the subtle public relations card is a matter of cleverness.  For the article and complete list of rankings, click on link below. http://www.expansionmanagement.com/smo/articleviewer/default.asp?cmd=articledetail&articleid=15904 

~~~AFL-CIO's Industrial Union Executive Director, Bob Bauch, stated... "Anything that is digitized can go overseas." Seminars addressing how to outsource production and even white collar jobs are quietly being held to help executives manage costs. Economic developers need to keep up with even these nuances of current business practice. Let Synchronist Business Information System software (desktop or Internet) help you stay ahead of the pack. Go to our web site to familiarize yourself with its capabilities. www.blanecanada.com/frameset_synchronist.html   Source of quote: Daily Herald news services, 1/26/04

~~~NPR... National Public Radio quote by Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City: "The difference between business and government is that in business it's a dog-eat-dog world and in government it's just the opposite."  Thanks to Linda Hirvonen, MI for the quote!

~~~Telephone message recorders... can be ANNOYING. We are amazed at the number of economic development offices which have as many as five rings before the message recorder clicks on. Many offices don't provide human contact at all. Those who have an "endless" series of options deserve a "poor professionalism" award. If you are seeking to be competitive, this is not the way to do it.

~~~Clusters... Excitement over clusters began in the early 1990's with the publication of Harvard professor Michael Porter's book, "The Competitive Advantage of Nations." Porter argues that groups of similar, interrelated firms concentrated in a small geographic area gain a competitive edge when they have access to unique regional resources, feel the spur of intense demand and operate in a business environment that fosters both keen competition and cooperation on shared needs. Source: "Fedgazette", September 2003

~~~Give us your opinion of ... clusters strategy effectiveness. We're looking for case studies for a research paper. E-mail ecanada@blanecanada.com

~~~Two worth noting... Reports from the US Technology Administration: 1) A survey of the Use of Biotechnology in US Industry, October 2003; 2) The Dynamics of Technology Based Economic Development: State Science and Technology Indicators (3rd Edition), April 2003. http://www.technology.gov/Reports.htm

~~~"My point... businesses will find that upgrading their PCs - even though they may be only two or three years old - to the latest and greatest that Intel and Microsoft have to offer will increase employee productivity significantly on repetitive tasks and web access." Source: Jim Hagerbaumer, Hagerbaumer Economics

~~~"Knowledge... is the only instrument of production that is not subject to diminishing returns. Quote: J.M. Clark

~~~First Impressions... Want to evaluate your community, but don't have the funding for an expensive consultant? Consider "First Impressions" - a complete guide to a volunteer exchange evaluation. Volunteers from two somewhat similar communities (size, location, county seat, etc.) agree to do unannounced exchange visits and then report on their findings. Participants became "secret shoppers" or "secret prospects" for the day to discover what they can about their sister city. The manual provides procedures and reporting guidelines. The manual helps insure that the evaluations and reports are thorough, somewhat uniform and minimize the training of volunteers. We highly recommend this set of tools written by James L. Schneider. http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cced/FirstImpressions.htm

~~~"I was skeptical... I thought the Synchronist survey tool would be too much structure. After a few visits, I realized how loose our prior visits had become. Thinking back on earlier visits, our clients must have wondered, "What was that all about?" Source: utility exec

~~~"Corporate Real Estate Leader"..."The Tampa Committee of One Hundred's highest priority remains focused on establishing, maintaining and enhancing long-term relationships, not just one-time transactions, by providing the very highest level of service to its existing clients, their business mobility consultants and corporate real estate advisors/service provider." Source: CREL, Sept. 2003, pp. 40-42, written by Robin Ronne, Tampa Chamber's Committee of 100

~~~"I'd say it a little differently... What Blane, Canada Ltd. has done is to shift the focus of business retention from data collection to problem solving and service delivery. You have given R&E strategic focus."  Source: TN

~~~Coming soon... to an LCD projector near you! Dynamic 3D backgrounds, pre-made animations and unique transitions, e.g. "Seafloor" a refractive light pattern replicated of the 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, hyperbole and add substantive content for the audience? http://www.instanteffects.com

~~~Failure to engage... when a person talks to you "while you simultaneously surf the Web, read e-mails, or trade instant messages." The reality is, you're there, but you're not there. That's what is called 'absent presence.' (Source: Wall Street Journal, "Portals," 11/10/03)

~~~Ball control... Your team is trapped on its own one yard line late in the 4th quarter. 4th down and you're trailing by 1 point with 135 seconds to play. Sizing up the situation, Coach tells the center to loft the snap way over the head of the punter. "Put it between the goal posts!" Following orders to the T, the snap was through the end zone and out of play. Result: a Safety, 2 points for the opposition, now giving the opposition a 3 point lead. Still only down by a field goal, the losing team must kick off, rely on its defense to make a stop, and get the ball back. They did, and they win. Benefit: by taking a safety the trailing team is allowed the opportunity to provide better field position for its defense without digging itself further into a deeper point deficit. Point: fighting forward isn't always the best strategy. Step back, reevaluate, and give something up to gain a competitive advantage.

Blane, Canada Ltd.
1506 Cadet, Suite 100
Wheaton, IL 60187-7380
ph 630.462.9222
fax 630.462.9210

info@blanecanada.com