June 2004, Volume: 7, Issue: e/6, ISBN 1527-5175

~~~Partnering at its ultimate... Mississippi's Development Authority (MDA) is working with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Entergy, and Mississippi Power utilities to use Synchronist as their retention tool.  Governor Haley Barbour personally unveiled the product April 24. TVA's chairman, Glen McCullough Jr., is encouraging economic development partners in TVA's 7-state territory to utilize Synchronist. The software was created by Blane, Canada Ltd. to focus energies on existing business and view the local market in terms of a "portfolio". Synchronist addresses issues such as: which firms are most important to the local economy, where are the weaknesses, how can weaknesses be minimized in order to retain companies benefiting the local economy, etc. Synchronist has been in use in the U.S. and Canada, by state/provincial departments of commerce, utilities, ED organizations and municipalities. If you are not familiar with it, check out the web site: http://www.blanecanada.com/frameset_esynchronist.html

~~~Why Portfolio Management?... "It helps investors, board members, and volunteers to relate to the existing industry base and its importance in terms they understand." Todd Denham, Bowling Green (KY) Area Chamber of Commerce and participant in our "Advanced Business Retention" seminar.

~~~Calendar of professional events... We maintain a list of meetings across North America which may be of interest to readers. Share with us the more significant meetings you recommend. Check out the calendar at: http://www.blanecanada.com/Newsletters/Events/NL_Events.html

~~~GIS and a Palm Pilot... yield a clever combo when driving prospects from site to site. Dan Anderson (IA) did exactly that when picking up Eric for a presentation at the Heartland Basic Course. What inventive ways are you using this technology in your work? Share your experiences with other readers. Write: nblane@blanecanada.com

~~~"Offshore Outsourcing: The Dark Side of Globalization"... written by Paul Dillon, a Chicago business consultant, offers some interesting perspectives on outsourcing and its impact on domestic markets. "White-collar jobs in engineering, programming and accounting are leaving the U.S. for cheaper locales at a pace of nearly 4,000 per week," according to Forrester Research. A McKinsey & Co. report featured on www.Forbes.com in September indicates that the U.S., Europe and Japan combined are losing 600,000 jobs per year to countries with low wage rates." This type of information is the driver for economic developers to keep pulse on corporate plans for local companies. The complete article is at: http://www.pauldillon.com/main.aspx?id=6&sid=3

~~~Never... bad mouth your competitors.

~~~Evaluate... all of your materials. Which are background info and which are critical for decision-making? Reduce the former... increase the latter.

~~~Hit by a virus!... When you think you might have been hit, don't wait and think about it. Act immediately! When the NetSky virus hit us recently, our programming guru, John, bellied up to the bar (of the desk) searching Norton and MacAfee to see what their experts advised. Turned out that their web sites said the version we caught had a window of opportunity to eradicate it within 24 hours; otherwise, it was set to wreak more havoc later in the month. We immediately unplugged from the Internet so as to insure not to spread the virus. Spending several frustrating hours removing a virus was much better than experiencing the consequences. It's getting so that running the anti-virus software often isn't enough. Beware!

~~~Reminds us... "If you see a snake just kill it. Don't appoint a committee on snakes." Ross Perot

~~~Counter trend... We tend to go for the counter trend. That's because so many people and/or their advisors suggest following trends. By the time a trend is observed and materials developed to duplicate the trend, there's too much competition, decreasing the intended impact. The same holds true with PowerPoint. Too many people rely exclusively on PowerPoint. If you are one in a series of speakers, differentiate yourself. Don't look like part of the pack.

~~~Do your homework... Check various web sites on prospects and their competitors. Try: www.financeyahoo.com for company, industry, stock price, dividends, personnel www.hoovers.com for competitors, company personnel, top executives www.CNNfin.com for stock history, price, high/low www.thestreet.com for trends, product developments 

~~~Train your board... Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance (VA) trains their board three times a year.

~~~Survey by Delphi Research... found that 30 percent of employees spend more than 8 hours weekly in search activities. More than 60% state they are dissatisfied with the search experience. What opportunity does this information translate into for economic developers?

~~~Location, location, location... is not as important these days with REALLY BIG projects. It is only pertinent if a certain geography is targeted. Source: Jack Brophy, real estate consultant, speaking at Blane, Canada Ltd.'s "Physics of Marketing"

~~~ Plan for your next job... No one looks forward to picking up and relocating, yet it is a fact of life in economic development. We are surprised at the number of calls we get from professionals who do not have a job search network in place. You too can be squeezed out in a local power play. If you do, it will take more than a resume to get the next job.  It will take contacts. Active involvement in state, regional, and national associations are important to employment security. Can't afford to belong to all of them? Fine, pick one and get involved. It's your future.

~~~The 80% rule... on the number of jobs generated from existing business is a "safe" average number to use. Here's feedback from one reader: "It is certainly true that 80% of new jobs are created by existing business. But it is also true that 100% of job losses come from existing business. Every E.D. organization needs a strong existing business program, but no program can totally eliminate the loss of jobs at the local level due to uncontrollable factors such as poor management, bankruptcies, mergers, product life cycles, company downsizing, outsourcing and industry consolidation.  And existing business/industry growth does not always occur at the times and rates needed to offset such losses.  So new business recruitment must always be a vital part of the strategy. Existing business programs such as Synchronist are bringing new levels of sophistication to business retention efforts, and communities which do not place strong emphasis on existing business are foolish. But so are those that ignore the reality that there will always be down cycles and that the recruitment of new jobs must also have a high priority." Source: Robert Ingram, MS

~~~Fund raising... There are several companies to talk with when contemplating a fund raising campaign. They are: R&M Resource Development (Michael McCarthy) www.rmresource.com, Stellar Fundraising (Terry Cusack) http://www.stellarfundraising.com/, and NCDS (Howard Benson) http://www.ncdsinc.net/

~~~Hoorah... Quincy, IL has initiated a regional billboard campaign announcing "Quincy Life is Good". Placed on major transit sites, the billboards reflect partnerships with local interests such as Quincy University. The staff at the economic development foundation, GREDF, always carries out strategies in a top notch fashion, and this is just one more accomplishment.

~~~"Stick Around"... is Southwest Michigan First's campaign to assist a talented pool of people, in the field of life sciences who lost their jobs, to "stick around" and evaluate entrepreneurial possibilities. Examples of assistance include: monthly forums to link entrepreneurs with investors, a $10 million state R&D tax credit toward life science business development, web site listing regional life science jobs, personalized business coaching and planning services, and temporary pro bono services by local attorneys.  All of this from a yellow Post-it Note!

~~~InfoWorld magazine reports... that an anti-spam firewall is now available which seems to have a higher hit experience. Barracuda Networks' Spam Firewall is evaluated to be easy to use, accurate, and relatively low-cost. This product should be checked out with your IT specialist or consultant. InfoWorld, 5/17/04

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

info@blanecanada.com