Develop This: Economic and Community Development

In this episode, Dennis continues with his quest to rid the world of unproductive meetings.  Michael Wilkinson, Certified Master Facilitator and founder of Leadership Strategies, Inc., joins Dennis in a discussion regarding meeting rights, the three P's, and calling for the ELMO rule when it is time for a vote.

Don't miss this episode packed full of great advice.  Here is a bit of what you'll hear:

-Every meeting should start with its purpose.

-The secret of the starting question

-Empower all meeting members and the 10 minute rule.

-Differences between status meetings and working meetings

-The value of redirect questions

More About Michael Wilkinson

Secrets of Facilitation Book

Placemaking is becoming increasingly important in the community development business.  Quantifying the results, however, can be very difficult.

Emily Brown is the director of economic strategy with Fourth Economy and previously was part of the IEDC applied research team.  In this episode, Jason brings Emily on the show to define placemaking, discuss the process of creating and implementing a good investment prospectus, and then measuring the results.

IEDC Economic Development Research Papers

More About Emily Brown

Additional Content from Emily

Fourth Economy

As is customary, the month of June concludes with your favorite podcast co-hosts sharing their updates from the month, providing some podcast news, and discussing some key takeaways from the interview shows.

In addition- it is not too late to register for the Mid American EDC Best Practices Conference in Milwaukee July 17-19.

You have worked hard to submit an RFP or work an economic development lead.  Your community made the short list and now the site visit is scheduled.  It's game time.

How can your community stand out?  What are you forgetting?

It's all about the details.

In this episode, Dennis and Jason talk shop as they discuss key differences between a corporate site visit and a family-owned company visit.

Dennis also suggests some great tips for keeping track of the little things most forget (hint: umbrellas and bug spray).

If you have a site visit coming up, be sure to tune in to this episode for some practical tips to make your prospect's trip a memorable one.

The gloves are coming off.  In this episode, Dennis and Jason square off on a debate over local politics.

If you care about the future of your community, you should absolutely get involved in local elections says Jason.  Not so, says Dennis, as losing that bet can have long-term, irreversible consequences.

Tune in to this fun dialogue that will help your organization think through the pros and cons of engaging in local elections.

In addition- it is not too late to register for the Mid American EDC Best Practices Conference in Milwaukee July 17-19.

Professionals in the economic and community development space are known for being generous with their time.  While attending conferences (or listening to podcasts!) is great, the best way to learn in this business is to engage your peers.

But how can you build a peer network if you are brand new to this business?

In this episode, Dennis and Jason share some best practices for building peer networks and the benefits of doing so.

In addition- it is not too late to register for the Mid American EDC Best Practices Conference in Milwaukee July 17-19.

In Episode #68, Dennis and Jason shared their best advice for creating a strong economic develoment web site: fire the committee.  So what do you do after you fire the committee?

Brad Owens serves as the Director of Web Strategies and Joe Hagar serves as the Senior Vice President with Accrisoft Corporation which specializes in web design and has a large portfolio of economic develoment groups- including the International Economic Development Council.

In this episode, Brand and Joe share some best practices and strategies for building a strong site.  Some of what you will hear includes:

-Fresh, relevant content

-High quality photography and video

-Contemporary design trends

-Think about the user experience

-Mobile responsive

-Secured site

-Optimizing for search engines

-Colors and white space

More About Accrisoft Corporation

More About Brad Owens

More About Joe Hager

Las Vegas attracts millions of tourists every year for entertainment, but with direct flights, great proximity to major markets, and a growing labor pool, it can be a great destination for business as well.

With so much to offer business prospects, how can the economic development leaders get the bandwidth to share their message when the tourism marketing budget is nearly unlimited?

In this episode, Dennis interviews Jared Smith, Chief Operating Officer of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance.  Here is the secret: share your goals and strategies with your community partners.

Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance

More About Jared Smith

In a world of soundbites, talking heads, and political hot buttons, does the local economic development professional stand any chance in our national's capital?

Odds are your presence is not going to solve immigration, entitlements, or trade.  However, interacting with your federal delegation can have an impact on specific legislation that could yield dividends for your community.

Tune in to this episode as Dennis and Jason share their experiences on advocacy trips and gain some pointers on organizing a trip.  If you decide to take a delegation to Washington, find out this one thing you should never let happen in a meeting.

Every community wants to better connect education with business and the community.  NAF academies do just that.

NAF is a national network of education, business, and community leaders who work together to ensure high school students are college, career, and future ready.  Last year, more than 100,000 students attended more than 617 NAF academies across 35 states.

In part one of this two part series, Dennis brings Lisa Dughi, NAF President, on the show to share more about the organization and their work.

According to Lisa-  businesses should not look at partnering with educational entities as a philanthropic endeavor, but rather, as a major investment in the future of their workforce.

Learn more about NAF

More about Lisa Dughi