Develop This: Economic and Community Development

According to Marty Vanagas, the business of economic development tends to be reactionary.  He should know.  Marty is an economic development professional but is also self-described futurist.  He serves as the President of the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership, an economic development group in the State of New York, and also authors the blog Bespoke Future.

In this episode, Dennis leads an interesting interview as Marty offers some thoughts about anticipating the future.  If you are simply looking for and reacting to trends, you are too late.  Trends are a reflection of the past.

Tune in for some additional thoughts:

Beware of Multi-tasking

Use the 'F' word often

What worked yesterday may not work today

Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership

Bespoke Future Blog

KEDGE Futures Training

Most residents of your community are likely familiar with the terms 'chamber of commerce' and 'economic development'.  The differences between these organizations, however, aren't always clear.  Often times, anything related to business, industry, and job growth will be lumped together as though it is all done by The Chamber.

So what are the key differences between these groups if they are separate organizations within a community?  Are the roles distinguishable in communities where the two groups have merged?

In this episode, Dennis and Jason share a few key differences in these groups and offer suggestions for chambers of commerce and economic development groups considering a merger.

Every company and organization has a reputation whether they know it or not.  A brand is more than a logo and can include your identity, your successes, your failures, and your story.

When was the last time your worked on your organization's brand?

In this episode, Dennis and Jason offer some questions for consideration and suggestions for spending more intentional time with your brand.  If you don't tell the story, others will do it for you.

We all believe in the power of groups, but how do you ensure the genius of the group emerges instead of groupthink?

Dr. Keith Sawyer is one of the country's leading scientific experts on creativity and author of Group Genius, and he joins Dennis for an inspiring interview designed to get the most from your group interactions.

In this episode, you will learn Dr. Sawyer's seven key characteristics of effective creative teams, including:

1. Innovation emerges over time
2. Successful collaborative teams practice deep listening
3. Team members build on their collaborators’ ideas
4. Only afterwards does the meaning of each idea become clear
5. Surprising questions emerge
6. Innovation is inefficient
7. Innovation emerges from the bottom up

More About Keith Sawyer

Zig Zag Creativity Cards

Trade shows sound like a worthy addition to your economic development marketing plan, but unless you execute well, they can be a total waste of time.

In this episode, Jason shares stories from the trenches including some best practices for maximizing your trade show attendance. 

Jay Garner with Garner Economics is back to talk about launching successful international trade missions.  He has a ton of experience traveling internationally and has led a number of global business attraction initiatives.

In this episode, Dennis asks Jay for some tips regarding international trade missions including: getting to know the culture (download a CIA handbook for that country), consider using an intermediary to make introductions, order international business cards, and don't forget about a translator.

Garner Economics

More about Jay Garner

In this episode, Dennis and Jason summarize the month that was from February 2019 including their thoughts on interviews with Eric Canada, Jay Garner, Faye Davis, Ron Kitchens, and a bit more on the business of economic development incentives.

Citizens Against Virtually Everything Critics Not In My Backyarders

How should you handle these folks in your community?

In this episode, Dennis and Jason discuss the difference between constructive criticism and the politics of destruction.  Learn from some great examples of dealing with local critics.

Faye Davis with Southwest Michigan First loves doing the things that give many people headaches.  She is a master of productivity and detail, and in her support role, she adjusts her style to fit the communication needs of her fellow team members.  If you need something done, you go to Faye because she will follow-up until the task is complete.

In this episode, Dennis interviews Faye on a variety of topics from customized communication to systematic organization.  You will also hear a bit about yoga.

More About Faye Davis

It is the show's 100th episode, and we couldn't be more grateful for the support this crowd-sourced economic development show has received.

In this episode, Dennis and Jason talk about the future of the podcast and Jason reveals the big announcement we have been waiting for.