In this episode of Site Selectors Are People, Too, host Devin Hillsdon-Smith gets on his soapbox to address one of the most common—and fatal—pet peeves in the economic development industry: the dreaded "TBD" on a Request for Information (RFI) response.

When faced with a glaring site constraint or an unfunded utility upgrade, the instinct for many economic developers is to buy time with vague answers like "TBD," "will investigate," or a highly generous interpretation of "shovel ready." But Devin pulls back the curtain to reveal exactly how these answers are interpreted on the other side of the table. Spoiler alert: TBD doesn't hide your site's flaws; it hides your competence.

Devin breaks down why unquantified risks are the ultimate dealbreakers for site selectors and their corporate clients, and he introduces a simple, powerful framework to use instead.

Stop selling the illusion of a perfect site and start selling your credibility as a trusted development partner.

For each actively marketed site, this is what should be on the shelf before the RFI arrives:

Why are local economic developers suddenly becoming the scapegoats of their communities? In this late-night, candid episode of Site Selectors are People, Too, host Devin Hillsdon-Smith sits down to defend the professionals at the heart of local job growth. Driven by rising public hysteria and misinformation—particularly around mission-critical data center projects—Devin unpacks the fundamental misunderstanding of what an economic developer actually does with their time.

If your entire picture of economic development is a mayor, a photographer, and an oversized check at a ribbon-cutting ceremony, you are only seeing about 15% of the job. Devin breaks down the invisible, unglamorous, multi-year reality of the profession, explaining why the most valuable work an economic developer does often looks like absolutely nothing happened at all.

In this episode, we cover:

Whether you're an industry veteran, a county commissioner, or a curious resident, this episode pulls back the curtain on a profession whose value is deeply real, even when the evidence is awkward to measure.

How did electricity—the most boring, taken-for-granted utility—become the single biggest constraint for billion-dollar economic development deals?

In this episode of Site Selectors Are People, Too, Devin Hillsdon-Smith unpacks the new reality of site selection: The Electron Wars. For the last two decades, U.S. electricity demand was a sleepy flatline. Today, AI-driven data centers and hyperscalers are shattering the grid, with projections showing data center grid demand nearly tripling by 2030.

To understand how we got here, Devin takes us back to 1890s Chicago to meet Samuel Insull—the relentless pioneer who invented the modern electricity customer, the "load factor," and the 120-year-old regulatory compact that is currently buckling under the weight of artificial intelligence. We explore how tech giants are pivoting to nuclear power to meet their always-on demands, and dive deep into how utilities are rewriting the rules of risk to protect everyday ratepayers.

Key Takeaways from this Episode:

If you are negotiating a megasite or courting a data center, this episode is your survival guide to the new physics of economic development.

Have you ever been the only person in the room who knows a deal is already dead?

In this special solo episode of Site Selectors Are People Too, host Devin Hillston Smith steps away from the success stories and ribbon cuttings to unpack something the economic development industry rarely talks about out loud: a deal that fell completely apart.

Taking us behind the scenes of a $150M+ manufacturing expansion that died late in the due diligence phase, Devin breaks down the fatal collision between a community's multi-year utility timeline and a client's sudden need for speed. It’s not a war story, and it’s not a win. It’s an honest, uncomfortable post-mortem on what happens when a warm relationship blinds you to cold, hard engineering realities.

In this episode, we cover:

Whether you're an experienced economic developer, a corporate site selector, or new to the field, this episode is a masterclass in seeing past your own confidence, protecting client relationships through radical honesty, and managing the blind spots that wear a nice suit.

Tune in for the hard lessons you won't find in a press release.

Join host Devin Hillsdon-Smith as he hits the road—and the Great Basin high desert—to explore economic development on a massive scale. In this episode, Devin sits down with Sheldon Mudd, the Executive Director of the NNRDA, who manages a sprawling 40,000-square-mile territory (roughly the size of Iceland!) in Northeastern Nevada.

Far from the neon lights of Las Vegas, Sheldon's jurisdiction is a true 21st-century "Wild West," rich in natural resources, pristine dark skies, and close-knit communities. The two dive deep into the unique challenges and massive opportunities of driving economic diversification in rural America.

In this episode, we cover:

Whether you're a site selector, a civic leader, or just someone fascinated by how remote communities adapt to the modern economy without losing their soul, this episode is packed with candid insights, "Sheldon-isms," and a few good laughs.

Grab your flashlights and double-check your NDAs—things are about to get legally binding.

In this solo episode, Devin steps down from the lectern and heads straight into the interrogation room to open up his own classified case files. We are peeling back the yellow caution tape to examine the dark underbelly of due diligence and the anatomy of a dead deal.

Listen in as Devin recounts the saga of "Project Apex" and Parcel 42: a supposedly perfect, shovel-ready 500-acre megasite pitched by an over-eager economic development director with a glossy brochure and a plate of catered barbecue. On paper, it was a half-billion-dollar golden ticket. In reality, it was a masterclass in municipal desperation. Discover the red flags that killed the deal, from a phantom wastewater pipeline and a crumbling bridge, to a literal toxic secret buried right beneath the surface. Devin breaks down exactly how to spot the lies hiding in the spreadsheets and why, in the high-stakes world of corporate real estate, "boring" can save you half a billion dollars.

In this episode, we cover:

If you survived this due diligence period, be sure to leave a five-star review to help other sleuths find the show!

How do you drive economic growth in a highly affluent community that already has it all?

In this installment of Stories from the Road, Devin sits down with his long-time friend and former colleague, Justin Hage. Justin has done it all—from working in the George W. Bush administration and state government under Governors Mitch Daniels and Mike Pence, to the private sector. Now, he's taking on a unique challenge as Deputy Mayor for his hometown of Zionsville, Indiana.

Zionsville is a beautiful, affluent bedroom community just northwest of Indianapolis, boasting a median household income of around $170,000. But with 88% of its tax base tied up in residential properties, the town faces a critical challenge: how to diversify its tax base to maintain premium municipal services without disrupting the community's charm or inviting unwanted NIMBYism.

Devin and Justin dive into the nuances of attracting the right kind of development—skipping the heavy "smokestack" industries in favor of corporate headquarters, life sciences, and trail-side office spaces that complement the town’s executive-level talent pool.

In this episode, we cover:

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

It’s Friday at 4:00 PM. Your weekend is perfectly planned. Then... ding. A 60-page Request for Information (RFI) hits your inbox, and it’s due on Tuesday. We've all been there, and we all know the "EDO guilt" that follows when you even consider passing on a massive project.

In this episode of Site Selectors Are People Too, host Devin Hillsdon-Smith dives deep into the human impact of the RFI process and gives economic developers the ultimate permission slip: It is okay to say no. A win isn't a win if it breaks the team who landed it. To help you navigate the pressure, Devin breaks down the Hyphen Strategies RFI Gut Check Scorecard, a 4-phase decision matrix designed to help your Economic Development Organization (EDO) protect its people and its community:

📚 Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Remember: Take care of your sites, but take care of your people first!

#EconomicDevelopment #SiteSelection #EDO #Leadership #WorkplaceWellbeing #CorporateRealEstate #Essentialism

In the Season 3 finale of Site Selectors are People Too, host Devin Hillsdon-Smith sits down with a true titan of the economic development industry: Jim Plump. Having served as the Executive Director of the Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation since its inception in 1984, Jim brings 40 years of unparalleled wisdom to this special Stories from the Road installment.

Tune in as Jim details the incredible transformation of rural Jackson County, Indiana, into a booming global manufacturing hub. He shares the fascinating behind-the-scenes story of how a seamless, team-first effort helped Seymour land tier-one Toyota supplier Aisin in 1986, paving the way for dozens of international investments in the region.

Devin and Jim also explore how the role of a "Community Champion" has drastically evolved over the decades. Moving beyond the old days of "chasing smokestacks," modern economic development now requires navigating AI, championing local housing, and building robust, innovative workforce pipelines. You'll hear about Jackson County's unique, 26-year-old Workforce Partnership—including their brilliant strategy of paying for substitute teachers so educators can tour local industries and bring real-world manufacturing knowledge back to their students.

Whether it's deploying the "shield" to protect the community from bad-fit projects, or using the "sword" to bring high-quality employers like Guardian Bikes to town, Jim’s humble and collaborative approach is a masterclass in economic development.

Note: This is our final episode of Season 3! We will be taking a short break to tee up new guests and will return with fresh episodes in July. Enjoy the show!

#EconomicDevelopment #EconDev #SiteSelection #SiteSelectors #FDI #ForeignDirectInvestment #BusinessRetention #CommunityChampions

In Part 10, the grand finale of our special mini-series, The Architects of Prosperity, we pull the camera all the way back to look at the entire 300-year tapestry of global economic development. The genesis of modern economic growth is not a clean, straight line from the steam engine to the smartphone—it is a messy, violent, and deeply contingent evolution of statecraft, ideas, and institutions.

This episode explores how the grand macroeconomic strategies of warring empires were eventually downloaded directly to the local zip code. We unpack how early state-building, catastrophic financial bubbles, and the clash between free trade and nationalist survival birthed the exact toolkit used by modern site selectors today, proving that modern development economics is just the academic rediscovery of what 19th-century architects learned the hard way.

In This Episode, We Cover:

#EconomicDevelopment #TheArchitectsOfProsperity #EconomicHistory #Institutions #NobelPrize2024 #SiteSelection #Podcast #SiteSelectorsArePeopleToo