Tuesday, July 29, 2003
Sometimes, the best insights come from people who turn you down.
Tennessee has asked companies that chose not to locate or expand in the state to explain their reasons. Although the report covers only a fraction of the companies and is not "statistically valid", it does provide some helpful guideposts for product improvement.
In Tennessee's case, companies chose other locations because of more affordable land, better tax incentives and lower costs for employee training.
When you think about it, a lot of economic development is driven by myths: the stories we tell each other. For example, we tell ourselves stories about why one company locates in one place an not another. But we rarely just ask the company. Reports like this one help you figure out if the myths have any facts behind them.
As Matt Kisber, the state's top EDPro notes, "A lot of what you see in that study are things that we already suspected, but it helps to give a higher level of credence to them.''
In 1914, transcontinental telephone service began. Thomas A. Watson in San Francisco talked to Alexander Graham Bell in New York City and repeated their historic first conversation from 1876.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
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Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Tennessee explores reasons companies say, "No"
