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A personal note: Moving to a new challenge
Saturday, August 09, 2003 Last week, I embarked on a new challenge...heading the Center for Regional Economic Issues (REI) at Case Western Reserve University. Read more. The opportunities we have to create powerful, new approaches to economic development are exciting. A new president, Ed Hundert, provides young, energetic leadership to the university. REI sits in the middle of the Weatherhead School of Management at Case. We have deep resources and experience on which to draw. Along with my appointment, Weatherhead has hired Scott Shane. Scott was professor and chair of the Entrepreneurship Department at the University of Maryland. (You can read more about Scott here. You can learn more about the Weatherhead School here.) Along with Scott, REI has a large number of Weatherhead faculty engaged in the Center. They include faculty with deep research and consulting backgrounds in economics, entrepreneurship, organizations, and leadership. We also have a staff of six professionals and ten graduate MBA and PhD students. Finally, we have a network of independent consultants with whom we work. All of these resources are made possible by core funding from the SBC Ameritech Foundation, Cleveland Foundation, and the Gund Foundation. The Center is in fine shape even after the tragic loss of the previous director, Richard Shatten. Richard was an exceptional person. Although I knew him only briefly, he worked closely with my older brother, Hunter, in the revitalization of Cleveland. A former McKinsey consultant, Richard brought an amazing talent to our field of economic development. In following Richard, I am well aware of the legacy he left and the need to build on his good work. If you have a moment, read more about Richard. You will leave the tribute inspired. Read more. I'm dedicated to building the Center in the direction Richard established. We need quicker, cheaper, better tools for EDPros to use. These new ideas need to reach down to the neighborhoods, the rural counties, the street level. We need new insights into how to cope with a world in which brainpower and innovation drive prosperity. And we need new ways of thinking about how to build our communities in a networked world where connections really do matter. Finally, we, as economic development professionals, need new ways to connect to each other. There no experts anymore. The best way to learn about economic development is from other economic developers. The Center will be using Northeast Ohio and other leading edge communities and regions as a "beta sites" to develop these new approaches. One of the big challenges we face will be learning how to expand what we know works well. These are truly exciting times for economic development. I look forward to working more closely with my older brother, Hunter, who heads an urban and regional center at Youngstown State, and with my younger brother, Thompson, with whom I have been pioneering new Internet applications for EDPros through i-OP. (Our work on compensation for EDPros is an example.) I will be continuing to publish EDPro News and this weblog. More and more EDPros are sending me notes and stopping me at meetings to tell how much they like this Weblog. Thank you. As we relaunch the Center's web site this September, I will keep you informed of what we are doing through this weblog. It's only the beginning. One last point: An executive search firm, Grisham and Prout, recruited me to this position. Over the years, executive search -- "head hunting" -- has generated constant complaints among EDPros. Indeed, as a profession, we have probably not attracted the best executive search firms. My experience with Pat Prout, however, was different. Pat, a graduate of the Naval Academy and a Harvard MBA, handled the details of my recruitment promptly and professionally. I encourage other ED organizations to use his firm. Learn more about Pat. posted by Ed Morrison | |
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