Best economic development books of 2005 Monday, December 26, 2005 Here's my list of the best books I read this year. 1776 tells the compelling story of a remarkable year in our nation's history. As we face the many uncertainties ahead, we can reach backward for strength and perspective. No book makes these uncertainties more certain than The World is Flat. Friedman makes clear that the future will be nothing like the past (especially for economic developers). EDPros need to know how to think about the economy, and Joseph Ellis provides us with a clear, concise explanation of economic indicators. In the process, he cuts through the mumbo jumbo of most economists in his book, Ahead of the Curve. The Power of Impossible Thinking shares some of the important insights of cognitive science. The book illustrates that in the years ahead, management professionals will need to cultivate a new set of skills: managing thinking, mental models and shared meaning. For EDPros, the challenge will be to guide collective thinking about your community's future. As we move ahead, the prevailing model of economic development will shift from competition to collaboration; from recruiting companies to designing open innovation networks. Creating We explores how leadership is changing in this interconnected world. The book's basic premise is that today's leaders need to step outside of our self-centric worlds and learn to focus on creating shared environments where innovation can thrive. Collaboration and innovation will drive regions forward. The regions with civic leaders who figure out this strategy will thrive. The ones that continue stuck in old industrial ways of thinking will fall farther behind. We'll need new civic spaces for this innovation to take place and a new understanding of the value of diversity. No book underscores the importance of different perspectives to innovation than The Ten Faces of Innovation. As you can tell, I think books about innovation are going to become increasingly important for EDPros to read. I have three other favorites I'll mention: The Design of Things to Come, Blue Ocean Strategy, and Making Innovation Work. posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links 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. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: 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.

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