Quotes of the Week Sunday, February 19, 2006 It started to occur to me this week, that people were coming up with some memorable quotes, some serious, some funny. "We ought to be a place where a brilliant person with a great and timely new concept can come to get a receptive person to listen, and then find ways to support ... hard work to make it happen," Christina Gabriel, new director of Innovation Economy Program at the Heinz Endowments in Pittsburgh. "The activities that succeed over time are those that build on continuous learning and innovation." Suzanne Berger, director of the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI), and the lead author of "How We Compete." Read more. "Regional prosperity depends on a region's capacity to support innovative firms, institutions and people." Council on Competitiveness President Deborah Wince-Smith. Read more. "I think it's a ruse, a complete and total ruse by people who don't want to face what the real problems are. The real problem is that 30% of the people getting a college degree in China and India are getting an engineering degree. That number in the United States is 4%. The fact is, we don't value engineering, and that is how manufacturing jobs get created." General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt commenting on the outsourcing issue. Read more. "Here's the bottom line: You can't have competitiveness without competition". Hector Ruiz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, AMD, in his testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Government Reform. Ruiz was commenting on illegal contracts issued that specify branded products, such as "Intel-only products", which automatically prohibit competition. Read more. "The ideal length of a business plan is twenty pages or less, and this includes the appendix. For every ten pages over twenty pages, you decrease the likelihood that the plan will be read, much less funded, by twenty-five percent. When it comes to business plans, less is more." Guy Kawasaki's advice on writing business plans. Read more. "The pay you are offering would neither fulfill me nor support the lifestyle I am living." Young lawyer Dianna L. Abdala turning down her a job offer. Read more. "I just want to go home!" A cry for help from Alderman Joe Lee Richards in Benton City, AR. Read more. "Today's Sputnik? It's a little bigger. It's called China. The projected growth in high-technology products from there is staggering." Science policy analyst Michael Lubell of the American Physical Society. Read more. "Per year, 70,000 would be good. But we need 290,000 science and math teachers at this time." Cal Poly President Warren Baker commenting on President Bush's goal of 70,000 new science and math teachers for the nation’s high schools. Read more. "Whenever I read or hear that 'job creation' is a goal, my eyeballs start sweating." Scott Whipple, staff writer for the New Britain Hearld (CT). Read more. 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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