Don't do this at home Sunday, May 07, 2006 Last week, Austin hosted the 15th World Congress on Information Technology. Representatives from 80 countries registered for the event. Read more. As part of the event, EDPros from Lubbock handed out free tote bags with the message: "Lubbock Economic Development Alliance, Home of Texas Tech University" Read more. Well, the folks in Austin just couldn't stand the idea that people from Lubbock would be handing out free tote bags in the Austin Convention Center. (Can you imagine!) So, City Manager Cindy Futrell got on the phone and ordered 2,000 tote bags -- rush order, please -- with Austin's name. She huffed to a local reporter: "The conference is in Austin. People need to remember Austin when they leave, and we are going to make sure of that." Read more. (Hmm. Let me see. The people who came to Austin might get confused and think they were in Lubbock.) It's time for EDPros (including city managers) to start acting differently. In the global economy, it's a fool's game to think that one city can get ahead by pushing another city away. We cannot move forward if we all are acting like crabs in a bucket, pulling each other down. Instead of ordering her own tote bags, the City Manager would have been far better off promoting the idea that Texas is not just Austin. Texas Tech is a fine university, and Austin will make no headway by trying to elbow Lubbock out of the picture. (Indeed, one EDPro reader noted to me that the incident had actually accelerated the press interest in Lubbock.) Instead of ordering tote bags, the city manager should have used that money to invite university and city leaders in Lubbock to come to Austin for an exploration of how the two cities could collaborate. Where are the opportunities between University of Texas and Texas Tech? (Figure the tote bags cost Austin $4 to $5 a piece or about $8,000 to $10,000.) Step back. We are competing in a global economy. In my talks around the country, I remind civic leaders to take the Shanghai Perspective. The folks in Austin might not like the folks in Lubbock, but, guess what? The people in Shanghai -- our competitors -- don't care. (Indeed, they are probably happy that we are occupying our time with inconsequential matters while they build their innovation economy to compete with ours.) Remember: We need to build our innovation economy. To do that, we need to develop hundreds of new collaborations within and across our regions. We cannot afford to lose the Shanghai Perspective. 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.

The Web EDPro Weblog