Sunday, February 11, 2007
At times, we face the inevitable. Our best plans don't work out.
What to do?
In some communities, civic leaders quickly shove aside their mistakes. They hide them with a hope they will soon be forgotten. (Even worse, some civic leaders refuse to acknowledge their mistakes, and they keep pumping time, energy and resources into failed experiments.)
A healthier approach involves exploring mistakes openly an trying to learn the lessons, in order to move forward. Last week, the newspaper in Johnson City, TN examined the future course for Med Tech. Note the tone of the articles: factual, not personal. There's no search for scapegoats here.
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.
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.
What happens with mistakes?
