America’s Jobs Team

Episode 063: Realign Your Services and Refresh Your Brand: Moving from Crisis to Renaissance, Part 1
Episode 063: Realign Your Services and Refresh Your Brand: Moving from Crisis to Renaissance, Part 1 150 150 America's Jobs Team

As businesses are reopening, we are hearing of many which are struggling with a clear sense of direction. On today’s episode, Carla Sones and Ron Kitchens embark on part one of a three-part series talking through how to move from crisis to renaissance. First up: realigning your services and refreshing your brand. Ron and Carla dive into the importance of listening, noticing, and stepping in to fill the gaps where it is appropriate for your business to do so. They touch on how to communicate with all your stakeholders, both internal and external, and remind us to check in with how our brand is signaling messages to the world. Tune in now to hear more!

If you’d like to download the complete Moving from Crisis to Renaissance: A Economic Developer’s Guide to Leading at an Inflexion Point, you can do so by clicking here.

CRISIS TO RENAISSANCE PIVOT IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Now is the time to pivot from reaction to reinvention, and America’s Jobs Team is excited to bring you content that will help economic development professionals become agents of change. Every week we will bring you content relevant to the reinvention and renaissance of our communities. Subscribe to our podcast to ensure you have all the latest content as soon as it is released!

Episode 062: The Drive for Racial Equity Needs Economic Developers
Episode 062: The Drive for Racial Equity Needs Economic Developers 150 150 America's Jobs Team

Social unrest and the drive for racial equity is top of mind right now. Today, Carla talks with Quentin L. Messer, Jr, who recently wrote a powerful article about his experiences as a Black man in America. Quentin graciously joined the C2 O’Clock call on Friday, June 12 to dive deeper into his insights and share his wisdom for the path forward. He reminds us that economic developers have a unique role in the conversations about driving equity. Quentin also shares three things that economic developers should know about racial equity conversations and emphasizes the importance of hope in the future we are creating. Tune in now to hear this transformative conversation!

If you prefer to watch the conversation on video, we’ve made that available as well:

Quentin is the president and CEO of New Orleans Business Alliance, where he leads initiatives and programs related to making New Orleans the most attractive city of its size for financial and human capital investment. These initiatives and programs are conducted across four workstreams: business attraction/retention, small business growth, talent and workforce development, and strategic neighborhood development.

CRISIS TO RENAISSANCE PIVOT IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Do you want to be part of the C2 O’Clock live presentations? On the second Friday of each month, Consultant Connect hosts a virtual call with a guest presenter, followed by time to connect with fellow economic development professionals in small breakout sessions. If you’d like to join, you can sign up here.

Now is the time to pivot from reaction to reinvention, and America’s Jobs Team is excited to bring you content that will help economic development professionals become agents of change. Every week we will bring you content relevant to the reinvention and renaissance of our communities. Subscribe to our podcast to ensure you have all the latest content as soon as it is released!

June 9: How Is Rural America Adapting and Overcoming? | COVID-19 MINISERIES
June 9: How Is Rural America Adapting and Overcoming? | COVID-19 MINISERIES 150 150 America's Jobs Team

The America’s Jobs Team podcast has spent a lot of time talking about the goings-on in urban areas over the past few months. Today, we’re turning the focus to rural communities. Carla Sones is joined by Kiley Miller, president and CEO at Iowa Lakes Corridor. They embark on a discussion on the challenges and windfalls that his community in rural Iowa has seen. Kiley talks about how his community benefitted from having a full-time entrepreneurial person on his staff and dives into the challenges they experienced as tourism came roaring back after restrictions were lifted. He talks candidly about the epiphanies he had related to depth of relationships and what we should be doubling down on.

Kiley is the president and CEO of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation. An Iowa native, he previously was Executive Vice President of the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance. Kiley has also been a journalist and served in the United States Army. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Sewanee—The University of the South and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

If you are looking for more resources for the post-COVID pivot, we created an economic development leader guide book with lots of information and resources. You can download it for free here.

COVID-19 RESPONSE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Now is the time to pivot from reaction to reinvention, and America’s Jobs Team is excited to bring you content that will help economic development professionals become agents of change. Every week we will bring you content relevant to the reinvention and renaissance of our communities. Subscribe to our podcast to ensure you have all the latest content as soon as it is released!

June 2: Site Selectors Weigh in on the Future of Economic Development | COVID-19 MINISERIES
June 2: Site Selectors Weigh in on the Future of Economic Development | COVID-19 MINISERIES 150 150 America's Jobs Team

Today, we are bringing you some of the highlights from the Virtual Site Consultant Encounter event which Consultant Connect hosted last week. We were joined by 13 site consultants and 130 economic developers for an extended Q+A panel and small group breakout sessions. Tune in to this episode to hear more about the state of economic development and site selection, what the consultants are predicting will happen in the future, and how workforce, onshoring and incentives are changing.

If you are looking for more resources for the post-COVID pivot, we created an economic development leader guide book with lots of information and resources. You can download it for free here.

COVID-19 RESPONSE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Now is the time to pivot from reaction to reinvention, and America’s Jobs Team is excited to bring you content that will help economic development professionals become agents of change. Every week we will bring you content relevant to the reinvention and renaissance of our communities. Subscribe to our podcast to ensure you have all the latest content as soon as it is released!

May 26: Looking to the Future with Ann Petersen | COVID-19 MINISERIES
May 26: Looking to the Future with Ann Petersen | COVID-19 MINISERIES 150 150 America's Jobs Team

Today, Carla Sones talks with Ann Petersen about the shifting economic development landscape. Ann shares her insights on workforce, the likelihood of onshoring, and what communities should be prepared to report on during future site visits. She shares what she and her team are keeping an eye on for the rest of 2020, and how compliance work is about to increase significantly.

Ann is a director at Atlas Insight. With 15 years of combined experience as a tax and incentive consultant, Ann is widely regarded as an expert in the industry. Ann has a proven history of guiding her clients through the strategic process of location consulting and combining this with multi-state economic development and financial incentive negotiation.

Do you want to be part of the C2 O’Clock live presentations? On the second Friday of each month, Consultant Connect hosts a virtual call with a guest presenter, followed by time to connect with fellow economic development professionals in small breakout sessions. If you’d like to join, you can sign up here.

COVID-19 RESPONSE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Now is the time to pivot from reaction to reinvention, and America’s Jobs Team is excited to bring you content that will help economic development professionals become agents of change. Every week we will bring you content relevant to the reinvention and renaissance of our communities. Subscribe to our podcast to ensure you have all the latest content as soon as it is released!

May 19: How to Harness the Power of Positivity with Jon Gordon | COVID-19 MINISERIES
May 19: How to Harness the Power of Positivity with Jon Gordon | COVID-19 MINISERIES 150 150 America's Jobs Team

Ron Kitchens has a conversation with Jon Gordon, bestselling author, and speaker. Jon dives into his journey to become more positive as a naturally negative person and shares the importance of filling voids with positivity so negativity does not seep in. Jon has some great advice to cultivate characteristics that will help you thrive as a person.

Jon’s story is powerful, and his advice on positivity has been requested far and wide, ranging from The Golf Channel to West Point Academy. Jon has written 18 books, many of which are best-sellers. In today’s interview, you will hear Jon and Ron talking about Jon’s journey to positivity, why it is so important especially during a crisis such as the one we are currently experiencing, and how you can start to incorporate those same habits. If you would like to follow Jon, you can do so @jongordon11 on Twitter and also @jongordon11 on Instagram. You can sign up for Jon’s daily dose of positivity at www.dailypositive.com.

COVID-19 RESPONSE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Now is the time to pivot from reaction to reinvention, and America’s Jobs Team is excited to bring you content that will help economic development professionals become agents of change. Every week we will bring you content relevant to the reinvention and renaissance of our communities. Subscribe to our podcast to ensure you have all the latest content as soon as it is released!

May 12: Breaking It Down: What Do the Key Findings Mean? | COVID-19 MINISERIES
May 12: Breaking It Down: What Do the Key Findings Mean? | COVID-19 MINISERIES 150 150 America's Jobs Team

Today, Carla Sones dives into the key findings from the COVID-19 Impacts Site Selector Survey (click the link to download your free copy). Consultant Connect heard from hundreds of economic developers that were desperate for insights from site location consultants on emerging trends, industry forecasts, and ideas on how to best respond and pivot from the crisis impacts. To get answers, we went to the source and polled active site location consultants to get data to help guide economic developer strategies.

On Thursday, May 28 we are hosting a Virtual Site Consultant Encounter to provide economic developers with the opportunity to ask even more questions. This event will be 90 minutes, consisting of panel discussions, Q+A sessions, and two separate 15-minute small group breakout discussions with a site consultant. Learn more and reserve your spot now!

Do you want to be part of the C2 O’Clock live presentations? Each Friday, Consultant Connect hosts a virtual call with a guest presenter, followed by time to connect with fellow professionals in small breakout sessions. If you’d like to join, you can sign up here.

And, in case you missed it, we were celebrating your grit and persistence through highs and lows during Economic Developer Week last week.

COVID-19 RESPONSE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Now is the time to pivot from reaction to reinvention, and America’s Jobs Team is excited to bring you content that will help economic development professionals become agents of change. Every week we will bring you content relevant to the reinvention and renaissance of our communities. Subscribe to our podcast to ensure you have all the latest content as soon as it is released!

May 5: How Can You Help Relieve Your Small Businesses’ Struggles? | COVID-19 MINISERIES
May 5: How Can You Help Relieve Your Small Businesses’ Struggles? | COVID-19 MINISERIES 150 150 America's Jobs Team

Jeff Pappas, executive vice president of site selection and brokerage at ESRP Real Estate Services, joins Consultant Connect for C2 O’Clock this past Friday. He introduces us to one of his clients which is laser-focused on helping small businesses weather the COVID-19 storm. Brandon Willey and Eric Keosky-Smith talk about the ways their company, Hownd, can help position businesses to generate revenue and foot traffic, as well as how they are working together with economic development organizations to support small business. You can follow along with the slides here.

Do you want to be part of the C2 O’Clock live presentations? Each Friday, Consultant Connect hosts a virtual call with a guest presenter, followed by time to connect with fellow professionals in small breakout sessions. If you’d like to join, you can sign up here.

COVID-19 RESPONSE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Now is the time to pivot from reaction to reinvention, and America’s Jobs Team is excited to bring you content that will help economic development professionals become agents of change. Every week we will bring you content relevant to the reinvention and renaissance of our communities. Subscribe to our podcast to ensure you have all the latest content as soon as it is released!

April 28: What Can We Learn from Past Disasters? | COVID-19 MINISERIES
April 28: What Can We Learn from Past Disasters? | COVID-19 MINISERIES 150 150 America's Jobs Team

Gray Swoope and Nancy Blum-Heintz of VisionFirst Advisors joined Consultant Connect recently for a live Zoom presentation to share their experiences with economic recovery after a crisis. As Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority under Governor Haley Barbour, Gray led the efforts in Mississippi post-Hurricane Katrina to reestablish business and community connectivity. Nancy was the Communications Director at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection under Governor Charlie Crist during the BP oil spill. Tune in now to hear their insights on how to begin the process of restoration and reinvention to propel us forward into a renaissance! You can follow along with the slides here.

Do you want to be part of these live presentations? Each Friday, Consultant Connect hosts a virtual call with a guest presenter, followed by time to connect with fellow professionals in small breakout sessions. If you’d like to join, you can sign up here.

COVID-19 RESPONSE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

America’s Jobs Team has been interviewing economic developers and site consultants regarding their experiences with COVID-19 to ensure our audience has access to a large vault of knowledge. Now is the time to pivot from reaction to reinvention, and we are excited to bring you content that will help economic development professionals become agents of change. Subscribe to our podcast to ensure you have all the latest content as soon as it is released!

April 24: John Longshore | Global Location Strategies | COVID-19 MINISERIES
April 24: John Longshore | Global Location Strategies | COVID-19 MINISERIES 150 150 America's Jobs Team

John Longshore talks with Ron Kitchens about the things he believes economic developers should focus on to stay relevant in a world that is changing by the hour.

John is a Principal and VP of Innovation at Global Location Strategies, where he has spent his time for the past six years. He has led numerous projects across North America and Europe, and the projects he has worked have totaled over $10 billion in capital investment and thousands of jobs.

COVID-19 RESPONSE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Today is the last release of daily podcasts. America’s Jobs Team will begin releasing new content three times a week starting on Monday, April 27, on various topics exploring where we will go next as a profession (think topics like data, rebuilding after a crisis, how to re-open businesses, leading your team through changes, and much more). Stay tuned to hear more about upcoming guests and experts, and how you can be part of the interviews!