“Most economic development leaders have something to say and are good people to say it within their communities; they’re trusted entities. It’s important to be able to communicate clearly about where you stand and what the focus is.” –Kenny McDonald Project announcements are happening left and right in most communities, and one thing that can…

“Maturity is humility. The mature person need not experience the satisfaction of ‘I told you so.'” –Ann Landers As economic developers, we often have an inkling about the direction our communities need to be moving way before it becomes mainstream knowledge. Sometimes, we spend years attempting to teach community partners about impending developments and needs…

“The shift facing our community and communities across the nation means economic developers must be agile and cultivate assets, like workforce, policy and brands, like never before. “ –Emily Jerkins How are research professionals becoming increasingly vital to economic development work? Why is their time and effort foundationally critical to understanding regions and guiding future…

“Don’t let perfection be the enemy of productivity.” –Alice Boyes We’ve all been there. A big project is due, the pressure is mounting, you have the whole thing basically ready to go but it’s missing a few of those final details. There’s a hard deadline looming for the whole deliverable, and yet you can’t seem…

“When I look at the people that I admire most, that are further along in their career, that’s what I want to be to other people one day.” –Taylor Kielty Is there an attribute to your project process that makes you stand out? Are you gaining success because of a strategy that you believe in?…

“As you grow older, you learn a few things. One of them is to actually take the time you’ve allotted for vacation.” –John Battelle We hear more and more about employee burnout from the companies we work with. So why are so many days of time off going unused? On this episode, Faye Davis talks…

“I am at my best when I’m bowling with the guardrails down.” –Courtland Robinson Do you give due credit to the people around you? Are you intentional about the people you surround yourself with professionally? How can you put yourself in a position to learn about the people you want to? Today, Faye Davis talks…

“You have to take opportunities as they come to you.” –Karla Moran Sustainability is gaining momentum all over, and the corporate world is no different. How does that influence attraction work from a utility perspective? What demands do incoming businesses have with regard to renewables? And how does that play out in a place like…

“If you want to target talent, you need to customize what your region’s strengths are for the type of people you’re trying to attract. I firmly believe that the jobs will follow the talent.” –Michael Harvey Walmart, Tyson Foods, JB Hunt. Number 4 on the “Best Places to Live” list by US News. One of…

“Training the labor force to meet the future needs is now more important than ever.” –Eileen Cai Workforce. Chances are that this will come up in industry-related conversation within five minutes. And for good reason; communities everywhere are putting their best and brightest brains together to attempt to solve the labor shortage. So what does…