business

“Economic development, at its best, brings people together” –Quentin Messer, Jr.

Do you step into opportunities with enthusiasm and passion? Do you allow your unique attributes to play into your daily leadership and work?

On this episode, Carla Sones talks with Quentin Messer, Jr. about personal qualities that drive you professionally. Quentin lets us in on his personal qualities that he believes help him in his career. Economic growth lets people have aspirations for their future; how do we come along side that amazing mission with eagerness and passion? If we bring energy to our teams, we can allow them to do their work to the ability we know they can preform at.

Quentin is one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers. We are so excited to have Quentin at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. We get to hear what coaches and leaders Quentin is receiving influence from and why he is listening to them.

America’s Jobs Team is sponsored by Research on Investment / Gazelle.ai

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“Celebrate what you want to see more of.” –Tom Peters

Do you consider yourself a ‘deal junky’? Does your adrenaline kick in when that RFI shows up? Do you feel the excitement at every ribbon cutting?

Today, Faye Davis talks with Carla Sones about keeping momentum going after wins. We all know the feeling of closing on the project, but what do we do after it is done? Economic developers are notorious for going right into the next project and looking for the next deal. Rather than moving on right away, how do we take a moment as team to reflect? After a win, we should celebrate, talk through the process, and then see what is coming up next.

In economic development, there is never an end game. We work for milestones. The work we do is in small chunks towards the goal of our communities thriving over years of work. It is even more important to celebrate our wins so we can energizer and reinvigorate our work.

America’s Jobs Team is sponsored by Research on Investment / Gazelle.ai

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“I like being able to see the change that were making, one job at a time, in our community and the impact that makes.” –Cristina Paredes

How do you creatively bring in other companies to partner with your strategy efforts? When you’re working on an initiative, do you try to involve your whole community? Do you see how your work impacts your region?

On this episode, Faye Davis talks with Cristina Paredes of Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality about the region, the unique industries and the partnerships that thrive there. Tallahassee has become the Magnetic Technology Capitol of the world and Cristina and her team have worked to keep it that way. She talks about partnering with local universities to maintain talent and why educating the community on its importance has been so impactful. Cristina has partnered with local breweries and small businesses to catalyze that education and grow STEM programs in their area. We get to hear how walking arm in arm with local companies helps a region thrive!

Cristina is one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers. Her creative relationships is just one reason why. We also get to hear about minority and women owned business initiatives and the services to help business grow. Cristina also offers insight on how to keep motivation up and projects moving forward. The way she is intentional with her time and recognition of her team gives us a glimpse of how to help our own teams. Tune in today to glean more!

America’s Jobs Team is sponsored by Research on Investment / Gazelle.ai

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“Leadership is an action, not a position.” –Donald McGannon

Do you ever find yourself looking to a coworker for leadership or advice on a project? Do you see yourself stepping into that role for your teammates? As economic developers, we often find ourselves in roles of authority that shift with project needs.

Today, Faye Davis talks with Carla Sones about informal authority that comes from below. This authority doesn’t come from a specific title or from leadership appointing you; it comes from others seeing that skill in you. When you have a team that is united around the same goal, we often see leadership being flexible as our natural talents are utilized. Economic developers frequently work on deals that we don’t have written authority on, but our expertise carries the authority. We have significant opportunity to shape our communities that takes more people than just the leaders with appointed titles.

As our year comes to a close, Faye and Carla talk about shifting your perspective to the next year. Sometimes, we find ourselves eager for the next opportunities and forget to stay present. How do we finish what we’ve started in the calendar year when the next year beckons excitement? Listen today to hear more!

America’s Jobs Team is sponsored by Research on Investment / Gazelle.ai

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“Performance and partnerships, I think, are the most important for any profession.” –Brandon Simmons

Do you remember the energy and passion that drew you into economic development? Do you bring that energy into relationships that attracts businesses and partnerships to you? Do you still have the competitive endurance to run the marathon of economic development?

On today’s episode, Faye Davis talks to Brandon Simmons from REDI Cincinnati about the energy in relationships and the advantage that brings. We all know the long haul of economic development, but do we bring our competitive endurance to the table daily? That competitiveness fuels collaboration that helps us push through adversity and work through failures. When we have strong and energetic relationships, we can take opportunities that may have risks, but produce the sweetest rewards.

Brandon is one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers and this interview shows a glimpse as to why. He gives insight on the power of ‘yes’ and the power of presence. Brandon allows us to ask ourselves how we are being perceived and are we letting that be aligned with how we want to be perceived. Tune in today to hear more!

America’s Jobs Team is sponsored by Research on Investment / Gazelle.ai

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“Be passionate about the culture and the business, and remain positive because it inspires others.” –Barry Liber

Did the last 18 months have a negative effect on the way you and your team experience work together? Is the culture feeling a little crunchy right now? And do you have a plan on pulling the train back on track?

Faye Davis and Carla Sones dive into why many workplaces are experiencing culture struggles in the aftermath of all the changes over the last year and a half. When the culture at an organization is subjected to a lot of change, there is the danger that intentionality behind culture practices goes out the window. When we lose control of our culture strategy, it then becomes a culture by default. And that is not the place where innovation and engagement thrive.

So how can leaders flip the script and reset a culture that may have fallen by the wayside over time? Tune in to today’s episode to learn about why an intentional workplace culture is important, how you can get started on strategically engaging your team, and what the benefits and payoffs will be in the short term and long term.

America’s Jobs Team is sponsored by Research on Investment / Gazelle.ai

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“Industrial and economic development is extremely noble work. Everyone gets to that position a variety of different ways. It saves families.” –Michael Looney

Do you work in a very industry diverse community? Do you know how to draw on your local talent and the talent coming in? Do you know how to partner with your local university to benefit your companies?

On this episode, Carla Sones talks with Michael Looney about diverse industry fields, population retention and the power of partnering with your higher education. At San Angelo Chamber of Commerce, Michael has unique opportunities with the nature of his town; they see agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, a military base and energy, just to name a few. Today we hear about how bringing companies in the same room with the local university adds to retention of talent. When we can create open dialogue for what our companies need, our universities can thrive along with our communities.

Michael is one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers. His passion and drive to solve big problems for his community is just one of the reasons for this. Michael’s ingenuity leads to growth, talent and a community to work, live and play. Tune in today to listen!

America’s Jobs Team is sponsored by Research on Investment / Gazelle.ai

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“The people must have ownership in the vision. They need to be enabled to accomplish it. If there is one investment you should make, it is in people.” –Modesta Lilian Mbughuni

Can you think of a time where you knew something had to change, you were impassioned to lead the charge, but somehow the momentum was lost and the driving energy fizzled out? What was it that caused the decline in motivation? Was it lack of a plan, absence of people buying in, or maybe active resistors that ultimately caused the vision to crash?

Building off of last week’s episode on how change can create pain points for all stakeholders, today Carla Sones and Faye Davis dive into how to lead effective change management in 8 steps, based on Dr. John Kotter‘s research. Framing all 8 phases around the big opportunity, this framework is great to use in analyzing what went wrong in past initiatives, assessing current seasons of change adoption, and creating a cohesive plan for future actions.

Using Kotter’s wheel (pictured to the left) as a guide, listen in to today’s episode to learn more about change management. From creating a sense of urgency to building your supporting “volunteer army,” all the way to instituting change, each step serves a keen purpose in creating support and maintaining momentum to bring the big opportunity to implementation in your organization.

America’s Jobs Team is sponsored by Research on Investment / Gazelle.ai

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“Despite our success, there is consensus in the community that we can accomplish so much more and include more people in the region’s growth and success.” –Matt McQuade

How do the top performing organizations stay on top? What is it about their strategy that simply clicks with their communities and allows the work to move forward with maximum impact? And which role does the economic development work itself play in the prosperity cycle?

Matt McQuade, Managing Director of Business Development at One Columbus, joins Carla Sones for today’s episode. Columbus, OH has been experiencing a high level of success over the last decade; project announcements over the last year have been huge and impactful. Matt talks candidly about being involved since the organization’s inception and shares the three things that continue to drive Columbus’ thriving economy forward. He also dives into the various nuances that help move the needle on progress.

Additionally, Matt’s take on his own leadership and what characteristics have allowed him to be so successful is truly unexpected and inspiring. Matt is hailed as one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers; join in for this episode to get a true understanding of why he is such an impactful economic developer!

America’s Jobs Team is sponsored by Research on Investment / Gazelle.ai

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“What did you learn through the process? In year 2? In year 4? In year 6? How can you apply that to the next project?” –Matthew Slotwinski

When you don’t land the project, what is your first step away? Is it learning from the process? Is it getting prepared for the next opportunity? There could be great insight waiting in what seems to be failures.

On this episode, Faye Davis talks with Matthew Slotwinski about the journey of long projects and what to do if you don’t land them in the end. At Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership, Matthew’s team is well versed in 2-5 year projects – projects that, by nature, take a long time to come to fruition and have a lot of moving parts. Sometimes you work on a project for a few years, and still don’t get the deal. Today, we talk about what lessons you can learn and what questions to ask to grow from the experience. These actions spur us on to better work for the next business in the pipeline.

Matthew is one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers and listening to his insight, it is easy to see why! Community partnerships are such a key role in the work we do as economic developers, and we get to hear just how impactful they can be. When we row the boat in the same direction, things tend to flow smoother.

America’s Jobs Team is sponsored by Research on Investment / Gazelle.ai

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