interview

Episode 193: Embrace a New Perspective to Tell the Community Story
Episode 193: Embrace a New Perspective to Tell the Community Story 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“I’m obsessed with giving the audience something they don’t see coming.” —Jordan Peele

Economic development is heavily focused on relationship building. And with relationship building comes event after event. Here at Consultant Connect we often get asked, how do you find the cool and memorable venues and moments that make all the difference?

In this week’s episode, our very own Cynthia McMullin, who provides a level of service like no other for each of the Consultant Connect events, lets you in on a few of her trade secrets to finding the most memorable stories for each community. The level of detail and preparedness that goes into each event is out of this world. Cynthia talks about the importance of taking an outsider’s perspective of the community and how important it is to immerse yourself into the world that many do not typically see. She also gives insight into the importance of finding small gifts that are packable in a suitcase and (most importantly) will not get flagged by TSA.

We hope you find this episode insightful as you plan your next event for your community or for your clients. And if you need a little help along the way, you can reach out to our team with any questions you may have. Stay tuned for part two next week where Cynthia and Carla dive into the execution of each event. You can find today’s episode on our website, via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Episode 192: Three Important Components of Long-term Economic Development Strategy
Episode 192: Three Important Components of Long-term Economic Development Strategy 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“Great thing take years to build.” —Sam Juraschka

In economic development, the pace of work can be grueling. Because we’re often operating in a short-term mindset due to full project pipelines and shorter timelines on projects, it can feel counter-intuitive to stop and think about the long term strategy of your organizations work. What are some crucial pieces of that long game vision? How are other economic developers focusing in to make sure their community is led by a proactive approach focused beyond the immediate future?

Today’s episode features three economic developers who share their thoughts around strategic components they deem crucial for a workplan that will stand the test of time. We’ll hear from Brandon Simmons, Vice President of Project Management at REDI Cincinnati, about his competitive endurance and how that edge fuels collaboration and longevity in projects and strategy. Then Emily Jerkins Hall, President and Chief Operating Officer at Birmingham Business Alliance shares her thoughts about the importance of having a research division embedded within the organization both from a strategic priority as well as a career planning point of view. Lastly, Matthew Slotwinski, Senior Economic Development Officer at the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership, dives into the growing pains of project losses and how to utilize feedback from tough moments to inform the long term strategy moving forward.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for economic development strategic planning, but we hope this episode inspires new ways of thinking and spurs ideas on how to create a holistic long term vision and plan. You can find today’s episode on our website, via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Episode 191: How Does Amazon Approach Economic Development and Community Partnerships?
Episode 191: How Does Amazon Approach Economic Development and Community Partnerships? 150 150 America's Jobs Team

Amazon has created more jobs in America in the last decade than any other company. With such a level of job growth, it’s only natural that the company has built an internal economic development team with its own strategy around doing developmental project work. How does economic development strategy differ when operating on behalf of a corporate entity rather than a geographical location?

On today’s episode, Carla Sones is joined by Sam Blatt, Manager of Economic Development Policy at Amazon. Sam shares how his experience in “traditional” economic development translates into his role now, what is similar and what is distinctly different when representing a global corporation. He talks about the relationship between Amazon and local community partners and gives advice regarding working hand-in-hand to bring projects across the finish line. Sam also dives into Amazon’s goal to be net-zero carbon by 2040 and what effects that commitment has on potential projects.

Carla’s conversation with Sam dives into a new (and quickly growing) side of economic development. With an increasing trend in large global corporations building their own internal economic development teams, today’s episode helps shine a light on how we can all work together to ensure prosperous communities for generations to come. You can find today’s episode on our website, via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Episode 190: How Can You Find Growth in Tough Lessons Learned?
Episode 190: How Can You Find Growth in Tough Lessons Learned? 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“It is not so much about what life hands you, but what you do with what you get.” –Idowu Koyenikan

Sometimes lessons are learned the hard way, and those tend to be the lessons that shape our leadership habits from that point forward. Whether it’s a lesson from a time where we assumed we knew it all and were humbled to learn those we politely dismissed actually carried significant knowledge, or the moment where we were acutely faced with the fact that our greatest strengths can also be wielded as the sword that cuts us down, everyone has experienced a moment in time where growth as leaders came on hard and fast.

Carla Sones and Faye Davis connect on this podcast to share a couple of their most memorable lessons that have shaped their leadership and the way they approach their professional lives today. They talk about the lessons that came after the initial moment of clarity and why these situations provided such humbling yet pivotal growth moments.

We are living through times of huge growth spurts. Leaders are embracing their capacity to learn and be vulnerable more than ever before, and today’s episode hopes to clear an even wider path to sharing mistakes, tough moments, and other authentic experiences that help teams see the humanity in their leaders and create a space accepting of growing pains. You can find today’s episode on our website, via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Episode 189: How Might Economic Development Be Affected by Cancel Culture?
Episode 189: How Might Economic Development Be Affected by Cancel Culture? 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“The world is messy. There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws.” –Barack Obama

Few words in society these days illicit as much emotion as the phrase “cancel culture.” With its roots of originating as a tool for marginalized communities to assert their values against public wrong-doings, cancel culture in many ways can be interpreted similarly to boycotting. In many instances, it acts as a way of invoking power for the less-than-powerful. A way of seeing the free market at work and creating an accountability-for-actions system. But what about the times that these virtues run astray? When the collective power of virality punishes people for flaws inherent to humanity? When there is no space held for people learning and growing as humans do?

Carla Sones and Faye Davis try to tackle the ever-difficult topic of cancel culture. Taking a look at this phenomenon from the economic development and business lens, they dive into the history of cancel culture and the imminent pitfalls for economic development. Today’s issues with polarization of almost any issue makes civil discourse a tricky part of conducting healthy business; when 62% of American adults feel they cannot express their true beliefs out of fear of being retaliated against (on both sides of the aisle), how can we expect continuing innovation and partnership?

When problems are viewed as a diamond with many facets rather than a coin with only two sides, the potential solutions become wildly robust. Tune in to this episode now for more thoughts on navigating today’s polarizing landscape from a business perspective. You can find today’s episode on our website, via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Episode 188: Four Ways to Build Stable and Lasting Stakeholder Relationships
Episode 188: Four Ways to Build Stable and Lasting Stakeholder Relationships 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“In an age where everything and everyone is linked through networks of glass and air, no one is an island. One thing is for sure: no organization can succeed in a world that is failing.” –Don Tapscott

Creating growth and prosperity in our communities is work that has to be done alongside others. When economic developers can link arms with local partners and elected officials and work in lock step together, that’s where the magic happens. But relationships cannot be conjured out of thin air; trust has to be built and maintained over time. The big question forever looms: “How?”

Hear from four economic developers on how they’re navigating the challenge of informing stakeholders about the importance of economic development, why they focus on certain relationships over others, and what they’ve done to turn their geographical challenges into assets in garnering buy-in for the work. We have insights from Kimm Lauterbach (REDI Cincinnati), Tammy Fields (formerly with the Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC), Tony Ramirez (Borderplex Alliance) and Kenny McDonald (Columbus Partnership).

No matter the entity you represent in your economic development work, having stable and lasting partnerships will create a greater likelihood of reaching goals and a thriving community. Ready to listen in? You can find today’s episode on our website, via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Episode 187: How Are Project-winning Communities Keeping (and Gaining) Their Momentum?
Episode 187: How Are Project-winning Communities Keeping (and Gaining) Their Momentum? 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“Economic development is a team sport. We are only successful when we can work with, collaborate, empower and guide others in a common direction.” –Jonas Peterson

Despite significant hurdles like ever-increasing costs of materials, labor shortages and supply chain challenges, the project pipelines have been overflowing the last few years. While most communities have experienced growing demands on their resources for projects to land, there are a few regions that are especially on fire with successfully attracting new investment to their area. How are they doing it? What keeps companies coming back for more? And, possibly most importantly, are there key pieces of advice that other communities can implement?

Today’s episode features four economic developers from various regions in the United States that are experiencing success. We hear from Chris Strayer (Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce) to learn how the Fort Worth, TX region is doing business that translates to winning projects, and from Ryan Combs (Research Triangle Regional Partnership) as he shares how the Raleigh-Durham region of North Carolina has become a big destination for not only life sciences and tech companies, but also for people. Then we shift over to Christine Mackay (City of Phoenix) to dig into mega sites and how Phoenix, AZ navigated the TSMC mega deal, then we close out with insights from Matt McQuade (One Columbus) about the three things that set Columbus, OH apart to build momentum and talent.

In this line of work, finding inspiration to do try new things is vital, and today’s episode aims to inspire new ideas. Tune in now! You can listen on our website, via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Episode 186: What Sets a Community Apart to Land on a “Best Place To” List?
Episode 186: What Sets a Community Apart to Land on a “Best Place To” List? 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“There is immense power when a group of people with similar interests gets together to work toward the same goals.” –Idowu Koyenikan

You’ve undoubtedly seen those articles with “Best Places to…” or “Top Metro for…” lists. Maybe your community was on the list. Maybe you aspire to be on such a list. But what is the real story behind places that find themselves on certain lists time and time again?

On this episode of the podcast, we’re revisiting four economic developers with behind-the-scenes knowledge about what sets their region apart and how they landed on each list. Brandon Simmons from REDI Cincinnati talks about how the region has made the Top 10 Metro list by Site Selection Magazine a whopping 18 years in a row, and Ashley Cagle from Wake County Economic Development shares why Cary, NC found itself named the #2 Best City for Working from Home. The Northwest Arkansas region was hailed as the fourth Best Place to Live in the whole country, and Mike Harvey from Northwest Arkansas Council talks us through what makes the region so stable and desirable. We round out the episode with insights from Liana Hovakimyan, Toronto Global, about Toronto being named by CBRE as a Top Destination for Tech Talent.

While there is no silver bullet for communities to land themselves on any particular list, today’s various angles showcase that communities need to identify their strengths and capitalize on those. Glean inspiration from fellow economic developers working in creative ways to tell their unique stories by tuning into this episode! You can listen on our website, via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts!

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

Episode 185: Habits, Part 2: How to Support Your Future Through Productive Habit Formation
Episode 185: Habits, Part 2: How to Support Your Future Through Productive Habit Formation 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity. It’s one thing to say I’m the type of person who wants this. It’s something very different to say I’m the type of person who is this.” –James Clear

How can you create productive habits to sustain your energy and dial back the cycle of burnout? What can we do to help ourselves and others to get through the rapid fire of change? We know that we should cultivate productive habits in order to support our lives and goals, but how do we do it.

Today’s episode dives deep into the habit-forming cycle as Faye Davis talks with Gretchen Slenk, director at Southwest Michigan First. Gretchen specializes in human behavior and habits, and digs into the behavior-forming cycle of choosing a habit, identifying a cue or trigger for the behavior, and the importance of establishing a reward which will make repeat behavior more likely.

Join Faye and Gretchen as they share examples of success and stories of missteps in the process of creating new habits. They dive into why leaders should be encouraging healthy habit formation in themselves and their team, how to lower the risk of quitting, and what helps encourage lasting progress. You can listen on our website, via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts!

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

Episode 184: Habits, Part 1: Why Is Energy the Key to Creating More Productive Habits?
Episode 184: Habits, Part 1: Why Is Energy the Key to Creating More Productive Habits? 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“We think that powering through the grind builds our capacity more over time when really it has the opposite effect: it leads to burnout.” –Gretchen Slenk

Did you decide to create some new habits as part of a resolution for 2022? Now that it’s mid-February, are you still sticking strong to your intention? If you have found yourself in the “Never mind this, I give up” camp, don’t be too hard on yourself. The science behind creating new habits can be a little tricky. These aspirational new habits are set with hopes to have it impact the trajectory toward a goal. But often we misstep and choose a new habit based on time or stress management, when in reality we need to be looking at energy management to choose our habits.

A four quadrant grid describing the four wellsprings of energy, including body (fueled by adequate nutrition, exercise, sleep and rest), mind (fueled by focus, undivided attention and presence), emotion (fueled by positive feelings and emotional self-awareness) and spirit (fueled by meaning and purpose).

The habits we have are either supportive of optimal energy or deplete the well. Energy stems from several wellsprings, with four being shown on this grid. How do your current habits support or deplete each well?

Faye Davis is joined today by Gretchen Slenk to dive into all things energy, including energy rhythms, wellsprings, and crises. Gretchen is a director at Southwest Michigan First, where she specializes in areas of strengths-based leadership development programming, human behavior, habits, emotional intelligence, and professional resilience. Gretchen shares examples of why energy should be top of mind, how to feed the wellsprings (see the quadrant image to the left), and what leaders can do to navigate the natural inconsistencies in energy flow (aka ultradian rhythms).

As leaders, we often think that continually adding stress will strengthen the physical stress response system, creating an ability to handle even more stress. But this avenue of operating will actually wear down the capacity to handle stress, leading to people being triggered more easily and frequently. The idea of focusing on energy is to build habits to optimize energy. Listen in to Gretchen and Faye’s conversation now to hear more. You can listen on our website, via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts!

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