We've developed a problematic habit over the past couple of years: as we go through this economic sea change, and as many of our old ways of improving local economies lose whatever effectiveness they used to have, we keep grasping at straws, trying to find some new hidden lever on the economy machine that we …
Continue reading From the Good Ideas File: 4 Hard Earned Lessons about Entrepreneurship (finally)
Economic development incentives got a good deal of attention in the book, in part because they've been in my craw and in part because they turned out to be a good example of a lot of the factors that get in the way of building a Wise Economy, such as not thinking through potential consequences …
Continue reading From the Good Ideas File: Better data on incentive programs
Every week, I crack open The Local Economy Revolution to a random location and copy that section here. Intrigued by what you read? Check out the full book here. Mind.blown. -- When communities and nonprofits do public engagement, we often fuss about how we keep getting “the Usual Suspects.” But we often do little more …
About a month ago I sat on a panel with a collection of leading economic development people from all over the country as Anatalio Ubalde, CEO of GISPlanning, threw hard questions at us in front of an audience of our peers. This little pressure cooker happened at the IEDC Leadership Conference in Irvine, California. And it was one …
Just (and I mean just) got a note from Lulu.com, the provider of print versions of The Local Economy Revolution: What's Changed and How You Can Help, that they are having a "Flash Sale" from now through 11:00 PM EDT Monday, March 10. Which means that you can get that copy of The Local Economy Revolution for a lot less than you …
Regional Business Talk just posted an interview that I did with Ed Burghard of Strengthening Brand America a few weeks ago -- you can read the summary and listen to or download the interview here. As the wunderkinds behind the site wrote, Ed and Della also discuss the importance of creating meaningful public engagement to support economic development strategies. Della is …
This recent study reinforces a conclusion that's been emerging among cognitive psychologists and education researchers for many years: Telling people something is, by and large, a really bad way of getting them to remember - or act - upon it: Between sights, sounds, and tactile sensations, what we hear is hardest for us to recall, …
As we trudge through the Midwestern snow and slush toward spring (Dear God, let it be so!) , speaking gigs for the spring and summer are starting to firm up. Some of these are still a little fuzzy, so I'll update as I know more. If you're near one of these locations and you'd be interested in …
So wonderful to read that your book not only appealed to someone enough to lead them to write a review, but also gave them a shot of encouragement. If Sara Dunnigan, a well known and highly respected economic development professional, found a renewed connection and a dose of courage in this book, then I know …
Continue reading Another great Amazon Review: “A book for people who give a damn”
As some of you probably know, one of the hats that I wear when I'm not sharing Good Ideas for the Local Economy Revolution is that I'm the Managing Editor of EngagingCities, an online magazine that focuses on the use of internet technologies to help people connect to and participate in their communities. We cover …
The Local Economy Revolution Has Arrived 