This is a random excerpt from The Local Economy Revolution. Yes, it was really randomly selected. But the book is not random. Want to learn more? Check it out here. --- This is a paper machine. My husband ran one in the 1990s. I’ve often said it’s the only job he ever had where I …
Continue reading Random Excerpt: the Paper Machine and the Gardener
Every so often, I open The Local Economy Revolution to a random location and copy down here what I find. Intrigued by what you read? You can get the whole book here. --- The easiest unintended consequences to figure out are those that will impact me directly – the ones that will come back …
There's a sizeable portion of the Local Economy Revolution that could be summed up as follows: Communities are way more complicated and messy than we usually admit professionally, although we know that in real life. Because we live in places. But complexity is messy. And hard. Because of that, we often come up with simple things that …
This shouldn't be a huge surprise to anyone, but sometimes the first step toward a Good Idea is getting a little reinforcement in trying to convince other people that the things we used to do don't work anymore. This article from a Pittsburgh news site gives a pretty decent overview of why anyone who is …
Continue reading From the Yes-It-Is-As-Bad-As-You-Thought-It-Was File: Way more retail than we need
A couple of weeks ago I went to an event called Cincy Sundaes that I though definitely belonged in the Good Ideas file. The book talks about the importance of small improvements and Little Bets and micro-entrepreneurs, and crowdfunding, even for micro-projects, both helps good ideas take root and demonstrates the support that an idea …
Continue reading From the Good Ideas File: Sundaes for Crowdfunding!
I'm currently participating in a Good Idea that I've known about for quite a while, and I thought it might be useful for you, too. Business accelerators are a hot topic in economic development anymore, but they're usually described as a way to get technology businesses off the ground. As we say in the book, …
Continue reading From the Good Ideas File: Accelerators aren’t just for tech types
The National Trust for Historic Preservation's Green Lab has been doing some very interesting research and policy work around the environmental and sustainability implications of preserving and reusing historic buildings (short version: it's a good thing). This article was a particularly good candidate for the Good Ideas file because it gives you a good peek …
Every week I crack open The Local Economy Revolution, flip to a random page and put that brief section in here. Like what you see? Check out how to get a copy of the book for your very own. --- We've been talking (or, well, not talking) about incentives in economic development in the US a …
I've produced materials referencing Greater Cincinnati's Agenda 360 more than once. I've talked about them as an example of meaningful regional thinking and goal-setting, I've shared the story of their awesome Story Project, and I've even pulled them into my consulting work as an example of how to do something at the regional scale that …
Continue reading From the Good Ideas File (aka the Good Affirmations File): Think 360
I love what Ellen Harpel at SmartIncentives.org has been doing to increase the awareness of rational and analytical approaches to economic development incentives, a topic that has been such a bee in my bonnet (and a few other bonnets, although who wears a bonnet anymore...) that a whole section of The Local Economy Revolution focused on it. …
Continue reading From the Good Ideas File: The Best Incentives Might Not Require Moola
The Local Economy Revolution Has Arrived 