The Columbus Region

During a trip last week to Europe to meet several growing companies, I was reminded of our special relationship with not only Great Britain, but the entire European Union. Business relationships require the sharing of both ideals and ideas, and can be simultaneously complex and simple.

The economic relationship we have with the EU is complex for many reasons, including the stress brought on by our most recent global recession, troubles within the EU itself and the quickly shifting economies in Asia and the Middle East. It is simple in that we know each other well, and have lived through both tough times and boom cycles together. These ups and downs have forged a bond that allows us to trust each other enough to take the risks necessary to trade, invest and move economic policy forward.

And yet, relationships require work. Vince Cable, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for the United Kingdom, made a powerful speech last week that underlined the “special relationship” with the United States and argued for keeping the U.K. in the European Union at the British American Business Council’s annual meeting. He urged his countrymen to use both their heads and their hearts in making this decision.

Our hearts tell us that we can go it alone, that we have to the capacity and persistence to enter markets and compete on our own merits. Our heads tell us that economic development is built on the foundation of personal relationships and require care, understanding and practical deal-making.

-Kenny McDonald

Columbus 2020 Update

• Our team is in Japan this week, developing the relationships that can carry us forward with that country. We’ll also be in Washington, D.C., meeting with companies and consultants.
• Another great announcement was made last week by our great friends at Honda! Check out this quick video.
• Tomorrow, the Columbus Region Logistics Council is holding an educational event at the IBM Center for Advanced Analytics. Attendees will learn more about Central Ohio Logistics and Big Data.

One of the goals of the Columbus 2020 regional economic development strategy is to double net new job growth over any historical decade-long period. The Region happens to be tracking towards that goal, but it will undoubtedly be very difficult to achieve with the expected ups and downs of the economy. The leaders who conceived this goal should be applauded. Without it, we would not be nearly as aggressive as we are, and we would not have reached out to nearly as many potential partners – public, private and academic.

Occasionally, I will ask our team what it would take to double any one of our internal metrics. Our pipeline, the number of existing businesses we are interviewing, etc. There is a usually a look of “Are you kidding me?” followed by a discussion about what it would really take. Inevitably it is productive and it often leads our team to discuss how we would leverage our existing allies better, and how we would develop new allies to extend our network. Economic development is competitive and there is no real finish line, so it can be exhausting. The practice of pausing to ask how we can do our work differently has served our team well.

Are you fully leveraging your network? How could you double your sales pipeline or the number of customers your organization serves? How would you have to operate? Who would you have to partner with that you are not currently?

-Kenny McDonald

Columbus 2020 Update

• Thank you to our investors and to Bob Hess for joining our Columbus 2020 Quarterly Investor Update at the Hollywood Casino.
• Thank you to our Board of Directors for a lively discussion at last week’s board meeting. Congratulations to Ellen Power from Boeing, who was approved as our newest board member.
• Our team returned from a visit to Dallas last week, where they held productive meetings with location consultants and companies.
• This week, we are headed to North Carolina and South Carolina to meet with companies and consultants, Cincinnati to meet with startup accelerators, and Pittsburgh to meet with venture capital firms.
• Next week, we leave for Europe to meet with companies considering U.S. investment.
• The Columbus Region Logistics Council and the Columbus Chamber, in cooperation with Columbus State Community College, are holding a logistics job fair on May 14. The event is free to job seekers.
• Congratulations to an incredible leader in our community, Big Lots CEO Steve Fishman, who will officially retire this week. Steve has made an important mark on Columbus through his leadership, his business and his philanthropy. While this may be farewell, it is not goodbye. We all look forward to our paths crossing again in the future.

There has to be at least some correlation between March Madness and economic development, right? Sure!

NCAA basketball tournaments draw attention not only from the fans who follow their teams all year but also from the general public, because anyone can win if they just get in the game. Small and large schools compete under enormous pressure to survive each round in an effort to take home the ultimate prize. The college basketball world is indeed flat – more teams seem to have a legitimate chance to win as each year passes.

The same is becoming true for U.S. metros. Within the top 50 metro areas in the U.S., competition for businesses is increasingly fierce. More and more cities have the infrastructure, workforce and cultural assets to compete with the very largest cities. Companies and talented people have access to research that allows them to narrow their search based on their unique needs and preferences. Smaller metro regions may be less costly, while bigger cities have tremendous scale. In today’s world, with access to technology and the mobility of the workforce, companies have more choices than ever.

This is why we strive to speak to growing companies within the Columbus Region and throughout the world. Perhaps we are the right fit for their next project, or for the entrepreneur with the next big innovation. We must continue to compete day after day to win the attention of companies and talented people. That’s why we play the game.

-Kenny McDonald

Columbus 2020 Update

• Congrats to WELD for their terrific event with Gwen Ifill last week. She was an outstanding spokeswoman for women in leadership.
• Our team is preparing for a few upcoming trips to Germany and to California in just a few weeks.
• Congrats also to the Licking County Port Authority for a terrific trip to Washington, D.C. to advocate for the terrific work being done at the Boeing facility in Heath. More than 40 leaders met with the entire Central Ohio delegation to let them know how important the facility is to the Columbus Region and Licking County.
• On April 12 in Lewis Center, Senator Portman will host business and education leaders for the Ohio Jobs and Workforce Development Summit. We encourage Columbus Region business and education stakeholders to attend, to hear examples of industry and education workforce collaboration and to share your experiences, needs and resources. For details and to RSVP, contact Suzanne_Hawk@Portman.senate.gov.

“Leadership is the wise use of power. Power is the capacity to translate intention into reality and sustain it.”  Warren Bennis

Economic developers from the Columbus Region and regions around the world are hard at work trying to harness power in order to create job opportunities, develop community assets and lay the foundation for future growth.

The abuse and misuse of power are common subjects, and usually for good reason. I would offer that, when it comes to economic and community development, simply using power at all is perhaps the greatest challenge. States and cities seem to go through brief periods of great expansion when power is channeled properly, and they stagnate or decline when it is not. Harnessing power to achieve great things requires not only the willingness to use power, but also the willingness to use it for a period long enough to get something done.

History will tell whether this is one of those periods for the Columbus Region, but if the start of this decade is any harbinger, then Central Ohio is using its economic and political power very positively. Assets are being added that will exist for generations. Companies are starting, expanding and locating within our region – changing the trajectory of thousands of lives for the better. The leadership challenge of our era is to sustain this capacity and continue to align powerful interests to get the right things done.

How is your community using its power? How is your organization using its power to get things done? How are you using your power as an individual to develop your community and create positive growth opportunities?

-Kenny McDonald

Columbus 2020 Update

• Our team returned from a very productive business development trip to the West Coast last week, excited about the growing companies we met. Let’s hope that their future plans include the Columbus Region!  We also have team members in Japan right now, meeting with over a dozen new companies considering expansion into the United States. Other Columbus 2020 team members will be in Chicago and Atlanta this week to meet with location advisors.
• Congratulations and thanks to both Experience Columbus and the Columbus Council of World Affairs for substantive annual meetings celebrating the Columbus Region.
• Thank you to the Licking County Chamber of Commerce and OEDA for allowing our teams to address their Basic Economic Development Course this past week.