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Small Pieces – Loosely Joined

April 30th, 2012 by Kenny McDonald

I recently attended a presentation at MIT where a technologist suggested a book called Small Pieces Loosely Joined by David Weinberger. At once, I knew I had to get this book. The title alone is worthy of my attention as a regional economic development practitioner. In fact, the phrase “small pieces loosely joined” sums up my feelings about how regionalism works very well.

Just like the web, regional collaboration changes our perception about what is possible, imperfect, and ever evolving. I’ve always believed regionalism requires that the small pieces (locally this means counties, cities, townships, villages) work hard to develop and maintain their history and character to reach their full potential. Occasionally, and increasingly more often as budgets tighten, the small pieces can only achieve their full potential by banding together in whole or in part with other areas to achieve this potential (regionalism).

In fact, it is a pretty apt description of the United States. Each state brings unique attributes to the table, each ruggedly individualistic, but occasionally and for certain functions these states band together in small groups (Midwest, Southeast, New England) or as a whole (national defense). It is a basic premise of America. Go it alone, take care of yourself, compete – and come together when/if necessary.

The Columbus Region is working very hard to do just this, and Ohio in a larger sense is doing the same thing through the JobsOhio Network – a collection of 6 regions throughout the state that have banded together to market/promote and conduct economic development for the benefit of the State of Ohio. Together we can do more than has ever been done before in Ohio, but our coalition and our economic development system will always be imperfect and ever-evolving. Small pieces – loosely joined.

Columbus 2020 Update
Columbus 2020 received an honorable mention as one of the top economic development groups in the country last week through Site Selection magazine. Congratulations to the great team, but, more importantly to our regional partners (200+ private sector companies and 26 public entities that make up our investors). You made this advancement possible and we appreciate it.

Last week our team visited the Hannover Trade Fair in Germany and the Industrial Asset Management Council’s spring event in Texas. More prospects were developed at both events and our team keeps pushing forward this week with another trip to Texas to meet with energy companies at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston. Wish us luck!

This Wednesday the Brookings Institution, in a joint project with JPMorgan Chase, will host the Ohio Global Cities forum at The Ohio State University. The forum will explore how Ohio’s metropolitan areas can enhance their ability to compete globally by focusing on the interplay between advanced research, advanced industries, skilled workers, foreign direct investment and sophisticated export promotion and finance. You can register and learn more about this event here.

-Kenny McDonald

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Who is relying on us to perform?

April 23rd, 2012 by Kenny McDonald

In a few weeks the Brookings Institute will visit the Columbus Region on a worldwide tour of some of the most important metropolitan economies in the world. The Brookings Institute’s Global Cities Initiative, sponsored by J.P. Morgan Chase, our Region’s largest employer, is studying global competitiveness and wants to know what our Region is doing to address the market challenges of the 21st century.

As our team and others in our Region plan for the event, several questions come to mind. First, what is our Region doing to remain or become globally competitive?  Second, what are we not doing that we need to consider or can learn from other regions of the U.S. and the world? How does the global competitiveness of our Region impact our country’s competitiveness? Finally, what is our role in making the U.S.A. the best place in the world to do business, be educated, and live a quality life?

Chicago’s former long-time Mayor Richard M. Daley, who is deeply involved in the initiative, addressed a group last week and pointed to his own perspective as a Midwest Mayor. He pointed out that he wanted to study the Los Angeles region and understand what they were and were not doing, because a huge percentage of his economy was dependent on the flow of goods that come through Long Beach every day. If Long Beach gets sick, so does Chicago.

This made me consider the Columbus Region’s role in the economy as one of the top inland ports, a producer of talent for the world through our 50+ colleges and universities, our manufacturing base, and as a finance and insurance hub. If we don’t perform to our potential, who else are we holding up?

Add this to the many reasons I believe professional, innovative economic development matters so much. Our team is here to move the Region forward so that economic opportunities are created for our people and our businesses, but that isn’t all. Often we only think of this in our community or state, but it is important to understand and consider the obligation we have to continue to strive for excellence in infrastructure, smart economic development policy, and talent development. Companies and people in metropolitan areas around the globe are relying on us to deliver products and services so that their economies continue to move as well.

Columbus 2020 Update
Our team is back on the road this week in Hanover, Germany and at the IAMC conference in Austin, TX. Industrial Asset Management Council is a leadership group of corporate real estate leaders focused on manufacturing. It is critical that we continue to be present to understand our customers and educate others on the benefits of doing business in the Columbus Region and the State of Ohio.

Thanks to Dr. Mark Smith, President of Ohio Christian University and Columbus 2020 Board of Directors member. Dr. Smith will host us in Pickaway County on Tuesday along with leaders throughout the area.  OCU alumnus and world renowned leadership expert John Maxwell will speak. Just another reminder of the great alumni connections the Columbus Region has around the world.

-Kenny McDonald

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A world of data in our backyard

April 16th, 2012 by Kenny McDonald

According to the 2011 IDC Digital Universe Study the world’s collected information is doubling every two years. The on-demand, information technology, knowledge economy lives and breathes right here in the Columbus Region. A visit to Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) last week validated that and reminded me once again of the important role the Columbus Region plays in the information economy. If you are a chemist, anywhere in the world, and need to search for information related to molecular data and the patents that surround it, then you turn to CAS and the search products they provide.   Powered by AEP’s electricity and brainpower supplied by The Ohio State University (just minutes away), CAS has transformed into a digital giant and a linchpin for global data management and research.

Travel ten minutes in any direction and you will find Battelle, the largest private research organization in the world, The Ohio State University, our nation’s most comprehensive university, and OCLC, or the Online Computer Library Center, the worldwide library system. Columbus businesses such as Manta and Information Control Corporation are organizing this data in meaningful ways for other enterprises, and creating jobs in our region along the way. Just an hour away in Dayton Teradata and Lexis Nexis are working on similarly important issues to aid in the management and storage of information. Add the huge alumni network of graduates from our 50+ college and university campuses in our region and you can begin to see that our region impacts the science and technology community in nearly every corner of the planet.

Columbus 2020 Update
The Columbus 2020 Board of Directors met this past week to discuss the strategy and emerging trends impacting our region’s economy. Growth in the energy, agribusiness, and manufacturing sectors were discussed. Our team and local economic development allies were fortunate to hear from KPMG regarding their recent Competitive Alternatives study – ranking Ohio’s cities as some of the best business locations in the world. Work continues this week with travel to Texas, New York and Boston to meet with businesses and location advisors considering our region.

-Kenny McDonald

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Remember Manufacturing?

April 9th, 2012 by Kenny McDonald

We live in an on-demand economy. If we want something, and can generally afford it, it can probably be purchased and used very quickly. Three functional parts of the economy need to work together to make our everyday purchases possible. First, the primary industries of mining, farming, and raw material extraction and refinement need to take place. The second function is manufacturing, in essence, taking the raw materials and processing them into something useful for consumers and other business processes. Finally, tertiary industries move the raw materials and finished goods to market and account for the sales, marketing and management of it all.

In recent history, because of internet technologies and great supply chain innovations, there has been an enormous focus on supply chain innovation and new ways to sell and deliver products. Perhaps overshadowed are great innovations in the primary industries (shale fracking technologies and agribioscience come to mind). Oh – and then there is manufacturing. We take for granted the constant and profound innovations that come from making both complex and everyday items better and less expensive.

There are nearly 1,800 manufacturing companies in the11-county Columbus Region, and over 80,000 people are directly employed by this sector of the economy. This sector experienced a 43% increase in productivity (output per worker) in the first decade of this century. Names like Honda, Anchor Hocking, DuPont, Rolls Royce, Worthington Industries, and Abbott Nutrition are among some of the brands that make products that are delivered around the world from Central Ohio. However, hundreds of the companies quietly make the components and machinery within the supply chains of the automotive, aerospace, food and consumer products industries.

According to the National Association of Manufacturers;

  • The United States is the world’s largest manufacturing economy, producing 21 percent of global manufactured products. China is second at 15 percent and Japan is third at 12 percent.
  • U.S. manufacturing produces $1.7 trillion of value each year, or 11.7 percent of U.S. GDP. For every $1.00 spent in manufacturing, another $1.35 is added to the economy.
  • Manufacturing supports an estimated 17 million jobs in the U.S.—about one in six private sector jobs.  Nearly 12 million Americans (or 9 percent of the workforce) are employed directly in manufacturing.
  • In 2010, the average U.S. manufacturing worker earned $77,186 annually, including pay and benefits. The average non-manufacturing worker earned $56,436 annually.
  • U.S. manufacturers are the most productive workers in the world—far surpassing the worker productivity of any other major manufacturing economy, leading to higher wages and living standards.
  • U.S. manufacturers perform two-thirds of all R&D in the nation, driving more innovation than any other sector.
  • Taken alone, U.S. Manufacturing would be the 9th largest economy in the world.

Columbus 2020
This week the 2020 Board of Directors meets to discuss the initiative’s progress and get an update on the regional economy. Our team is returning from the International Plastics Showcase held in Orlando, where we met with regional, national and international companies about doing business – or more business within Central Ohio.

-Kenny McDonald

 

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Connecting Places

April 2nd, 2012 by Kenny McDonald

The map of the world is constantly changing. History tells us that there is constant and evolutionary change caused by economics, politics, war, even luck. What seems to endure is the places created through this turmoil, the actors that shape these places and the enduring institutions and structures they create.

The economic map of the world we have today shows massive change over the years. Entire centuries were dominated by either Middle Eastern, Asian, or European dominance. European dominance was diminished by America’s growing power in the 1940’s and 50’s. The remaking of the American economy in the early 80’s challenged the U.S. to confront its structural problems within both business and government. What was considered massive debt (quite laughable given our current levels), and growing significance of emerging economies created urgency to America’s reform and our competitiveness rose.

What has endured is the connections that arose through this turnover. Personal relationships were forged, innovations were surfaced through the exchange of cultural ideas, and unbreakable bonds were created. Visit Shanghai and see the English and French influence, California and Texas and see the historical connections to what was the dominant economy of Mexico. Visit the Northwest side of the Columbus Region (Marysville and Dublin, Ohio) and see the influence of Japanese automotive manufacturing excellence and innovation. Formerly adversarial relationships transitioned to interdependent relationships through economic development.

Economic development is a people business, but it is also about connecting places on the globe. Travel to western Europe and you find that there is a special relationship with the United States, travel to India and see how the world’s largest democracy and the world’s most successful democracy share common values, travel to Asia and see a wary eye toward one another (part respect, part cultural misunderstanding).

We are absolutely convinced that it is important and necessary for people and places to connect. The Columbus Region is reaching out around the world not only to talk to growing companies, but to take what is best from those places and incorporate them into our businesses and communities. Apple’s trip to China this past week is a great example of bringing our values to other countries through our economic actions.

Businesses from the Columbus Region are also taking their culture with them around the globe and adding character and building understanding through their actions as employers.

Columbus 2020 Update
Columbus 2020 was in Michigan, Germany, and the U.K. last week working with clients and reaching out. Our team hosted clients and continued to interact with local businesses to gain understanding and take actions that make them more competitive. Our team travels to the NPI show in Orlando this week to meet with polymers companies (one of Ohio’s largest industrial sectors) and is taking action on several fronts along with its local and state partners to make the Region more competitive.


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