[EDAWN Column for the Reno Gazette-Journal for Sunday, October 9, 2011]
Economic development is a team sport. Like sports there are variables including strategy, practice, recruiting and retention of key players, skill, experience, effort and competitors. “Moneyball” is a current top-grossing motion picture about the business of major league baseball that contains parallels. In 1998 Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, faced with financial shortfalls, decides that baseball’s long-standing convention wisdom is all wrong. Using statistical analysis he begins to rebuild the team. For those non-baseball fans who may see the movie, I won’t reveal the ending. The new approach did change baseball to include more statistical analysis.
Over the last few years of this down national and state economy there have been many Billy Beane’s asking if conventional economic development practices, varied as they are, are adequate. AB449 – a joint effort of Governor Sandoval’s team and legislative leaders – passed late in the 2011 legislative session is one example of re-thinking at least our statewide oversight and approach to economic development. There are others. While attending the International Economic Development Council’s (IEDC) Annual Conference in Charlotte, N.C., a couple of weeks ago, such changes were obvious around the world. Economic Development colleagues from Michigan and Ohio, and other states, reported significant restructuring by their new Governors. Friends from the United Kingdom reported that when David Cameron was named Prime Minister in May 2010, their entire economic development system was eliminated and assigned to local governments. Listening to opinions on these changes was much like listening to sports-talk radio. The dialogue is a mix of some love, some hate and some “wait-and-see” observations.
As Billy Beane seemed to prove, new ideas and approaches, such as innovation, are critical in a constantly changing world of economic development. And, as he seemed to learn, those new approaches did not bring a panacea of success in the short or long-term, yet they were critical to finding the right ‘winning’ mix of strategies. Most economic development practitioners agree that while some of the tried and true efforts remain effective, these sometimes uncomfortable changes help us review, recalibrate and improve. My colleagues in the United Kingdom believe that some things that worked well were discarded, yet some excess baggage was also cast off. Within that framework they see new opportunities to combine the best that was with the opportunities that can be.
Economic development is a team sport. Everyone from the Governor to the public and private sectors, including our citizens, are team members. Many of the ideas in AB-449 were taken from other states. We need those new ideas. Over the 13 years I have served as president and CEO of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) we have constantly adapted, even re-invented ourselves many times, a dynamic economy calls for it. As in the case of “Moneyball” it is wise to remember that the real keys to success are a blend of innovation and experience. And team play.
[Chuck Alvey, CEcD, is President and Chief Executive Officer of EDAWN
The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada]
The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada]
