Janus Fellow, Robert Ingram, has been actively involved in the economic development profession since 1973 at the local, regional and state levels. He has also served the profession as an elected official, and in university and volunteer roles.

Robert is a former Mayor, Economic Development Assistant to the President of the University of Southern Mississippi, President of both the Mississippi Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives and the Mississippi Economic Development Council (two organizations which he helped merge into one), and Chairman of SEDC. He has also been active in supporting the Masters of Economic Development program at Southern Miss for the last thirty years, currently serving on its advisory board, serving as a Reflective Practitioner for courses related to Recruitment and BRE, and mentoring students as they move into the economic development profession.

As a practitioner, Robert has served in Pike County, Mississippi; formed, organized and led Rankin First EDA and EDF; helped organize and led marketing efforts for the Metro Economic Development Alliance (Greater Jackson Alliance). His final career stops were as President/CEO of Greenwood/Leflore EDA and EDF, and the Baldwin County (AL) EDA. He began his economic development career as a Marketing/Existing Industry Specialist at the Mississippi Research and Development Center, a comprehensive economic and community development support center and think tank which served the State of Mississippi for two decades.

Robert is an Honorary Life Member of both MEDC and SEDC and was the first Janus Fellow, which reflects both his service to the profession and his work in helping Robert Pittman organize and grow the Janus Forum. “Being a part of the development and growth of the Janus Forum has been a highlight in my career. Devoted solely to improving our profession by focusing the attention of a small group of diverse and extraordinary economic developers on issues critical to the future of this profession – and doing it in a very relaxed, informal setting – the Forum is unique in both purpose and execution. And with the addition of new venues, more and more professionals will have the opportunity to participate”.

He twice led economic organizations that were recognized by Site Selection Magazine as Top Groups Honorable Mention, and led the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance to recognition as a Top Group. He credits his wife, Barbara, for much of his success and is proud that both of their sons, Robbie and Michael, are involved in the Economic Development profession.

Robert is semi-retired and provides “consulting lite” services through his firm, Common Sense Economic Development, LLC, often in partnership with the Janus Institute. He continues to teach, mentor, and provide leadership to the economic development profession – usually with a heavy dose of humor, always with sincerity and with a love of helping others.

 

by TUCSON ROBERTS,
President,
Tucson Atlantic Consulting

It’s January again and the time we begin to schedule travel, allocate budgets and select the year’s activities, events and conferences that we will attend. As the number of economic developers increase so have the choices of activities. Many of us could become full-time “professional conference attenders” if we did not have jobs to do or bosses and boards to please. Consequently, we learn to be selective attending events with the most “bang for the buck”. Most of these activities are choreographed to educate, inform or help us network. I, as you, have been to countless conferences over the years that have fulfilled this function. These meetings are usually thoughtfully crafted around subject matters determined by a conference committee or a board of directors.  You go, you sit, you listen, you eat, and attend a reception or two… well you know the drill! And there is nothing wrong with that – in fact it’s worked well for decades.

Now let me tell you about the Janus Forum where a select group of 35 economic developers assemble, determine their subjects of interest, and discuss them among themselves for 3 days (of course they also eat and attend a couple of great receptions). This practice of “discussing with” each other rather than being “lectured to” creates an entrepreneurial approach to economic development that I have experienced in no other venue. It’s something unique and very special. The individuals that experience this event are invited back and are also responsible for nominating future attendees. The Janus Forum has operated successfully and grown for five years form its mountain home in Lakemont Georgia.  However, this year due to its popularity and partnership with Conway Data it will expand to at least two additional locations; one in Northwest Florida and another in New York.

For those who have attended this event you know how special it is. For those of you who have not you have a very special experience ahead.

 

Here we see the top ten rankings for freedom amongst the states.  To see the rest of the rankings visit: http://freedominthe50states.org/

Source: the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

 

by ROBERT H. PITTMAN and TUCSON ROBERTS

 

 

 

Ribbon-cuttings for new or expanded corporate facilities are generally festive occasions with balloons, speeches and an assortment of mayors, council members and even governors. On the other hand, disposing of surplus real corporate property is generally a lonely job without all the festivities. A typical approach to dealing with surplus land or buildings is to hire a professional, usually a broker, to market the property and maximize the residual. After the marketing the property is turned over to an outside party, often the tendency is to adopt an “out of sight, out of mind” attitude and move on to the next project. As they are incentivized to do, brokers can get the job done especially for readily marketable properties, but it behooves a company to explore multiple avenues for asset disposition. Expedited disposition not only gets a non-productive asset off the balance sheet (helping ROI and ROA), it can also help avoid negative publicity from a drawn-out process. The purpose of this article is to describe a useful tool or ally available in most communities to help dispose of corporate surplus property in a timely and efficient manner. That ally is the local economic development organization.

Good partnerships are usually based on mutual interests, and it is not difficult to see how a company’s interest in timely disposition of surplus properties aligns closely in two compelling ways with the local economic development agency’s mission of creating more economic opportunity in the community. First, the owner of surplus real estate would generally like nothing better than to see another party purchase or rent the building or site. This implies an economic use for the property, and that generally entails investment and job creation – exactly what the local economic development organization (EDO) wants as well. In addition, a larger inventory of available business/industrial sites and buildings can help attract new firms and retain existing firms which helps the economic development organization. These mutual interests make for a “win-win” situation and a good partnership.

How Can The Local EDO Help?

Economic development organizations are constantly trying to attract investment from new or expanding firms and that means marketing their existing sites and buildings. While a community might hire a broker to market an existing building or site (and hence create or retain jobs), many EDOs market their community and industrial/business properties in ways that often complement broker marketing efforts. Common marketing approaches taken by local EDOs include:

• Maintaining close contact with external prospect lead generators – state departments of economic development, state/regional utilities with economic development departments and regional EDOs are the most common. Good EDOs constantly remind these external lead generators of the good labor force, business climate, quality of life – and available sites and buildings – in their community.
• Listing (and keeping current) available sites and buildings in various property listing databases at the regional, state and even national levels. Most states sponsor a property listings website. This website is often the “go to” location and “first stop” for new or expanding industry.
• Working with existing businesses in the community to help them find expansion or relocation space locally instead of out of the area. This “internal” demand from local business retention and expansion has sold or rented countless local buildings.

In addition to these marketing activities, EDOs sometimes purchase surplus corporate real estate to renovate or repurpose in order to help attract investment and create jobs. In some cases, companies find it easier to simply donate surplus property to the community.

A good example of a purchase can be found in rural Rabun County in Northeast Georgia. Several years ago a large textile plant closed with short notice, idling almost 1,000 workers in Rabun and adjacent counties in the labor shed area. The million square foot plant had been constructed in stages over three decades. Fortunately, the structural characteristics of the building including column spacing and ceiling heights were suitable for most modern production and distribution activities. The building eventually was purchased through an intermediary by the county development authority who undertook a comprehensive interior and exterior renovation. Most of the space is still available (up to 800,000 square feet) but it has attracted several tenants that have created jobs. The surplus building met a critical need for the Rabun County Development Authority while providing the previous owner with some cash and a successful disposition. Consequently, property donation to a local industrial board, EDO, city or county can be beneficial to both public and private entities. Current tax policies treat donations favorably for private donors. Furthermore, public/private EDOs are oftentimes able to market or improve properties in creative ways.

Owners of surplus real estate can take certain steps that will help the local EDO find a new occupant for the property.

• Keep it clean and presentable inside and out.
• Remediate any environmental issues.
• Clearly establish any terms and conditions with the public or EDO prior to them showing the property. Any land use, building restrictions, use by competitors, sale and lease conditions are obviously better known up front.
• Being cooperative and flexible with potential new buyers the EDO brings to you.
• Being honest and open with the local EDO about the assets and liabilities of the facility – full disclosure and access to property records, drawings, etc.
• Taking heed to live by the economic development “rules of the game” (e.g. show up when needed, dress nicely, etc. might even say that owner should take a crash course from EDO in how to attract new buyers or renters – closing a prospect deal.
• Consider authorizing the EDO or public entity to list the property with state or regional ED marketing groups. This may require detailed property dimensions and a reliable sales or lease price.
• Consider creative uses for the property such as multi-tenant use or use as business incubators.

Good Partnerships Facilitate Success

Trust, communication and simplicity between partners make the best partnership. Someone within the company and someone in the community should be designated as spokesmen and points of communication for each. This will ensure consistency and avoid confusion in the marketing process.

Concluding Observations

Companies can benefit in many ways from working with local EDOs to help market their surplus real estate. In addition to solving the disposition problem, a company can create good will by helping find a new owner and purpose for a building and contributing to the economic welfare of the community – a parting gift that will be much appreciated. Establishing such a partnership compliments the strengths of both parties and increases the probability that property will be disposed of successfully.

 

 

by ROBERT PITTMAN

The view from the porch since our last Janus Reporter has been spectacular. The Northeast Georgia and Western North Carolina mountains were resplendent with Fall colors, followed by a white crown of snow early in December.  Sitting by the fire, we have assessed and collated the results from the 2013 Janus Forum held here last August, but this year there is little downtime as we shift into planning our first Janus Forum away from home – at the Watercolor Resort on the Gulf in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, February 16-19, 2014.

For the August 2013 Forum in Rabun County, we tweaked the format a bit and brought in some outside guests and subject experts to enhance the peer learning experience. Site consultants Buzz Canup and Will Hearn joined the Forum for Tuesday afternoon activities with the attendees, and then Wednesday morning participated in an interactive session on site selection and how to win more projects.  Alan Price, Chief Pilot for Delta Airlines during the 9/11 crisis, led a leadership section in discussions on how lessons learned during that unprecedented event can be applied to community and economic development.

Just after the attacks when information was limited, Delta was debating whether to immediately ground all aircraft and incur a huge financial penalty or continue to operate and await more information.  The decision to immediately shutdown – which turned out to be the right choice – was guided by company values related to passenger and employee safety, which continued to guide Delta’s management in the aftermath of the incident.

Google’s strategy and business model is also guided by a set of value statements:

• Focus on the user and all else will follow.
• It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
• Fast is better than slow.
• Great just isn’t good enough.

These are powerful motivators and no doubt guide thousands of Google employee decisions on daily basis.

Communities and economic development organizations should also develop value statements as part of visioning and strategic planning exercises to guide their future direction. Jack Vincent, facilitator extraordinaire for the first two Forums, includes the following in his list of key community and economic development values and beliefs (with a little editing by me):

• All people have a right to participate in community decisions that affect them and to strive to create an environment they desire.
• Creating a community dialogue and interaction among citizens will motivate them to support economic development strategic plans and help the community move forward.

To these could be added (depending on what the community wants) other values and beliefs such as:

• Strengthening and diversifying the local economy will improve the standard of living for all citizens and deserves full community support.
• All cities in our county (region) benefit from economic development no matter in which jurisdiction it occurs and should support cooperative economic development efforts.

These may sound obvious to professional economic developers, but they are not obvious to many citizens, some of whom may be key decision makers. For example, how many times have we seen the “Friday Night Football Factor” disrupt regional marketing efforts? Seemingly obvious values and beliefs such as passenger and crew safety come first helped Delta make a gut-wrenching decision that proved to be absolutely correct.

Well-communicated values and beliefs are but one key factor that contributes to good leadership in a company, organization or community. Captain Price’s insights with discussion and comments from participating economic developers are summarized in Volume I, Edition 1 (another way of saying the first one!) of our Janus Forum Journal, created by our new partner Conway Data.  The Journal will report some of the amazing idea exchanges and insights that occur at the Forum so that others may benefit. After all, a mission of the Janus Institute (parent organization of the Forum) is “to contribute to the body of knowledge in economic development and advance its practice.”

You can view the first Janus Forum Journal by clicking on the link below. You will also find summaries and key takeaways from the other two sessions on the Aerospace Industry (facilitated by retired aerospace top executive Randy Simpson) and Social Media (facilitated by consultants Amanda Sutt and Jessica Hayslett). We thank Conway Data and its talented staff for creating an attractive, user-friendly format for the Journal. This is the first of many more to come as our Forums grow across the country and abroad.  We hope to see you at one soon.

Leadership in communities and how it affects economic development has been a primary topic in all past Forums. Alan Price led our discussions on leadership which was one of our three topic breakout sessions. Alan was Chief Pilot for Delta Airlines during the 9/11 and a key member of the emergency response team. His insights into leadership at Delta under such extraordinary circumstances and discussions on how they apply to community and economic development made for most interesting sessions.  Also participating in the 2013 Janus Forum were site consultants Will Hearn with CH2MHILL and Buzz Canup with Canup & Associates. The Wednesday morning closing session was devoted to interactive discussions with Will and Buzz on business location trends and their perspective on Forum discussion topics. Summaries of all the 2013 Janus Forum discussion sessions will soon be available.

People ask me these days how we are going to replicate the Janus Forum experience – the getaway, small group and hospitality nature of it – at a different location. I believe Watercolor offers a great venus

The question I get a lot these days is can the Janus Forum be successfully replicated in other locations.  I believe the answer