Day 141: The Times They Are A – Changin’
“Gather ’round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone If your time to you Is worth savin’ Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin'” Funny how songwriters write words you can live by. I really don’t like rap music. But I have a 13 year old daughter so I do listen to it in the car under duress. But, even some of those lyrics have some nuggets in between the swearing and references to body parts and bodily functions. I am torn about how much the times are a changin in economic development. Sure, we are focused more on workforce and megasites. But the genreal premise of what we do has always been the same. Economic development activities are supposed to improve the lives of our citizenry through better work and living opportunities. I see some economic development organizations that decide they are only going to focus one one piece of economic development. That seems to be the trendy thing now. I also get the feeling fro these folks that they think they are more enlightened than the rest of us. Sure, focusing is good. You can’t be all things to all people. But, I still strongly believe that if you focus on developing a great business climate (for all businesses) the organization and the community will succeed. This includes taking care of the business you already have and encouraging new business. That is both start-up and relocation. The time may be a-changin’, but if you focus on your business climate you won’t “sink like a stone”.